DILI, 27/04/2017 – The Human Capital Development Fund (FDCH) has organised a farewell ceremony to the new fellows, children of Timorese Veterans. There are 52 fellows, 10 of which will study Veterinary Medicine at the Udayana Bali University (UNUD), while 42 of them are enrolled in different engineering courses at the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya (ITS), for a first degree diploma (licenciatura).
The Fellows farewell party took place at the main hall of the Ministry of Defence in Fatuhada, being attended by the Deputy Head of the Board of the Human Capital Development Fund (CA-FDCH), who is also the present Coordinator Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education as well, Mr. António da Conceição, the permanent members of the Board (CA-FDCH), i.e. the Minister of Justice, Mr. Ivo Valente, the Minister of Petroleum and Minister Resources, Mr. Alfredo Pires, the Executive Secretary for FDCH, Isménio Martins da Silva and other guests, as the Head of the Fellows Support Office at the Ministry of Education, Mr. Aquilis Salvador Guterres, The Director General for Veterinary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAP), Antonino do Carmo, Fellows’ parents, FDCH Directors among others.
In his opening speech, António da Conceição, Deputy Head of the Board, representing the Head of the Board to the FDCH, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, requested the fellow students to reaffirm their parents’ spirit when they fought for the liberation of the nation.
«You are the children of the former soldiers, the veterans of our country liberation! Veterans’ children must be tenacious and reaffirm the same spirit their parents lived upon in the past, you should therefore make a compromise to study hard, you are leaving as students but you must come back as qualified professionals,» Mr. António da Conceição claimed.
The Minister of Education has asked all the Fellows to reaffirm their Timorese identity, while participating in the society.
FDCH Executive Secretary, Mr. Isménio Martins da Silva, added that these Fellows were selected upon sitting the Tes Potensial Akademi(TPA), organised by Udayana Bali University (UNUD) and the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabya (ITS) directly, and also based on a selection interview conducted by a jury comprised of two members of both Indonesian Universities, a member from FDCH-MPIE Secretariat, a member from the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) and also a member from the Ministry of Education (MoE).
The Executive Secretary to FDCH, Mr. Isménio Martins, has also asked the parents to continue supporting their children, offering them moral strength, so that they could study better, complete their studies and come back to Timor-Leste to play their own role in the development process of the country.
«As soon as you commence your study course, you must communicate your grades to FDCH every six months. You should also share this information with your parents so that they are aware of your own value,» FDCH’s Executive Secretary referred.
Mr. Nelson Ximenes, parents’ representative, also had a chance to address the students, having shown his appreciation for the scholarship programme that the Government offers to their children and requesting the Fellows to study hard so that at the end they could be back fully prepared to add on to Timor-Leste development, a country built on blood and suffering, on his own words: «All of you who are departing now should work hard to acquire new skills, as in the past we were fighting, there was nobody who could teach us, we would simply die for free, pouring blood or burying one of ours from place to place, fighting did not help us exactly, however, today’s nation is our contribution to you all. You are also veterans, your children will also be veterans,» Nelson confessed to the students.
The fellows’ representative, Agostino Ramos, promised that all of them would be successful in their studies and, once completed, they would bring back positive things to add on to the development of this still recent nation.
«Please, believe that we will bring good things with us and we will live upon the same spirit that the liberation veterans have always carried with them for their desire for independence; as your children and in respect of your role and contribution to our country, we will contribute positively to our beloved land,» a remark of this student who is living to study engineering at ITS, Surabaya.
Agostino has also thanked the opportunity, showing proud to be part of the scholarship programme, which offers the Veterans’ children the opportunity to study abroad: «We would like to thank you for your great vision and your sense of gratitude by offering the children of the country’s Veterans the opportunity to study abroad.»
Fellows who are enrolled in engineering courses are assigned to the following areas: Maths, Mechanical Engineering, Electric Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Material and Metallurgical Engineering, Industrial Design, Urban and regional Planning, Naval Construction Engineering. (Media FDCH)