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WEST TIMORGeographicalWest Timor is one half of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) within the Indonesian archipelago. Its capital city is Kupang. Map of NTT province in Indonesia
Map of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) which includes West Timor. The other half of the island of Timor is East Timor which became an independent country in May 2002.
DemographicsWest Timor has a population of approximately 2 million. The average income is US$339 a year and 30% of the population lives below the rural poverty line of US $174 a year. The area in which the Foundation for Mother and Child Health is working is Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) – the remote mountainous region of South Central Timor. The problems facing people in West Timor
“Climate change has helped push malnutrition in the Indonesian half-island of West Timor to levels "higher than in Africa," aid group Church World Service says. A survey of 4,800 households by the group found 61.1 per cent of children under five in the region were stunted due to chronic malnutrition, while 13.1 per cent of children were acutely malnourished. "The prevalence of stunting and underweight children in West Timor is higher than in Africa," Julia Suryantan, the lead author of the report, told AFP. Suryantan said the half-island in the country's east, which is drier than much of the tropical archipelago, was suffering as subsistence farmers faced declining rainfall due to climate change. "Before they could plant enough corn for one year but now it only lasts them eight months, so they have to buy it," Suryantan said, adding that higher global food prices mean many families cannot afford to buy enough to eat.” How FMCH is helping
In May 2008 a small group from the Foundation’s centre in Jakarta visited West Timor to assess a small skills training and pre school training programme set up by the Foundation in 2007. The team was pleased to see that programmes implemented in 2007 had proved successful. FMCH has now been asked by the community to expand programmes to 3 further areas in West Timor. The nutrition, skills training, health education and training of pre school teacher projects started in September 2008. Nutrition Programme
More recently, figures show an increase in these levels: 65% of children less than 5 years old in our area are moderately or severely underweight; 75% are suffering from stunted growth and 87% are anaemic. There is a clear need for urgent action. But more importantly, urgent intensive feeding programmes, and deworming programmes need to be put in place as quickly as possible. Supplementary intensive feeding will help children gain weight and improve their body’s resistance to life threatening respiratory and gut infections. Because of poor sanitation – there is no piped water and no pumps – hygiene is poor and children have high levels of intestinal worm infections. This leads to poor nutrition levels and lowered resistance to infection. One of the most important programmes to be initiated will be bi-annual deworming programmes for children in our villages. Water has to be collected by bucket from nearby rivers, or, it can be bought from visiting water tankers – a cost that many families just cannot afford. Supplementary micro-nutrients are being offered to all children in need, which will improve their overall nutrition status. The Foundation for Mother and Child Health has a grassroots approach. We take the time to find out what mothers want and why. We have seen children on our feeding programmes in Jakarta thrive and we have seen mothers on our skills training programmes become self sufficient. Through our health education programmes in Jakarta, we have seen behavioral changes in both men and women spread to the wider community. Clearly this needs to be replicated in this remote area of Indonesia. Agriculture Program
Without money, families cannot buy decent nutritious food to feed their children, so their children become malnourished; they cannot afford decent healthcare so parents and children become sick; they cannot afford good schooling for their children and so children are locked into this way of life. It is therefore critical to try and improve the earning capacity of these families in West Timor. Families who live here are primarily subsistence farmers who rely on good rainfall to grow fruit and vegetables on their tiny plots of land. However, this area has suffered from huge drought problems in the past few years. Of enormous importance is the need to help this community develop and improve their agricultural potential. If families can increase the amount of money they make each year through improved production of crops and livestock they will earn enough to buy better quality food, afford better healthcare and education for their children. Chicken farming: A new initiative, The Foundation for Mother and Child Health is working together with heads of villages and the West Timor Department of Animal Husbandry in an effort to teach villagers how to raise chickens. Chickens are an excellent source of protein and are relatively cheap to rear. This is a good way to enable every child, pregnant and breastfeeding mother in the villages we work, improve their nutrition. Health EducationThe Health Education Programme is the Foundation’s primary classroom based programme raising awareness of the importance of health and nutrition. Topics that are being covered in West Timor are: general hygiene and sanitation, optimal breastfeeding, complementary feeding, childhood illnesses, prevention of illness, immunization, contraception and other topical subjects such as dengue fever, TB and malaria. Health Education classes, some of which will also be combined with cooking demonstrations, are aimed at allowing mothers to implement learned knowledge into their daily lives. Training of Trainers
The health education programme in West Timor will allow 195 Community Health Workers from the sub district to train to join our health education programme, thereby impacting upon a minimum of 1,950 families in this area. Medical Services
Severe or moderate iron deficiency is most likely due to worm infestation and lack of decent nutrition, particularly amongst women and children. Both causes are very easily treated through simple health education and medical intervention and impact hugely on the quality of life and mental ability of those affected. Early Learning CentresIn West Timor, as in FMCH programmes in Jakarta, early learning children are taught through play and song, with older ones learning basic number and literacy skills. Parents make a very modest monthly contribution, signifying the importance of their involvement in the community and their interest in the benefits of the programme for their children. Teachers have been selected from the local community and are being trained by FMCH pre-school teachers from Jakarta. Income Generating SchemesWomen in West Timor are skilled weavers and makers of beaded bags. FMCH has partnered up with a Co-Operative in Kupang, the capital city, who have offered (at a cost) to train women further and help sell their products. We are actively raising funds to give as many women as possible this opportunity to improve their skills and earnings potential. Size of Project and SustainabilityThe Foundation for Mother & Child Health has chosen to begin with the villages of Anin and Oinlasi as the people here are extremely poor, living on an average monthly income of just US $10. They are mainly small subsistence farmers living hand to mouth, growing their daily food needs themselves on small patches of land or gathering fruits from the surrounding hillside. At least 1,950 families in the area will benefit from the Training the Trainers programme, through improved health and nutrition. Another 80 children will benefit from pre school education and a similar number of mothers from the skills training programmes. Key Performance Indicators and Feedback Mechanism
Increased income generation for each family is a key indicator. Behavioural change resulting from health education is another. Improved health and nutrition of children is another measurable change. All these indicators will show whether practices introduced, will continue long after they finish participating in FMCH programmes. The aim being that grants received from donors will continue to benefit target groups long after sponsors’ commitment has ended. Project assessment of all programmes run by FMCH is done through monthly reports from staff in charge of each programme. Throughout FMCH programme activities, the beneficiaries and staff can channel their feedback through personal approach with the staff.
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Below is a short article recently written by the Church World Service about conditions in West Timor:
Initial nutrition statistics showed that there were high levels of malnutrition amongst children in the three villages where FMCH were working.
Poverty is the underlying cause of many things: malnutrition, lack of education, and ill health are some examples.
Training of Trainers (TOT) is a key programme that improves the skill and knowledge of Community Health Workers (CHW), on health, nutrition and communication skills. Beneficiaries attending are from government funded health centres and key members from within the community. 
The FMCH Medical Programme will enable all children attending FMCH programmes in West Timor, and their siblings, to be de-wormed bi-annually as well as having a dental check-up. An FMCH doctor will treat children and families who have TB, anaemia, malaria or any other illness; and forge strong links with surrounding local health clinics.
The participatory approaches in all programmes undertaken by FMCH ensure sustainability of the projects. We work at grassroots level with families, community leaders and community health workers.