Chief John

Chief John is the head of the village of Tasi Fatin, 25km from Somoro within the area of Soibada.

I grew up in Dili. My wife is from this village.

I was elected chief of the village. Elections take place every 5 years. I will continue to lead the village as long as the people trust me.

I like this village because it is a historical place. During the resistance era Rabato was hiding here.

The area has great potential to utilise it for growing coffee.

There are 5 children in my family. I have 2 sons and 3 daughters. The oldest is 9 years and the youngest is 2 months.

I am very happy that friends come to our village.

For the future of our village, I really, really want a school and a Church (or Chapel). The main thing is the school.

We have 118 school age children in the village, there are 4 teachers. (Note: Teachers are neither trained nor paid, they work on a volunteer basis)

For the future of my children, as a father, I want them to have an education, a higher education. I want them to finish high school then come back here.

I am very grateful that Ms Tamara’s group comes to us. I want us to do what we can so that the people of Australia keep their trust.

When asked if there was anything that was not good about the Australian’s visiting he said ‘They have planned so many things but they haven’t all happened yet’.