Contract for “Improving Nutrition of Children through Increasing Mothers’ Income” Project was Signed between the Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste and PARCIC
2023/3/1
Group Photo
Signed agreement
Ambassador Kimura and Ms. Junko Ito, the Country Representative of PARCIC were signed the agreement
Dili, 1st March, 2023 -The Project for “Improving Nutrition of Children through Increasing Mothers’ Income,” funded by the Government of Japan through the “Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project” and implemented by PARCIC, will start its first phase in March 2023. The signing ceremony of the grant agreement between the Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste, Mr. KIMURA Tetsuya and Ms. Junko Ito, representative of PARCIC, was held on Wednesday, 1 March, 2023 at the Embassy of Japan. Ms. Henriqueta Maria da Silva, Deputy of State Department from the Presidential Palace, Dr. Adelia Maria Moniz Barreto, MPH, Chief of the Department of Partnership and Cooperation from the Ministry of Health, and Dr. Maria Odete do Céu Guterres, Director General of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries attended the signing ceremony.
This project attempts to improve household nutrition through increasing the income of women in mountainous areas. In Timor-Leste, 41.8% of the population lives below the national poverty line. In particular, the rate of poverty is high in mountainous areas adjacent to Dili, and stunting rate of children under 5 years old is high as well in the same areas. Even though efforts to enhance knowledge on nutrition in Timor-Leste has been expanding, there is hindrance for mothers to apply knowledge and cook nutritious food in their house by lack of opportunities for earning enough income to buy nutritious ingredients. In addition, this project aims to improve the mothers’ access to nutritious ingredients and promote socialization of knowledge on how to cook nutritious meals by introducing floriculture (fresh flowers) activities that allow the mothers to earn certain income.
On the first year of this three-year project duration, the project will be implemented in Aileu and Maubisse for women groups in the referred areas. The total budget for the first phase of the project is US$301,106.
This project attempts to improve household nutrition through increasing the income of women in mountainous areas. In Timor-Leste, 41.8% of the population lives below the national poverty line. In particular, the rate of poverty is high in mountainous areas adjacent to Dili, and stunting rate of children under 5 years old is high as well in the same areas. Even though efforts to enhance knowledge on nutrition in Timor-Leste has been expanding, there is hindrance for mothers to apply knowledge and cook nutritious food in their house by lack of opportunities for earning enough income to buy nutritious ingredients. In addition, this project aims to improve the mothers’ access to nutritious ingredients and promote socialization of knowledge on how to cook nutritious meals by introducing floriculture (fresh flowers) activities that allow the mothers to earn certain income.
On the first year of this three-year project duration, the project will be implemented in Aileu and Maubisse for women groups in the referred areas. The total budget for the first phase of the project is US$301,106.
Ms. Ito gave her speech
PARCIC, a Japanese NGO, has been working together with communities in rural areas in Timor-Leste to develop their economy by using their local produces. Since 2002, PARCIC has been training members of cooperative of coffee producers in Maubisse and Ermera in Timor-Leste, in order to produce excellent quality coffee beans and link them to international markets. Started in 2013, PARCIC has been working with women groups in 6 municipalities (Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro, Covalima and Liquisa) that process food by using local ingredient to create the “Aroma Timor” brand and promote product quality through market promotion.
In 2019, PARCIC expanded its activities in the area of nutrition, area based on the experiences from projects in the past. PARCIC has established cooperation with women groups in Atauro to produce “KOHAKAHUR,” rice seasoning made from mixture of dried fish, moringa, sesame, etc., and introduced it to the School Feeding Program in Dili and Ermera municipalities, as well as delivery of cooking training to school feeding program providers.
In 2019, PARCIC expanded its activities in the area of nutrition, area based on the experiences from projects in the past. PARCIC has established cooperation with women groups in Atauro to produce “KOHAKAHUR,” rice seasoning made from mixture of dried fish, moringa, sesame, etc., and introduced it to the School Feeding Program in Dili and Ermera municipalities, as well as delivery of cooking training to school feeding program providers.