Fostering Faith, Friendship and a Love of Learning at Xavier Catholic College, Ballina

Xavier Catholic College, Ballina, students are making a difference in the learning experience of students at Our Lady of Fatima High School, Turiscai, Timor-Leste. (31 August 2023)

Since 2019, Xavier Catholic College, Ballina, has embarked on a unique social justice cause with a Sister-School Memorandum of Understanding with Our Lady of Fatima High School, Turiscai, in Timor-Leste. This ongoing relationship across borders and cultural differences has provided amazing opportunities for students from both schools to develop mutual understanding, cultural awareness and shared faith.

Xavier Catholic College has been supporting the remote school community through fundraising and an Immersion Program. A group of senior students and staff returned from a trip to the community in July this year. The group was warmly welcomed into the school, and they could see how their fundraising efforts had helped set up a computer lab at the school. 

‘The students were all incredibly excited about the computer room, and we were surprised by being invited to an unveiling ceremony - the Xavier Catholic College Ballina School crest had been carefully embedded into the wall outside the computer lab,’ said Leader of Creative Arts Leanne Broadly.

While in Timor, the Xavier students were invited to lunch at the Presidential Palace with the President of Timor-Leste, His Excellency Dr Jose Ramos-Horta, who was delighted to hear about the sister school connection and was very appreciative of the friendship and financial support from Xavier College. 

The students also had the unique opportunity to have a round table discussion with the Education Minister of Timor-Leste and share what they hoped to achieve. While Xavier College helped fund the new computer lab, the school did not have internet access due to its remote location. The outcome of this meeting is a credit to the school, with the Timorese Government agreeing to a pilot program to fast-track internet access for students of Our Lady of Fatima High School. This will allow Xavier students to continue to support the Our Lady of Fatima High School students through an inter-school Zoom English conversation program. This is a first for Timor-Leste.

On Thursday, 31 August, the President of Timor, the Cardinal of Timor, and the Timorese Minister for Education made the trip to Turiscai to launch this program. The students at Xavier were able to Zoom with the students from Our Lady of Fatima High School using the computer classroom they helped to fund.

‘I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit Timor Leste on the school Immersion and to meet in person the President of Timor Leste and hear his personal opinions and experiences in Timor and the ongoing relations between Timor and Australia. This has been able to continue with our Zoom call to the president when he visited our sister school in Turiscai this week.  Our connection to Turiscai and our advocacy has made a real difference as it has allowed that community to be seen and to be visible to the Government of Timor, and it is amazing to see how our involvement and friendship in Turiscai is really making a difference in the lives of students there,’ said Year 12 student Landon.

Congratulations to the students and staff on this achievement and ongoing commitment to support the Our Lady of Fatima High School community.