CHANGE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN IN TIMOR-LESTE
THROUGH THE POWER OF EDUCATION
Our Mission
Educating The Future aims to empower members of impoverished communities to achieve an improved quality of life through an education. By 2025, Educating The Future aims to have built 12 preschools and educated 2000 children.
We Are Educating The Future
Educating The Future is an accredited Australian not-for-profit working to transform the lives of children in Timor-Leste. We address an urgent underfunded pre-school education gap, are an efficient organisation donating 93% of all expenses to programs and develop partnerships with local organisations and people.
Start a Fundraiser
Every classroom we build requires our communities support and investment. $25,000 AUD can be used to educate 50 children per year. Start your crowdfunding campaign with your community to make this a reality!
Join Our Team
Our volunteer based in Australia and Timor-Leste comprises of over 40 young and diverse leaders from a range of academic and professional backgrounds. Anyone is welcome to apply.
Our Story
Founded in 2016, our not-for-profit has a rich history of engaging young Australian and Timorese people to build 3 pre-schools and educate 300 children.
Who We Are
Educating The Future is an Australian registered not-for-profit operating at a grassroots level supported by community and corporate. Our organisation seeks to facilitate relief from poverty and generational disadvantage by providing access to preschool education. Since becoming a registered charity in 2016, Educating The Future has established a volunteer team of students and an expert advisory panel, who are all committed to improving the quality of education in Timor-Leste.
Funds raised by Educating The Future in Australia, enable the construction of preschool infrastructure in regional and in-need areas of Timor-Leste as well as the facilitation of in-country partnerships and capacity building. By investing in youth through the power of education, Educating The Future is seeking to transform the lives of disadvantaged children in Timor-Leste.
The organisation is accountable to the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC), the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian and Timorese communities it serves.
What We Do
Educating The Future fundraises in Australia to enact transformative social change projects alongside the Timorese Government in Timor-Leste. We hold a unique partnership with the Timorese Government's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MEJD) through a formal Memorandum of Understanding using a collaborative approach to increase access to quality education in rural and remote areas of the nation.
Educating The Future fundraises through a number of events, DFAT funding, crowdsourced donations and grants, coordinated by the volunteer base in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The MEJD identifies ‘in- need’ sites throughout Timor-Leste and Educating The Future collaborates directly with the communities and the MEJD to develop preschool infrastructure projects. This model ensures that Educating The Future is operating from locally-identified areas of focus, without ‘western goggles’, and is creating lasting change through collaboration, local ownership and drive.
Why We Do It
Pre school education is shown to be one of the most effective investments for an individual, community and society. In 1999, 95% of preschool infrastructure was destroyed in Timor-Leste
The Timorese Government has prioritised preschool education as the fundamental scaffolding upon which the nation’s education system can build upon. Timor-Leste has an illiteracy rate of 39.9% and a Grade 1 fail rate of over 23%.
With a median age of 18.9 years, it is evident that preschool education is imperative for Timor-Leste’s development. Children in rural and remote areas of the nation seldom have access to quality education. With a focus on preschool education, Educating The Future can build capacity in Timor-Leste and improve the quality of life for countless children.
