Geelong-Viqueque Friendship Schools
"Developing social responsibility and connectedness with Timor Leste"
The 'Art for Timor' Committee is thrilled that so many Geelong locals are enjoying their visits to the Rachinger Gallery to view the 'Art for Timor' Art show. For those who are currently unable to visit the gallery space, long time committee member (and former GVFS President) Peter Cannon has provided us with a sneak... Continue Reading →
The flag of Timor-Leste A reminder as to why our friends and neighbour Timor Leste warrants our support. I have just read Crossing the Line by Kim McGrath. The plight and tragedy of the Timorese is graphically portrayed as the story of the oil boundary unfolds. The author focuses on the Timor Sea and our government’s negotiations... Continue Reading →
Sadly this year, the 18 Clonard students from Year 11 were unable to participate in our immersion program to explore East Timor and visit our sister school Uaimori in the Viqueque region. During the time at Clonard in the lead up to the planned immersion dates, the students organised several BBQs and cake/slice stalls to... Continue Reading →
In these difficult days I am pleased to pass on some good news. After a lot of hard work and dedication Simmy de Rosario and Afonso Soares have now successfully completed their Masters program at Deakin University. As a result of these studies they have both been successful in recent applications for Directors positions at the... Continue Reading →
Rosemany Nugent with Xanana Gusmão . Geelong West resident and former teacher Rosemary Nugent, felt privileged to accompany First Lady Dr Kirsty Sword Gusmão AO and nine others on a Study Tour to Timor-Leste in August 2019. There were many opportunities to witness the important role played by women in their community, including those associated... Continue Reading →
GVFS was again delighted to have financially supported the excellent teacher training programs conducted by Mary MacKillop Today. Its Literacy Team continued its training in Viqueque with a five-day program for 45 primary teachers from remote schools. The objective of the training was to understand the new curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education with a... Continue Reading →
The Geelong-Viqueque Friendship Schools Committee have been elated and truely humbled by the amount of individuals responding with interest to our donor call out. Obrigadu barak to everyone who has committed to sponsoring Timorese students from extremely low income families to further their primary and secondary education by committing to an annual payment of $100... Continue Reading →
David Whelan welcoming our newest GVFS Committee members . The 2019 Geelong Viqueque Friendship Schools Dinner was again a huge success. It was fantastic to see that the event was a complete sellout. A true testament to our greater community's dedication to our friends in Timor-Leste. To commence proceedings, we were delighted to officially welcome... Continue Reading →
Another outstanding initiative of Barry Hinton and his team in Atauro Island. Article below. Ekipa Tasi Mos Atauro, Timor-Leste, (Clean Ocean Team Atauro) is a community organization that aims to remove and record plastic pollution from the marine environment that surround the waters of Atauro and to assist the community in reducing their use of... Continue Reading →
Many of our partner schools will be familiar with the wonderful environmental/eco tourism programs of Barry Hinton from Barry's Place Atauro Island. Barry's sons Micky and Mardy have now taken the next step to eliminate single use plastic cups littering the Atauro Island. Below is their Change.Org article . Micky and Mardy Hinton, Youth Ambassadors... Continue Reading →
Geelong-Viqueque Friendship Schools 