A cross-party delegation of Australian federal politicians and international development leaders visited a preschool in Dili earlier this month to see Mary MacKillop Today’s EdTech for Early Learning project in action.
The visit was part of the Australian Regional Leadership Initiative (ARLI), a program delivered by Save the Children Australia that takes Australian decision-makers into the field to see Australian aid and development first-hand.
It is designed to support better-informed public debate and policy on Australia’s Official Development Assistance.
The delegation included senator Sarah Hanson-Young and MPs Alison Penfold, David Moncrieff, Louise Miller-Frost and Ben Small, alongside Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler and Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) chief executive Matthew Maury. Mark Lamont, founder of technology partner Mosaic, also attended.
Mary MacKillop Today’s country director Alipio Baltazar opened the meeting by presenting delegates with tais, traditional Timorese woven scarves, before setting out the organisation’s history in the country.
Mary MacKillop Today and the Sisters of Saint Joseph have worked in Timor-Leste since 1994.
Mr Baltazar showed the group some of the earliest Tetum-language books, produced in the early 2000s so children could learn in their own language.
Ms Penfold old Mary MacKillop Today that her first piece of volunteer work, before entering Parliament, was writing a media release on the canonisation of St Mary MacKillop, a connection that made the visit personal.
Timor-Leste is home to one of Mary MacKillop Today’s largest programs, spanning five education projects and two livelihoods’ projects.
EdTech for Early Learning uses play-based digital learning activities aligned to the national curriculum to improve the quality of early childhood teaching.
Developed by Mosaic, the app runs entirely offline, a deliberate design choice for the rural and remote classrooms it is built to reach.
The app is currently used in 75 preschools, about 15 per cent of all preschools in Timor-Leste, with plans to reach 30 per cent within the next year.
“This project works because it is designed for local classrooms and delivered by local teachers,” Mr Baltazar said.
The delegation observed a class in progress, where a teacher projected the app from a tablet onto the classroom wall. Children followed lessons on the days of the week, the months of the year and the weather, singing along and copying the actions on screen. One child stood up to point out the pictures to the room as the visitors watched.
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Australian MPs and aid sector leaders visit Mary MacKillop Today Timor Leste early learning project (Mary MacKillop Today)
