Asia and the Pacific
Timor-Leste ranks 141 out of 189 on the Human Development Index (HDI). CARE International’s work in Timor-Leste focuses on families living in disadvantaged areas and supports better education for children and adults.
CARE International has been working in the Timor-Leste region since 1994, initially as part of CARE Indonesia. After the country gained independence in 1999, we established an office in Timor-Leste to deliver programs focused solely on the new nation. CARE International engaged in two major emergency responses following the violent outbreaks that occurred in 1999 and 2006.
With more than 90% of government revenue coming from oil and gas, Timor-Leste is one of the world’s most resource-dependent countries. However, according to UN-OCHA and the World Bank about 40% of its population live below the poverty line, 30% of adults can’t read and more than 70% of people live in rural areas with limited health services. These circumstances are felt even more acutely by women.
Current programs focus on families in disadvantaged areas and aim to achieve better education outcomes for children and adults, more babies being born safely, improved skills of health workers, and greater resilience of communities in the face of natural disasters and the effects of the climate emergency.
CARE International 's work in Timor-Leste focuses on:
What’s the first thing you remember reading? A children’s book? A magazine? A sign in a classroom? In Timor Leste, for people under the age of 20, the first thing they remember reading is probably something CARE produced. If you have anything in your house to read in rural Timor Leste, it’s going to include Lafaek—a suite of magazines that CARE has been producing since 2001
“The community project really belongs to us. We have to take care of it because those constructions and cleaning are for us.”
In Timor Leste, women make up 25% of community leadership positions—which means they’re performing better than the US Senate.
In FY2024, CARE worked around the world, contributing to saving lives, fighting poverty, and increasing social justice.
