Supported by the City of Melville, the group consists mainly of local residents, who work tirelessly fundraising and going through informal channels to determine the local needs of the struggling community. The City’s initial friendship with Letefoho was sealed through a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2005.

Mayor Russell Aubrey said the City of Melville had a relationship with the Letefoho and Hatolia administration, and the Melville Friends of Letefoho and Hatolia had a relationship with the community. “These friendships are based on mutual respect and cooperation and work at two distinct levels: administration to administration and community to community,” he said. “The purpose is for Melville to assist the community through aid and development programs, while the friendship also encourages cultural exchange between East Timor and Australia.”

Earlier this year Melville Friends of Letefoho was approached by the Hatolia community for help in the establishment of a secondary school. Hatolia is a large sub-district in the Ermera region with a population of 32,000 and no secondary school for students to pursue further education.

Mayor Aubrey said the establishment of a secondary school would not only benefit the Hatolia community but fit with the Melville Friends of Letefoho and Hatolia’s prime commitment to education in East Timor. “The community of Letefoho will also benefit from the new school as it will be located in the same region,” he said.

Other projects in Hatolia include the development of accommodation for English as a second language teachers for the secondary school and assistance in the development of locally-based ventures to bring income to the community.

For further information about the group’s activities, please contact secretary Margaret Mendelawitz on 9364 6547 or chair Alan Peters on 9364 3958.