Timor Leste is a young country having gained independence in 2002. As a young country it has many challenges, specifically how to finance the education of a growing population.
Mount St. Benedict is a Good Samaritan Girls College with a strong association with Sister Rita and the Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Railaco.
In June two teachers from MSB, Donna Dempsey and Anita Howard travelled to Railaco one hour south of Dili, to run an Art Program with students. What they found was a classroom of 51 students, crowded into a room with blank concrete walls and no resources. It was also soon evident that most of the students had never experienced any form of painting with brushes. They were overwhelmed and excited with the opportunity to express themselves with a range of art materials.
Mount St. Benedict is honoured to exhibit works from this community at Railaco, Timor Leste, together with artworks created by students and members of the College Community.
The exhibition will be held on Monday the 22nd October 2012 at the College, starting at 7 pm. All artworks will be available for sale on the evening with proceeds going to buy resources for the Our Lady of Lourdes Community at Railaco. Entry is by donation. Please RSVP your attendance via the College Website: www.msb.nsw.edu.au/ArtExhibition
In January Anita Howard travelled with two other teachers to Same in Timor Leste sponsored by Broken Bay and Parramatta diocese. Through the East Timor Teacher Placement Program, teachers from the surrounding area attended an eight day English language workshop.
“I returned in February from Timor Leste with memories of teachers desperate for professional development and resources for their students. After my experience with Donna in June at Our Lady of Lourdes Community at Railaco my awareness of the educational needs in Timor Leste has intensified. I hope that with the sale of artworks at this exhibition, some much needed resources can be purchased.” Anita
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