AusAID Minister Counsellor for Indonesia, Jacqui De Lacy visited East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on 10 – 12 February 2010 to get a closer look at Australia’s development partnership in the provinnce. This is her first field visit after being posted to Indonesia. She was accompanied by Victoria Coakley, AusAID’s Councellor for Governance and Policy Coordination and Danielle Heinecke, Director of Indonesia Policy and Analysis from Canberra, Australia.

Mrs De Lacy and her team visited poor communities in the village of Fafinesu-A and Nibaaf at Kefamenanu, in Timur Tengah Utara district, as well as Tuapanaf village at Takari in the district of Kupang to see AusAID’s work first hand.

The Minister Counsellor also had the opportunity to meet with the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara, Mr Frans Lebu Raya at his residence. In the meeting, the Governor valued the 25 years of partnership between Australia and  the Government of East Nusa Tenggara. This partnership reflects a strong commitment between the two governments to reduce poverty and improve people’s wellbeing in the region.

“We thank and certainly welcome Mrs De Lacy and her team to East Nusa Tenggara. Australia has not only been a good neighbour but also a friend and family to us,” the Governor said. “Our partnership has helped improve the life of many people in the province.”

In the meeting with the Governor, Mrs De Lacy reiterrated Australia’s commitment to East Nusa Tenggara. AusAID’s cooperation with the province includes support for governance, decentralisation, health, education and food security.

We are honoured to have you in Fafinesu!

When Mrs De Lacy and her team arrived at Fafinesu village, they were welcomed with a traditional dance by the villagers. Traditionally, the dance is performed for a king and queen.

“ She is our queen today, so we are more than happy to perform our traditional dance for her to express our great gratitude,” said Johanis Naimnule-head of Fafinesu. The villagers also presented the women with traditional clothing.

“Frankly speaking, we have never had VIPs visiting our village, and more surprisingly they are all women!” said one of the women in the crowd.

There were gongs, drums and singing of the local language and style (natoni) filling the air with the festive spirit before tasty lunch was served with a local menu and flavour.

Mrs De Lacy and her team later had a chance to chat with locals. It was a great way to witness a lively discussion that was dominated by women.

“Today I can express my idea in public and I’m very confident in doing so. This is because I know that as a woman I can do it and now I know how to do it properly. I’ve been participating in the saving and lending group for almost two years and in the group I learnt how to manage my harvest and improve my family income. For this, I thank Australia for helping us!” declared Mama Yakoba, one of the UBSP members.

“Before joining the saving and lending group, I used to go to money lenders to borrow money for my children’s education and health. When I failed to return the money in time,  the lenders would come and beat me. Now I have savings and I’m able to manage it based on my family’s priorities,” added another woman during the discussion.

The community and women’s group of Fafinesu are beneficiaries of an AusAID funded program called ANTARA (Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy). The program commenced in September 2007 and has since assisted 4,500 farming families (40% women) in 35 villages.

After the discussion, Mrs De Lacy and her team went to a nearby farm to look at an integrated farming system. Such farming systems encourages farmers to conserve soil and water through terracing and to change agriculture systems from shifted cultivation to sedentary farming.

Fish pond for food security and nutrition in Nibaaf

From Fafinesu the team travelled to Nibaaf village in Noemuti Sub District, where they enjoyed a demonstration of fish harvesting, directly from community ponds.

“You may not believe that it is rare for us having meat or fish with our meals. We only eat them when we have big parties, maybe  once or twice a year!” said Mama Yakoba. “Now we work in groups and enjoy our fish ponds. We can now provide nutricious food for our children.”

The head of the village-Anton Neko also added that the nutritional status of children in his village has slowly improved during the year, based on the results of a survey conducted in 2009. Measurements taken in November 2008 and then later in November 2009 showed that out of 903 children under five, those categorised as suffering from severe malnutrition decreased from 14% to 11%, while those who were malnourished decreased from 25% to 16%. Children with healthy nutrition levels also improved from 61% to 73%. Parent’s improved knowledge of how to prepare healthy food and promote good nutritional values to children has contributed to bringing about positive change in the nutritional status of children in the village.

ANTARA has funded this activity since April 2008 to improve household food security through increased income and improved access to food. To ensure its sustainability, the activity has a strong link with PNPM (National Government Program for Community Empowerment). “We have been providing a conditional cash transfer and technical support for food security through this activity in this community” said a PNPM official [MS1].

“We are happy that our village was selected for the program. We feel absolutely honored!” said a young mother who was carying her eleven-month old baby.

Dinner with Head of District of TTS and visit to Tuapanaf

“We have been development partners for many years.”, said the Head of District of  Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) Ir. Paul V. R Mella. MSi.  “It is a great honour to have you here with us tonight” he added.

The bupati made a short presentation about AusAID’s on-going support for his district. “We worked together in various sectors such as education, health, water & sanitation and most importantly in the governance sector through ANTARA in supporting our Public Finance Management.” he explained.

Mrs De Lacy is also happy about the ongoing partnership with the local government and will continue the partnership at both the provincial and district level through a new program called the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Decentralization (AIPD) starting in June 2010.

The following morning, before driving back to Kupang, the team visited Tuapanaf village in Kupang district, where there’s a Smallholder Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI) pillot project . SADI helps farmers of Tuapanaf and Oebola to plant maize and harvest cattle through innovations such as maize intesificaiton, corn post harvest technology, livestock ownership and improved husbandry.

Sampai bertemu lagi! (until we meet again!)

It was a very brief visit to have a comprehensive insight into the life of rural West Timorese, but the people were delighted to meet with Mrs De Lacy and her team in person.

“It is great to see what happens in the field. The trip helps me understand our work better,” said Mrs De Lacy on her way back to Jakarta.

“I feel like I have a new energy and perspective to bring back to the Canberra end. I reckon five days in-country equals one year in learning here” said  Mrs Heinecke.

Until we meet again! Sampai Jumpa!

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Sent by: Syalomi Natalia, Communications Officer – Australia-Nusa Tenggara Assistance for Regional Autonomy (ANTARA)

Photos by: Sugeng Prayudi