Mother's group “Halibur" receives the President Family Healthy Nutrition Award 2015

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Mother group “Halibur” receives President Award for their hard work in improving nutrition for their family and the community.

On 20 May 2015, during an Independence Day ceremony held in Bobonaro, Aurelia da Silva was presented with the President’s Healthy Family Nutrition Award by His Excellency Sr. Taur Matan Ruak, the President of Timor-Leste, as well as a plaque from Mr Peter Doyle, Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste. Aurelia da Silva is the treasurer of Halibur, a World Vision established mother group in Liurai Village, Aileu.

The President Award commends women leadership and women groups who have demonstrated excellence in “improving nutrition in the family and community”. The overall winner, Grupo Klibur Feto Maluk, Letefoho from Manufahi Municipality, received $10,000, while mother group Halibur and the other three finalists received $1200 each.

Halibur was recommended by World Vision, as well as two other mother groups in the Aileu Municipality, to contend for the award. Recommendations came from across Timor-Leste, however, Aurelia with her group were able to demonstrate impressive improvements in the health and wellbeing of their families as well as become an example for other communities in their village.

In addition to making an open aired greenhouse to plant a variety of vegetables, Aurelia, along with members of Halibur, created kitchen gardens which provide their families with a source of daily nutrition.

Aurelia and the other members of the group work well together and are already planning on how to best spend their $1200 prize. Their plan has a strong nutrition focus with better food and education for their children through the production of tempeh and the creation of a cooperative that will help save for the future of their children.

Aurelia says, “Thank you to World Vision who has taken us to this stage, we will also be trying to compete for next year’s competition. I will continue to work closely with members of the group so we can grow more vegetables to improve the nutrition of our family. We have been able to overcome our limitations and we hope that World Vision will continue to support us with coaching and advice on how to improve in our areas of weakness so that when World Vision will finish their work in the village this group can continue”.