Eskola Teknika Agrikola (ETA) Maliana
East Timor’s population of 1 million still largely rely upon agriculture as both the source of their own food and as a major source of income. Crops vary from staples such as rice, corn and sweet potato to cash crops for export such as coffee and vanilla. While other industries, such as tourism and oil offer opportunities to build Timor’s economy, for the majority of people, agricultural skills will remain of vital importance.Eskola Teknika Agrikola is an agricultural college in Maliana run by Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. ETA offers courses to students of the region to develop their agricultural skills, ranging from crop management and animal husbandry to small business and communication skills.
The Ministry placed a request with Palms Australia for a School Administration Advisor to work with ETA to improve the administration and management systems, provide training in basic computer skills, enhance communication with other agricultural schools and neighbouring communities, and assist with performance monitoring.
Marilyn Tangey
Palms Australia recruited Marilyn Tangey to fill the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Marilyn brings over 30 years experience in education in Victoria, including classroom Science and Mathematics teaching, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Applied Learning (VCAL) programs, regional program administration and mentoring and training teachers and principals.
Eskola Teknika Agrikola and Palms Australia believe Marilyn is very well suited to the task.
Marilyn’s placement costs are partially supported by AusAID’s volunteer fund, but Palms Australia needs your support to cover the remainder of the costs. Please use the donation link on the right hand side of this web-page to contribute.
Variety in volunteering
August 29, 2011
Isn’t diversity wonderful?
Trying a variety of approaches allows us to better assess the merits of any single approach.
As a small nimble organisation, Palms is able to respond to different circumstances in a way that many larger NGOs may not. In recent years, we have been nothing if not innovative, with Encounters, Reverse Immersions, Fair Trade and three-way partnerships providing examples of innovative ways to complement our core work.
As an organisation with access to Catholic networks in Australia and overseas, Palms offers effective development outcomes and volunteer support few medium-sized organisations could afford to offer.
Profiled here are three new placements which demonstrate how Palms is able to adapt and utilise its strong partnerships to continue meeting a variety of partner requests.

Carmel Lawry and Fran Hewitt, a nurse and teacher respectively, will be working with Holy Family Care Centre in Ofcolaco, South Africa. They will work with local staff to increase their capacity to properly support local orphaned and vulnerable children. The centre is run by the OLSH sisters who have previously hosted Palms’ volunteer Adriana Volona and have used Palms’ preparation courses for their own members working in South Africa.
Carmel and Fran will be supported by Palms’ Sydney staff, the strong OLSH network in Limpopo Province, Holy Family’s staff and, in case of a major incident requiring coordinated evacuation, Australian Volunteers International’s in-country officers.
Marilyn Tangey will bring over 30 years experience in education to her role with Eskola Teknika Agrikola (ETA) in Maliana in East Timor. She will build upon work done by previous Palms’ volunteer Ida Greenway, who helped the college prepare for the transition to a localised administration.
Marilyn will be supported by Palms’ Sydney staff, Palms’ Timor-Leste In-Country Coordinator Barry Hinton and her colleagues at ETA.
Fulvio Fabreschi, a financial planner, and Claire Michalanney, a nurse, will volunteer for Bushulo Health Centre near Awassa in Ethiopia. The centre provides treatment for cases of HIV/AIDS, malaria and malnutrition, in addition to major programs for obstetrics, paediatrics and emergency. The current drought in Ethiopia only places greater demands on Bushulo Health Centre.

Fulvio and Claire will be our first volunteers in Ethiopia and will play a vital role in continuing and improving the health care available to the people of Awassa region. They will be supported by Palms’ Sydney staff, the FMM sisters in Bushulo and the Catholic Dioceses of Awassa and Addis Ababa.
Unlike the Timor-Leste and South Africa placements profiled here, Fulvio and Claire’s placement will be ineligible for support under the AusAID Volunteer Fund meaning all costs must be covered by Palms and Busholo.*
Orientation Course #92

There is something very rewarding about watching such a group interact, sharing their own expertise while working through Palms’ cross-cultural program, refined over 50 years.
Write to Marilyn Tangey
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To donate to support Marilyn Tangey's placement in Maliana, please use the form below. If you would like to make a general donation to Palms Australia, please use our dedicated donation page.
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Your donation will be placed towards the costs of sending and supporting Marilyn Tangey as a volunteer in Maliana. In the event that monies are raised above the amount required, Palms Australia will use them to support the placement of other volunteers. For more information contact Palms Australia.
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Or call us on (02) 9518 9551 to make a donation by phone. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR WORK!Timor-Leste

Population: 1,108,777
Area: 15,007 sq. km.
Median Age: 21.5
Literacy: 58.6 %
Languages: Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian, about 16 indigenous languages
A brief history of independence. mid 1500s – Timor colonised by Portugal 1859 – Portugal cedes West Timor to the Dutch 1942-1945 – Japan occupies East Timor 28 November 1975 – East Timor declared independent from Portugal 7 December 1975 – invaded and occupied by Indonesia. It is estimated that 100,000 to 250,000 were killed [...]









