w i d o w   s u p p o r t

Widows form perhaps the most socially and economically disadvantaged group in East Timor. With no income and large, young families to support, day to day survival is a real challenge for these women and their families.

Some are widows because their husbands were killed in the post Referendum violence of 1999. Others are widowed because their husbands died of illness. Lolotoe has a large number of widows for both these reasons.

Many widows find it very difficult to make ends meet. In fact, some are not able to send their children to school because they are unable to pay school fees or cloth their children. Their main concern everyday is to feed their children; they spend many hours working on their small plots of land.

With financial support, widows will be able to pay their children’s school fees, buy necessary school items as well as cloth their children while they attend school.

Amartiya Sen, recipient of the Nobel Peace prize for his work on developmental economics, found that supporting a woman in a developing community not only supports that woman and her family but the wider community too.