Snapshot:
- Investment: $180,000
- Outcome: 200 young people trained to start their own small businesses, micro-finance to help set them up, and now the ability to earn an ongoing living and kickstart the local economy.
- When: 2008-2011
[vimeo 10481414]
Brief: The Youth Livelihoods program in Aileu, Timor Leste. Oaktree is working hand-in-hand with Plan Timor-Leste, a subsidiary of Plan International, to implement what is essentially a vocational training program, designed to train 200 youths with life and business skills to help generate income opportunities so that they may give back to their familys and community.
Where we work?
Oaktree and Plan Timor Leste are working in the district of Aileu, one of 13 districts of Timor-Leste. It is here that Plan TLS has established strong ties with traditional leaders, district government officials, children and youth since it initiated relationships in 2001. Aileu is an ideal location for partnership as previous assessments have revealed it to be lacking in Youth Livelihoods programming as well as having limited and low quality vocational opportunities.
Who we work with?
Oaktree is working in conjunction with Plan Timor Leste, a subsidiary of Plan International. Plan TLS are well known for their amazing work partnering with local communities in Timor-Leste. Oaktree and Plan partner with 10 communities in the district of Aileu in East Timor in a project aptly named the Youth Livelihoods Program.
What are we doing?
The fundamental goal of the Youth Livelihoods Program is to ensure that East Timorese Youth have the ability to generate their own income and participate actively in their respective communities. By supporting approximately 200 young people aged 16-30 from 10 varying communities in Aileu, Oaktree and Plan assist young people in initiating new income generation activities with equal gender representation. 20-25 groups of 8-10 people are selected based on their proposal ideas submitted as a group application as well as citing experience and skills they have previously attained. Groups will also need to be willing to contribute a set monetary percentage towards their project so as to counter against dependency and ensure participants are committed.
After groups are selected and participants are welcomed to the program, Plan TLS provides vocational, business skills and life skills training specific to the proposal set by each group. To guarantee the sustainability of the project, each group is assigned a mentor from their respective communities to provide guidance once the project has ended. After a participant is ready to start their own business, a Plan representative as well as their mentor will make frequent visits to ensure they are supported in their venture. During the first year of starting their business, groups are expected to be self-sufficient and after this period are expected to be generating their own income and be active participants in their community.
Follow us