Late last year, East Timor’s president Francisco Guturres awarded Deo Dacosta a UN Human Rights medal for his work to grow Encouragement House.
Deo has worked tirelessly with our Australian team to help more than 700 students in the 12 years of operation.
Teachers, health care workers and qualified nurses, soldiers, journalists, village leaders, border force officers and office workers are now among those who called Encouragement House home while they studied.
From one small building grew three dormitories and facilities for up to 160 students, a computer training centre and an English language training classroom. Assistance for student engineers and journalists in East Timor’s capital, Dili, is now also part of Encouragement House’s mission.