It’s official. GiraCatavento has made its debut in Timor-Leste!
Our co-founders, Adriana and Inês, traveled to the other side of the planet with the goal of expanding our mission.
An adventure that began with unexpected travel delays, initially planned for 2 days, ended up taking a total of 5 days to reach Dili! In Dili, they caught a ride to Memo, Maliana, heading to the Padre Manuel Nunes Formigão Social Center, adding another 3 hours to their journey. Our founders’ minds were overwhelmed. The exhaustion from the entire trip was evident, but it took a back seat as soon as they were welcomed at the Social Center by Sister Cristina, Sister Saviana, and their resident girls, in a beautiful arrival ceremony!
Once settled at the Center, our founders got to work. A lot of material was brought from Portugal due to the scarce resources, some even unavailable, in Timor-Leste. At GiraCatavento, we work with the reality presented to us and adapt to issues that may be more trivial in Portugal but truly stand out from the status quo in these contexts. They brought fabric food wheels for the children to learn more about balanced and varied nutrition; materials for the science week, to conduct chemistry and physics experiments with the children; magnifying glasses for the children to understand concepts of small and large, as well as explore the world around them; cognitive development tests to better understand the current panorama of the children’s skill development and adapt our work according to their true needs, and much more. The remaining materials used in each activity were always selected with a view to reusing and recycling existing materials: water bottles, cardboard, … and even “old” paper was used to make paper pulp!
In addition to the activities they did (all documented here on the site), they had a lot of fun with the children playing games, dancing, watching movies,… These were moments we definitely want to repeat and that remain in our hearts.
Besides this work with the children, the trip became even more productive than initially thought, as in an unexpected turn of events, our founders had the opportunity to meet some crucial people on this journey: Dulce Turquel, CEO of Abut, a social enterprise in Timor-Leste for 12 years, and the Clarissa Sisters of Timor-Leste. These contacts were important as they managed to establish official partnerships: this is just the beginning, which already looks promising for the next steps!
Finally, once again, the immense hospitality with which they were received was displayed through the grand farewell ceremonies organized for our founders! First Inês’s and then Adriana’s, these were moments filled with laughter, tears, dancing, and many hugs!
Our founders landed in Portugal with very positive feedback from GiraCatavento’s debut in Timor-Leste. Not only was it possible to complete the planned work in its entirety and exceed expectations in that regard, but it was also possible to establish new and important collaborations, in addition to the positive feedback they received from the children regarding the completed activities.
A huge thank you to our team of volunteers and our founders for the work done! At GiraCatavento, we are even more motivated to continue this work!
