Additional incomes help rural communities of Timor-Leste during the pandemic
To assist the economic recovery, the ILO with support from its social partners in Timor-Leste support rural communities to survive the COVID-19 pandemic by providing direct employment opportunities.
The local community in Wenunu and Sabuli, Metinaro, Dili Municipality of Timor-Leste has been able to improve their living conditions and better support their families due to additional incomes they get from the community-based road maintenance.
Domingas Gusmão To date, a total of 84 workers, of whom half of them are women, have given a 6-month short-term employment for maintaining the rural roads from October 2020 to March 2021.
The money I get from this work is for my son. He is trying to find a job and he needs to prepare documents for that."
Domingas Gusmão, a 56-year-old single mother of two
One of the workers from the community is Domingas Gusmão, a 56-year-old single mother of two. She is now able to earn an additional income of USD 25 per week to maintain rural roads by cleaning the road’s drain, cutting grass on road surface, removing small land-slides and filling potholes.
“The money I get from this work is for my son. He is trying to find a job and he needs to prepare documents for that,” told Domingas who is also a farmer and a kiosk owner selling sweets and snacks at one of the primary schools in Metinaro. Her son just graduated from computer science major at the National University of Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL).
“I wish this programme continues as the additional income really helps my family,” she added.
Andre dos Santos
The farming is only for our self-consumption; while the palm wine business is seasonal. Thus, I am grateful to get this kind of employment opportunity as the money that I get from this project is used to buy food for my family."
Andre dos Santos, a 60- year-old father of five children
Similarly, Andre dos Santos, a 60- year-old father of five children, are now able to provide adequate food for his family. As a farmer and a producer of traditional palm wine, he sometimes struggles to maintain a fixed income.
“The farming is only for our self-consumption; while the palm wine business is seasonal. Thus, I am grateful to get this kind of employment opportunity as the money that I get from this project is used to buy food for my family,” he shared.
Understanding the importance of additional incomes for the local community of Wenunu and Sabuli, Lindalva Maria Pinto Filipe, Director of Nevizo Unipessoal Lda who manages this programme in Metinaro, Dili Municipality, said that the recruitment process has been conducted through local authorities and youth leaders.
“Local authorities and leaders help us connecting and selecting the workers while ensuring that everybody is given an equal chance. This programme has not only benefit the community but also the contractor,” she said.
This ILO’s recovery programme covers 12 municipalities in Timor-Leste. As of 31 December 2020, 819 workers employed with 360 of them were women workers and 12 workers with disabilities, around 9,977 workdays created and USD 49,884 disbursed to the community as workers' wages.
This programme has also ensured that work procedures comply with the COVID-19 safety and health protocols. In March 2021, the programme will award contracts to continue routine maintenance for six months for additional 110 km of roads in order to reach the target of 1,850 workers by October 2021.
