FJDE Although we have difficult conditions but ask for money based on service results

Marcos de Deus Martins, as coordinator of the Ermera Disability Youth Forum [FJDE], during his life with normal health conditions and continued to study at the Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Harvest Processing at ETCI Ermera University, but during his life in the environment academic he experienced a disaster that affected his health condition, becoming a person with a disability and failed to finish his studies, although with a disability did not kill his will to continue fighting to build a better life and thought to help young people other, so in 2018 marcos de Deus Martins had the opportunity to participate in training on community-based rehabilitation offered by the National University of East Timor [UNTL], after completing training, he made various efforts to build productive group so that they can provide jobs and income for themselves and other young people. He began to think about establishing a group that accumulates young people to do work that can give value to young people's lives.

With sufficient study experience, on September 18, 2019, Marcos de Deus Martins led his colleagues to establish a group called Ermera Disability Youth Forum [FJDE], the group's headquarters is located in Fatukeru District, Railaku Administrative Post Ermera Municipality. The initiative to create this group of eight [8], initially carried out activities with limited resources, so group members decided to use manual materials, and to sustain the group for a long time all members raised money or fund raising each person contributes five dollars [$5.00] of this money is the basis to support the group's work.

Despite the contribution of members, to support the activities of the group, but still face challenges that often cause dissatisfaction to group members, challenges such as, using manual materials, low income, distant market, lack of transportation, hard physical work and long waits can be profitable. With these challenges, the group coordinator strives to motivate and encourage members by showing perseverance, gathering them to share ideas with each other to continue to promote the group that has been established, eventually, creating a joint idea that “work , do not give up on challenges, and continue to work hard to compete in the market”. And the FDJE group still works based on the motto that has been established that "Although we have disabilities but ask for money based on the results of work" Specifically, members with disabilities always face challenges that can prevent their activities, because of inaccessible roads, lack of ramps and lack of physical support to do a balanced job with other members. In response to this challenge, members with normal conditions have a duty to support the disabled and share work according to conditions that can allow everyone to work, for example, coffee bean production members with disabilities only plastic and those in normal condition are used for production

FJDE's activity is oriented to the production of coffee beans, to channel to the community, institutions and entrepreneurs. The production of coffee beans is a means of creating long-term coffee transactions, because normally public opinion says “Ermera is rich in coffee with a duration of only three months”.In response to this opinion, FJDE works hard to ensure the sustainability of selling and buying coffee in the long term, so that the coffee that FJDE group members plant, until harvest time is not sold immediately in the market, but preserved and collected to transform into coffee beans. On the other hand, FDJE also buys coffee beans from the community to increase the volume of coffee bean production.

Because there is no manual coffee production machine [machine does not use electricity], FJDE decided to use materials such as Lesu and alu to produce coffee beans, the main reason for manual production, because manual production does not destroy the taste of coffee the original and the market prefers to buy coffee beans from manual production, compared to the production of coffee beans from electric machines.Thus, members of the working group use these materials, to produce coffee beans with a volume that can respond to market needs. The price that the group decided to sell in the market per gram was one dollar [$1.00].

Currently FJDE has a defined customer in the municipality of Ermera as Portuguese teachers from the school Centro Aprendizagem e Formação Escolar [CAFE-Ermera] order [order] every week to buy 20 grams of coffee beans at a price of $ 20.00. on the other hand, every week FDJE channels 50 grams of coffee with a price of $ 50.00 to two centers in the area of ​​Bebonuk and Matadoru Dili Municipality, the center is called the Association of Light for the Future. Meanwhile, every month FJDE collects money amounting to $ 70.00, if the community living nearby also buy the coffee, then sometimes a month the money can amount up to $ 90.00. The money earned is put together and distributed to the group as wages or rights from the results of work. FJDE pays members based on the ability of the group, so the salary is not every month but three months or quarterly can receive their rights, and every quarter each member receives a maximum of $45.00 dollars. FJDE's workers total twenty [20] four women [4] sixteen men [16]. Of the total 20 members, two women with disabilities are also included.

In addition to coffee bean production, FJDE's plan for the future is to expand the group's production in other areas relevant to the group coordinator's study relative to harvest processing, so now FJDE has started planting crops such as ai-dila, ai-nanas and hudi, the group itself has enough knowledge to wait, if these plants manage to give good fruit, will produce or transform these fruits into jam. On the other hand, FJDE has planted one hundred [100] talas trees, the objective of planting talas is to transform or innovate into krupuk or [kripik ubi jala] With the work and efforts in the area mentioned, as the group's strategy to develop and promote the group's long-term existence and ready to compete in the market.

Now FJDE is beginning to grow in the community, and is ready to compete in the market, although there are still difficulties that need support from the relevant parties, in order to raise production so as to contribute to economic diversification in Timor-Leste.

FJDE would like to recommend to all young people, especially to the disabled, that they find ways to express their knowledge and skills, to participate in activities that can give value to a good life. He also asked the disabled families in rural areas to help find ways, so that the disabled can participate in any activity that can provide income for themselves and their families.

He asked the community to continue to develop a strategic vision for moral support, protection and education for people with disabilities, so that they do not become abandoned citizens and do not leave them as marginalized people in society.

Author: Cesarino Goncalves

Sources: FJDE Coordinator