The last ‘Advancing the Kingdom’ article featured the boundless outreach of the Archdiocese of the Military. In a similar vein a significant number of the donor advised funds administered by the National Catholic Community Foundation also benefit overseas endeavors and exemplify the international philanthropic outreach of US civilians.
Two examples of such funds are ones established by Chris Lowney, the renowned writer (Heroic Leadership) and public speaker. Mr. Lowney’s first fund, the “Tomorrow’s Leaders Fund”, was set up seventeen years ago to support the education of children in underdeveloped countries. More recently he has created the “Instituto de Brito, East Timor Fund” to support the educational efforts of the Jesuits in Timor-Leste (East Timor).
Beyond the material support they offer to their grantees, donor advised funds also provide the collateral benefit of educating the NCCF community at large. Certainly, this is the case with this East Timor Fund which has introduced our trustees to the travails and triumphs of this tiny population in the Antipodes.
East Timor is located on the eastern portion of the island of Timor which it shares with Indonesia. Since the European colonization centuries ago the people of East Timor have had a rocky and unsettling history. During the 16th century the Portuguese and the Dutch colonized the Malay Archipelago and split possession of this island between them. Since then as the result of various wars among colonial powers East Timor has been controlled at various times by Portugal, Britain, Japan and Indonesia. The country gained its ultimate independence from Portugal in 1975 but was hostilely annexed by Indonesia the next year. In spite of continued and bloody resistance from the East Timorese Indonesia ruled the country for the balance of the century.
In 1975 around 93% of the population was illiterate. Although Indonesia attempted to assimilate the population through education most of the school infrastructure was destroyed during the resistance. Eventually in 2002 under the aegis of the United Nations Transition Administration East Timor once again attained its independence. As the first country in the new millennium to do so East Timor recognized that in order to attain genuine peace and sustainable development its urgent need for qualified secondary school teachers had to be addressed.
Aware of this need the Jesuits, already present and active on the island, established the Instituto Sao Joao de Brito in 2016 (www.timor-leste-jesuits.org) to educate new leaders for a new nation. Jesuits, of course, are known for their apostolate in education which they champion as the path to full human development. It is the realization of God-given human potential that assures growth and stability, blessings which had been denied this island populace for centuries. Having started with 25 students the Institute, now in its fourth year, is expanding and advancing the development of the Timorese.
For centuries the island of Timor has been known for a prized and relatively rare natural resource, the sandalwood tree. Over the centuries the island’s occupiers have exploited this treasure for its multipurpose uses and have nearly depleted its supply. Efforts are underway to replenish and cultivate this very marketable commodity so that this newly independent country might thrive economically.
Even in our small way NCCF is proud to be associated with Mr. Lowney’s husbandry of this mustard seed planted among the sandalwood.