DILI, 01 march 2023 (TATOLI) – The Government of Japan through its Embassy in Timor – Leste grant US$ 301,106 to Pacific Asia Resource Center Inter People’s Cooperation (PARCIC) for Improving Nutrition of Children through Increasing Mothers’ Income in Timor – Leste.
The Country Director of PARCIC Timor – Leste, Junko Ito, said, the Project for “Improving Nutrition of Children through Increasing Mothers’ Income” funded by the Government of Japan through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project and implemented by PARCIC, will start its first phase in March 2023.
“This project attempts to improve household nutrition through increasing the income of women in mountainous areas,’’ the Country Director of PARCIC Junko Ito told reporters in the Embassy of Japan, Pantai Kelapa, Dili on wednesday.
Junko Ito, revealed, based on the data in Timor – Leste, 41. 8 % of the population lives below the national poverty line. In Particular, the rate of poverty is high in mountainous areas adjacent to Dili, and the stunting rate of children under five years old is high as well in the same areas. Even though efforts to enhance knowledge on nutrition in Timor – Leste, have been expanding, there is a hindrance for mothers to apply knowledge and cook nutritious food in their house by the lack of opportunities for earning enough income to buy nutritious ingredients and promote socialization of knowledge on how to cook nutritious ingredients.
“In addition, this project aims to improve the mothers’ access to nutritious ingredients and promote socialization of knowledge how to cook nutritious meals by introducing floriculture (fresh flower) activities that allow the mothers to earn a certain income,’’ she said.
To implement this project PARCIC in the first year of the three–year project duration, the project will be implemented in Aileu and Maubisse for women groups in the referred areas with a total budget for the first phase of the project is US$ 301,106.
The Japanese Ambassador to Timor – Leste, KIMURA Tetsuya, said the Government of Japan supports the grant through PARCIC for Improving Nutrition of Children through Increasing Mothers’ Income in Timor – Leste.
“We have committed to support Timor – Leste through the project of PARCIC to continue empowering the mothers’ capacity in a rural area, how to access the sustainable income of market access to improve the children ‘s nutritious in Timor – Leste,’’ he said.
At the same place the General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Maria Odete do Ceu Guterres, on behalf of the Government of Timor – Leste thanked the Government of Japan through its NGO of PARCIC which had supported the area of agriculture to increase the food security in Timor – Leste.
“We have been working together with PARCIC for a long time in the area of plantation of coffee in Ermera and Maubisse to increase the income of coffee plantation to access the market and at the moment PARCIC has a new project to introduce the fresh flowers to the mothers in Timor – Leste how to plant the fresh flowers for sell it in the market because the market demand of fresh flowers is very high in Timor – Leste, hopefully, this project will benefit the mothers to increase the income and also improve the nutrition in Timor – Leste,’’ she concluded.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Nelia B.
