A future Marist school for the needy people of Lautém, Timor Leste
On February 25, 2019, a simple ceremony was held in the shade of a stand of trees to mark the official transfer of land to the Marist Brothers of Bacau (Marist Foundation in East Timor) for the future construction of a primary and secondary school in the District of Lautém.
The ceremony was attended by the Bishop, Dom Basílio Nascimento, Fr. Joaquim da Silva, parish priest of Lautém, and Brothers: Peter Corr (president of the Catholic Teachers’ College in Baucau), Imanoel Soares and João Bautista Pereira, along with representatives of the local community (Suco Malailada – Lautém), the original land-owners and various guests.
After months of searching, conversations with various heads of sub-districts and visits to a number of areas in the District of Lautém, the Marist Brothers have succeeded in finding and receiving at no cost a large piece of land, some 90,000 m2, for the construction of a school. This future educational centre is an integral part of the missionary project of the Province of Australia.
The land was given by Fernando da Costa Cabral and Francisco Fernandes Xavier, both simple, poor men, who want to contribute to a wider access to education in their District. In exchange for the gift they want the Marists to improve education in the region, offering quality teaching, human and religious formation, open to receiving many poor children and young people, in line with the charism of St Marcellin Champagnat.
Those giving the land and representatives of the local community who were present hope that the new Marist school will be an important means in the human and social development of their people who currently lack basic necessities, including the opportunity for a good education.