Inside Lafaek Learning Media's partnership with VSA and MFAT in Timor-Leste
For more than two decades, Lafaek Learning Media has been putting educational resources into the hands of children across Timor-Leste. The partnership behind that work offers a useful lesson in what sustained, people-focused support can achieve.
VSA Partnership Feature
Lafaek Learning Media has been part of daily life in Timor-Leste for more than two decades. What began as a single magazine in the early years of nation-building is now a Timorese-led organisation, working in partnership with CARE International, Timor’s Ministry of Education and New Zealand through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The magazine reaches hundreds of thousands of children, teachers, families, and communities nationwide.
- 245,000+ students receiving Lafaek Ki'ik (Preschool to Grade 2) and Lafaek Prima (Grade 3 to Grade 6) each edition
- 105,000+ households receiving Revista Komunidade, a community based magazine helping families and low literate adults
- 9,800+ teachers receiving Lafaek Manorin, a teacher focused magazine
- US$0.40-0.50 per student per edition for printing and distribution
Free to most public and private school students from preschool to grade 6, Lafaek delivers culturally relevant, curriculum-aligned learning materials across three nationwide editions each year. This represents an annual investment of around US$366,000 and places quality learning materials in the hands of hundreds of thousands of children.
New Zealand's contribution to that reach has come through two distinct channels. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has provided financial support that makes nationwide publication and distribution possible. Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) has contributed something harder to fund: people working alongside the Lafaek team over time, focused on building capability rather than creating dependency.
VSA volunteers have worked with the Lafaek team. Cameron, a former UniVol working in communications, is still spoken of warmly by staff years after his involvement. Sue Marshall helped map magazine content to the Ministry of Education curriculum roadmap. Cheryl Tyler has worked with staff through workshops and mentoring while helping the team explore how Lafaek's content might move into digital formats. William Piggott has supported the writing team on story development, proofreading, and content development.
"The team's expertise, skills and work ethic genuinely impressed me. Everyone is dedicated to putting out a quality product, always keeping the children of Timor-Leste at the heart of what they do. I came here thinking I had something to offer. I'm leaving after nearly 2 years having gained more than I gave."
— Cheryl Tyler, VSA volunteer and education advisor
Alongside the longer-term volunteers, Lafaek has also benefited from specialist contributors brought in for focused sessions. Mark Young ran a workshop on social enterprise development. Maggie Stevenson worked with the team on writing and storytelling for young children. Anna Thomas, a New Zealand journalist, shared her interviewing skills with the writing team. These sessions were coordinated by Cheryl Tyler, who identified the specific expertise the team needed and brought the right people in to deliver it.
VSA volunteer, William Piggot, working through magazine content with Pedro, Antoniho and Nabila from the Lafaek production team.
Behind all of it is a Timorese team of educators, writers, illustrators, designers, and field staff who do the work every day. They research, write, edit, illustrate, design, review, coordinate, and distribute materials that support learning in schools and at home. The field teams carry magazines into remote communities where quality educational resources in the local language are hard to come by.
New Zealand ambassadors over the years have attended distribution events around the country, handing magazines directly to children, getting to see first-hand what their contribution means to them all. Embassy staff have taken part in the review and checking process for each edition, alongside senior education representatives, teachers, and community voices. That ongoing engagement reflects a partnership that has stayed connected to the actual work over many years.
Lafaek is now working toward its next chapter, exploring digital content, wider learning platforms, and new ways of reaching children and communities. The organisation is run by people who know their work well and are committed to it. The support from CARE International, VSA and MFAT has helped strengthen that foundation over time, but Lafaek has always been the one building it.
On a scooter trip through the hills outside Dili, I came across a group of kids running down the road with their Lafaek Prima magazines. They stopped just long enough to hold them up for a photo, grinning and proud, before heading off. That moment captures something statistics can't. When children in remote communities treat a magazine as something precious, the people who made it are doing something right.
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VSA works alongside local organisations across the Pacific and beyond, supporting the people and partnerships behind lasting change. To learn more or support this work, visit www.vsa.org.nz. To connect directly with Lafaek Learning Media, email lafaek@careint.org.