Victoria Universitys

Co-operation with the

Universidade National Timor
Loro Sae Challenges &
Opportunities with Health
Education in Community
Development

Dr HELEN M HILL,
School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University
Presentation to University of New South Wales Health &
Development Research Forum 11th June 2010, UNSW, Sydney

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VUs History of
involvement with Timor
Co-Hosted Conference with the CNRT April 1999
Hosted CNRT Office for the Emergency in Melbourne
1999, Now a Consulate at the Queen Street Campus
Dr Jose Ramos Horta Visiting Professor 2001-2004
Delegation to observe the elections in 2001
Delegation to celebration of independence 2002
Memorandum of Understanding with DIT
an Honorary Doctorate conferred on President
Xanana Gusmo in April 2003
Offer by SSS to teach Community Development led to
UNTL opening its own Department
Delegation from SSS discusses co-operation with the
Department, the Joint Resource Centre for Community
Development is suggested
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri accepts an invitation to
open the conference Co-operating with Timor-Leste

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OCTOBER 1999 VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
EAST TIMOR WORKING GROUP FOUNDED
at the VU TABLE AT A DINNER TO
WELCOME XANANA GUSMAO TO
MELBOURNE FOR THE FIRST TIME

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Department 2000 Dr Helen Hill spends her Study Leave
in Timor Leste, based at the National
of Research Centre (CNIC)

Community
The National University of Timor-Loro Sae
re-opens in November 2000
Development 2001 VU offers to teach some of its
Community Development subjects to
at UNTL
students in Dili with half-finished degrees.
Rector Armindo Maia and Cabinet Member
Fr Filomeno Jacob decide to open a
Department of Community Development at
the UNTL and give responsibility to Valentin
Ximenes, head of FISIPOL. Maia becomes
Minister of Education.
Valentin Ximenes appoints Jose da Costa
Magno and Zacarias da Costa as Lecturers
September 2002 - First students enrolled in
Community Development at UNTL.

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Zacarias da Costa with Aurelio Guterres, Vice-Rector
(International Co-operation) at UNTL Campus Central 2006

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VU becomes involved
June 2004 Dr Helen Hill takes a Study Tour of students to
Timor Leste, they hold a joint class with the stuents or the
Community Development Department .
A delegation of Helen Hill, Dr Russell Wright and Dr Balthasar
Kehi visit UNTL with the idea of engaging in some joint
research,
Valentim Ximenes and Aurelio Guterres who suggests the idea
of a joint Centre for the Studies of Community Development
and joint work on curriculum development.
Dr Aurelio Guterres visits Melbourne in June 2005 for the Co-
operating with Timor-Leste conference, he stresses the
importance of the project for helping Timor develop its
curriculum guidelines in Higher Education.

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What is
Community
Development?

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Paulo Freire of Brazil, a key theorist of
Community Development

In the Banking concept of education, the

scope of action allowed the students
extends as far as receiving, filing and
storing the deposits (p. 53).

Liberating education consists in acts of

cognition, not transferals of information.
Problem-posing education rejects
communiqus and embodies
communication. It tales place through
dialogue (p.60).

Liberation is praxis the action and

reflection of men and women upon their
world in order to transform it (p. 60)

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Five types of
capital needed
for Sustainable
Development
Jules Pretty of University of Essex

Natural
Social
Human
Physical
Financial
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Natural Capital
natures goods and services

Food, wood and fibre,

water regulation and supply,
waste assimilation,
decomposition and treatment,
nutrient cycling and fixation,
soil formation,
biological control of pests,
climate regulation,
wildlife habitats,
storm protection and flood
control, pollination,
recreation and leisure,
carbon sequestration.

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 Social Capital
the cohesiveness of people and societies

Relations of trust that

lubricate
co-operation,

common rules, norms and

sanctions for behaviour,

reciprocity and exchanges,

connectedness and social

institutions.

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 Human Capital
Health, nutritional and educational status of
individuals

Stock of health,
nutrition, education,
skills and knowledge
of individuals,
access to services
that provide these
(schools, health
services, adult
training),
the way individuals
interact with
productive
technologies

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Physical Capital
Local infrastructure

roads and bridges,

energy supplies,
communications,
housing and other
buildings,
markets,
transport (road, sea and
air),
land

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Financial
Capital

Savings, access to
credit, pensions,
remittances, welfare
payments, grants and
subsidies.

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Community
Joint Curricula -
Adult and Community

Development
Education
Economics and Political

course at
Economy
Community Development

UNTL
Jose Magno and Zacarias da
Costa CD Lecturers enrolling
students at Caicoli Campus
and the Environment
Sustainable Agriculture
Gender & Development
Health policy and strategy
Human Rights and
Development
Management in NGOs
Political Philosophy and
Politics
Research Methodology
Technology and
Development
Information,
Communications and
Development

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Basic Theory and Practice of Community
Development
subjects in Adult and Community Education
the Introduction to Sociology (and

Community
Anthropology) Urban and Rural
Sociology
Development Politics and Political Philosophy

Course
Economics and Political Economy
History (Timorese and World
History)
Research Methods
Portuguese
English
Tetum
Philosophy and Morals

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Specialised Social and Cultural Change in
Asia and the Pacific
subjects in (Comparative Sociology)

the
Communications and
Development
Community Conflict Resolution/Conflict
Management
Development Environment and Development
course

Gender and Development
Health and Development
Human Rights and Development
Regional and International
Organizations and Policy
Sustainable agriculture
Technology and Development
Youth and Development

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Seven Timorese spend three
months at VU on Australian
Leadership Awards - 2007
The Australian Leadership
Awardees included the Dean
of the Faculty of Social and
Political Sciences Jose da
Costa Magno, and the Head of
the Department of Community
Development, Zacarias da
Costa, they looked at
Curriciculum Development and
gave some lectures at VU.

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Theories of Higher Education
Theories about what happens in teaching and learning in
Higher Education fall into two general categories

1. Transmissive model

2. Transactional/ Constructivist model

Over the last three decades or so, in most countries, there

has been a shift from the first to the second.

BUT at the same time, more students are coming in to higher

education who are less prepared for using the higher
order skills needed.
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Levels of intellectual behaviour in the
cognitive domain (Benjamin Bloom et al).

evaluate

synthesise
(create/build)
analyse
(structure/elements)
apply (use)
understand
recall data

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Updated version of Blooms Taxonomy

Old

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The Experiential learning
cycle
David Kolb observed in Freires Action-
Reflection process a cycle, and
identified four different stages in it:

1. Concrete Experience, followed by

2. Reflective Observation, then the
formation of
3. Abstract Conceptualizations before
finally conducting
4. Active Experimentation to test out the
newly developed principles.

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 David Kolbs Learning Cycle from
Experiential Learning: Experience as the
Source of Learning and Development,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1984

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Field work in the Community
Development Department at UNTL

Alex Gusmo, former VU

Foundation scholarship
student returned to Timor
initially as CEO of Timor Aid.
He now co-ordinates
fieldwork for students and
has done a great deal of
research training with
lecturers. Here he shows his
participatory teaching style
in the classroom during a
project planning subject.

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Ministry of Health Policy
Documents The Ministry of Health has
produced a number of policy
documents with relevance to
non-formal education:-
Intersectoral Action Framework
for Wellbeing and Health (A
framework for Action)
National Health Promotion
Strategy 2004-20010
National Nutrition Strategy
National Malaria Strategy
National Immunization Strategy
National Reproductive Health
Strategy 2004-2015

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Topics in the Health Modules

Systems of the Human Body (circulatory, respiratory,

digestive, reproductive etc. )
Healthy behaviours associated with these, (food,
exercise, rest, cleanliness, fresh air etc.) Why smoking
is bad
The Demographic transition and population issues
The history, theory and practice of primary health care
in Timor-Leste
Health in the Millennium Development Goals and the
Human Development Index

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Transmissible Diseases
Malaria
Dengue Fever
TB

How they are caused, problems with various types of

treatment and community attitudes. How they can be
prevented

What sort of campaigns against Malaria and Dengue

fever are effective?

Why does TB treatment often fail?

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Non-transmissible diseases

Respiratory tract ailments (caused by cooking over open fires)

Anemia
Wasting and stunting and nutritional problems generally
Tooth decay and its prevention
Diabetes

Emphasis is on prevention and how the community can educate

its members to avoid them. Food and nutrition is a huge issue
which will also be covered in other modules.

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Maternal and Child Health

The Safe Motherhood approach

Importance of births being attended by trained people.
Community birthing centres etc.

Child survival strategies, (weighing and measuring of babies)

and education of parents
Importance of breast-feeding and good weaning foods

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HIV-Aids prevention

Partof a general coverage of Reproductive Health

and training students to engage in peer education

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Environmental Health
Building Composting toilets

Rubbish recycling

Keeping small animals (chickens, pigs)

Home garden and kitchen management

Healthy house design

Awareness of rainwater harvesting, water tanks etc.

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 MA Graduates in ICD
In February 2008 Ego Lemos,
founder of Permaculture,and the
Sustainable Agriculture Network
HASATIL, completed his Masters
degree in International Community
Development . His thesis is on
food security by means of food
sovereignty, his research
documents the views of farmers
on a number of issues including
medicinal plants, of which Ego
and his mother are expert. He will
be helping the Department with its
curriculum development work.

Fellow Postgraduate student

Ismenio Martins da Silva is now an
advisor to the Secretary of State
for Vocational Training.

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Bringing together Theory
and Practice
Part of the philosophy of the Department is to bring together
theory and practice.

It is hoped that the Health and Development Units will give

students a better understanding of Development policies in
general as health is used as one of the indicators of human
development

Students will do a Red Cross First Aid course and do field work
with organizations working in diverse fields, e.g. nutrition and
food production, malaria prevention, HIV Aids prevention,

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Training for Lecturers at UNTL

In order to help Lecturers prepare

for the introduction of the new
curriculum a course on Teaching
and Learning in Higher Education
was held in October 2008. It was
conducted every morning for two
weeks just before the beginning of
the new Semester by Dr Helen Hill,
with the assistance of Zacarias da
Costa (who completed Certifcate
IV in Traning and Assessment
while in Australia on his
Australian Leadership Award).
Lecturers from the Education and
Engineering Faculites took part as
well as those from FASPOL

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Transforming Timor-Leste for
Sustainable Development,
Human Rights and Peace
Conference July 2009 The new Ministry of
Foreign Affairs building
where the joint VU-UNTL
Conference Transforming
Timor-Leste for
Sustainable Development,
Human Rights and Peace
was held held 6th and 7th
July 2009.
It had a solid health stream
and a keynote address by
Dr Nelson Martins, Minister
for Health. .

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