JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste and CARE Celebrate the International Day of Rural Women in Atsabe

Ermera, 19 October, 2023 – Celebrating the International Day of Rural Women, Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste, H.E. Kimura Tetsuya, participated in a women’s leadership event organized by CARE in Atsabe, Ermera on 19^th October. The event included horticulture market development and leadership activities for remote rural female farmers and was attended by H.E. Elvina de Sousa Carvalho, the Secretary State for Equality, Mr. Eusebio Salsinha, the President of Municipal Authority of Ermera, and Ms. Yeni Pereira, the Human Resources Director of CARE International in Timor-Leste.

Since 2020, the Government of Japan has been funding the “Atsabe Rural Development Project for Improvement of Agricultural Water Supply System in Ermera District (HAFORSA 2)” Project with a project value of approximately 1 million USD. The HAFORSA 2 project aims to increase water availability in drought-prone areas by building water tanks and drip irrigation systems to help small-scale farmers increase their horticultural production throughout the year. Prior to the establishment of the water systems, the project collaborated with 12 local farmers groups to plan a sustainable maintenance mechanism for the water systems. Gender equality is embedded throughout all components of the project – for example these farmers groups have an equal number of men and women in each group. The project offers female farmers the opportunity to receive training in public speaking, enabling them to better engage and lead communal decision making processes. Additionally, activities to engage men and boys to promote gender equality, disrupt negative gender norms, and reduce gender-based violence complement these activities. This approach has been shown to be a crucial intervention to enabling men and boys to become allies in developing women’s leadership in the community.

H.E. Kimura Tetsuya, the Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste said, “Today is the celebration of International Day of Rural Women. Women in Timor-Leste have been struggling with inequalities in economic situation, participation in decision making, education, labor balance and so on. In order to tackle these difficulties, Japan has been providing support to Timorese women in health, nutrition and education, including the HAFORSA 2 project”.

Ms. Yeni Pereira, the Human Resources Director of CARE International in Timor-Leste said, “In addition to elevating rural women’s voice and providing opportunities for women’s leadership within local decision-making structures, CARE’s research shows that engaging men and boys from the start in such activities is key to the long term success of the project. Today is a celebration of the accomplishments and examples of ‘best practice’ coming from the project, which can be scaled and replicated in all rural, agricultural communities in the country”.

Farmers who participate in the project were also invited to sell their horticultural products during the event, which aims to develop linkages to other markets. Some farmers groups already sell their produce to local schools as part of the school feeding program, while others sell vegetables in local markets. The HAFORSA 2 project is in its third year and will operate until February 2024. The Government of Japan and CARE are committed to supporting communities to deliver positive change beyond the project implementation period.

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KOMUNIKADU IMPRENSA KONJUNTA

Embaixador Japaun ba Timor-Leste no CARE selebra Loron Mundiál Feto Rural iha Atsabe

Ermera, 19 Otubru, 2023 – Ba selebrasaun Loron Mundiál Feto Rural, Embaixador Japaun ba Timor-Leste, Sua Excia. Kimura Tetsuya, partisipa iha eventu lideransa feto organiza husi CARE iha Atsabe, Ermera iha loron 19 Otubru. Eventu ida ne’e inklui dezenvolvimentu merkadu ba hortikultura no atividade lideransa ba feto toos-nain rural sira no hetan partisipasaun husi Sua Excia. Elvina de Sousa Carvalho, Sekretaria Estadu ba Igualdade, Sr. Eusebio Salsinha, Prezidente Autoridade Munisipiu Ermera, no Sra. Yeni Pereira, Diretora Rekursu Umanu ba CARE International iha Timor-Leste.

Dezde 2020, Governu Japaun fó suporta fundus ba projetu “Hasa’e Fornesimentu Sistema Be’e ba Agrikultura iha Atsabe (HAFORSA 2)” ho valor
pur volta 1 millaun dolar Amerikanu. Projetu HAFORSA 2 iha objetivu atu hasa’e disponibilidade bee iha area sira ne’ebé hasoru bailoro ho durasaun naruk liu husi estabelese tanke bee no sistema irigasaun bee-turuk atu ajuda toos-nain sira hasa’e sira nia produsaun agrikultura iha tinan ida tomak. Antes projetu ne’e estabelese sistema bee hirak ne’e, projetu ne’e kolabora ho grupu toos-nain lokal hamutuk 12 atu halo planu ba mekanismu manutensaun sustentavel ba sistema bee sira ne’e. Igualdade jéneru hatuur iha komponente hotu husi projetu ne’e – hanesan ezemplu ida, grupu toos-nain sira ne’e iha numeru feto no mane ne’ebé igual iha kada grupu. Projetu ida ne’e oferese feto toos-nain sira oportunidade atu hetan formasaun konaba koalia iha públiku, no ida ne’e ajuda tebes sira hodi envolve an no lidera prosesu foti desizaun komunitáriu. Adisionalmente, atividade sira atu envolve mane no labarik mane atu promove igualdade jéneru, dezafia norma jéneru ne’ebé ladi’ak, no redus violénsia bazeia ba jéneru kompleta liu tan atividade sira ne’e. Aproximasaun ida ne’e sai hanesan intervensaun importante tebes atu loke dalan ba mane no labarik mane sira atu suporta dezenvolve feto nia lideransa iha komunidade nia leet.  

Sua Excia. Kimura Tetsuya, Embaixador Japaun ba Timor-Leste dehan, “Ohin loron, selebrasaun ba Loron Mundiál Feto Rural. Feto iha Timor-Leste hasoru hela dezafius barak liga ho dezigualdade iha situasaun ekonomia, partisipasaun iha foti desizaun, edukasaun, balansu iha servisu no seluk tan. Atu ita bele hakat liu difikuldade sira ne’e, Japaun fó ona suporta ba feto Timor iha area hanesan saúde, nutrisaun no edukasaun, inklui mos projetu HAFORSA 2”.

Sra. Yeni Pereira, Diretora Rekursu Umanu CARE International iha Timor-Leste dehan “Aleinde eleva feto rural sira nia lian no fornese oportunidade atu hasa’e lideransa feto iha estrutura foti desizaun komunitáriu, peskiza husi CARE hatudu katak envolve mane no labarik mane sira iha atividade projetu sai xave ba susesu longu-prazu projetu nian. Ohin loron sai mos selebrasaun ba susesu sira no ezemplu ba ‘pratika di’ak’ ne’ebé mak mai husi projetu ne’e, ne’ebé mak bele sai ezemplu ida atu bele halo tuir ho eskala boot iha komunidade toos-nain sira iha rai-laran”.

Toos-nain sira ne’ebé mak partisipa iha projetu ne’e mos partisipa hotu iha eventu hodi faan sira nia produtu hortikultura, ne’ebé mak ho objetivu atu kria ligasaun ho merkadu seluk. Toos-nain balun fan ona sira nia produtu sira iha eskola lokal hanesan parte ida ba programa merenda eskolár no balun faan iha merkadu lokal. Projetu HAFORSA 2 agora dadaun iha tinan datoluk no sei implementa too Fevereiru 2024. Governu Japaun no CARE iha komprimisiu atu suporta komunidade sira lori mudansa pozitivu liu periudu implementasaun projetu.

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