This month:

Message from Wendy Forster >
In Memoriam: Jonia Mendonca Guterres >
Scholars >
Our Sincerest Thanks >
HELP! - Photos needed>
Other BFMT News >
News on East Timor >
Expanding Aims of BFMT >
How to Donate >

Message from Wendy Forster

Dear friends of the Blair Forster Memorial Trust,
June 2007

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your interest and support of the Blair Forster Memorial Trust (BFMT).  Together, we have already accomplished a lot in the provision of education in and for East Timor. A total of thirty students have received scholarships either in their home country or abroad since our founding. We have also begun to support the wider educational infrastructure in East Timor and hope to be able to expand our help to include primary education.

We hope you will be able to continue to help us with your expertise and contacts. Our next move will be in seeking corporate sponsorship at this stage.  Another initiative we are setting up is ‘school to school’ links. If you feel that you are able to assist us, please contact wendy@blairforster.org . 

It is a real joy to see so many young people receive an opportunity to fulfill their dreams and to know that an idea formed so many years ago from my late husband has finally become a reality.  It especially gives me great satisfaction knowing that we are doing something to inspire others to help in the development of Timor-Leste.

With your continued support in the areas of fundraising and promotion we can continue to help the East Timorese to help themselves.  I would be very grateful if you could talk about the BFMT and East Timor with your colleagues and friends in order to bring more awareness about the BFMT and what we are doing.  Please check out our newly updated websites which has all the information about the Trust. 

Below you will find more information about the BFMT with an updated account of all that has happened during the last year. 

With many thanks and best wishes,

Wendy Forster
Chairperson BFMT

In Memoriam
It is with profound sadness that we announce the accidental death of Jonia Mendonca Guterres.  Jonia was the first to receive the Blair Forster Scholarship from Li Po Chun United World College and the first East Timorese to attend a United World College.  She had just completed her first year at St. Lawrence University in the USA. Read more here >

Scholars

Thanks to your generous support, we have managed to contribute to the educations of the following since the inception of the Trust in 2004:

• Six scholars selected by the BFMT have now completed their study of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and are or will be studying at universities around the globe.
• The BFMT has secured 15 scholarships for secondary East Timorese students at international schools around the world. 
• 15 secondary students in East Timor have been able to continue studies that they would not otherwise have been able to fund through our sponsorship of the scholarship program managed by the Alola Foundation www.alolafoundation.org.
• Two primary teachers being trained in East Timor.
• One undergraduate studying to obtain an extramural degree from an Australian university that will help her in her work training new teachers.

Our Sincerest Thanks

Schools
The BFMT would like to thank the following schools for offering scholarships to the students we select and for helping them to progress:

• Li Po Chun United World College
  
• United World College of South East Asia
  
• United World College of USA
  
• Red Cross Nordic United World College
  
• Lester B. Pearson United World College
  
• Penang International School, Malaysia
  
• Prem Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Fees at these schools vary, but typically a two-year scholarship would be worth US$40,000 - 50,000.

Donations
In total, your generous contributions to both the HK and UK BFMTs over the last year have amounted to HK$460,000. We would like to offer special thanks to the following donors this year:

• Anonymous donors whose generous donation in part allows a student to accept a scholarship at the Penang International School, Malaysia.
  
• Mr. David Allen Senior who, through his son who teaches Chemistry at UWCSEA , has contributed towards the cost of the East Timorese undergraduate obtaining her extramural degree in Australia.
  
• Jo Cadman and Katie McTeer who supported Ann Green in organising a sponsored walk at Kennedy School. Thanks also to the Principal Paul Hay for his backing and to all the participants and their sponsors for the amazing amount of over $96000 they raised. This will help a student to attend the Prem Centre International School in Thailand as well as being used to establish more direct involvement in primary education in East Timor.
  
• Daniel J. Groshong for his commitment in selling us copies of TIMOR-LESTE Land of Discovery for us to re-sell at the retail price and put the difference towards our funds. In this way we have raised over $3000 so far Daniel is author and photographer of this beautiful book, which captures the problems and possibilities of the country. You can preview the book at http://www.tayophotogroup.com. It includes texts written by President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Kofi Annan and President William J. Clinton as well as many others. To order a copy from us, please contact wendy@blairforster.org.
  
• Li Po Chun United World College students and teachers who participate and sponsored the annual Blair Forster Memorial Walkathon over Ma On Shan held in January.

Websites

• We would like to thank Jo Dehaney and Ken Chatland for managing our HK and UK websites respectively:
  HK: www.blairforster.org (You are currently viewing this site)
  UK: www.blairforster.org.uk
• We also wish to thank Duncan Gallimore who secured and set up the first BFMT website.

HELP!

We need photos of the BFMT selected scholars in their respective colleges as well as any pictures of East Timor.  If you happen to have any, please send them to wendy@blairforster.org. 

Other BFMT Information

Trustees

• We welcome Ann Green onto the board of Trustees.  She has been an invaluable fundraiser and promoter of the Trust and of education for East Timorese.
• We thank Andrew Bennett, who has retired from the BFMT, for his contributions.  

The HK and UK BFMTs are separate legal entities, but share the same Trustees and aims.  By having two separate organizations, it easier to organize charitable status.

News on East Timor

East Timor has been in the news a lot this year with many upheavals in civil unrest and changes in government.  We are confident of its ability to work toward a better future and it is more urgent than ever that we continue to receive support from people like you to help rebuild it.  To do so, its people need education.  Quick links to news about East Timor are available on both our websites.  (see top right column on this page)

Expanding Aims of the BFMT Trust

Initially, Blair’s vision was to find scholarships for secondary education students at international schools in the region.  Having visited East Timor and done research on development, the BFMT has expanded that vision to include contributions at all levels of education.  We are aware of the need in particular to contribute to education at primary level, which is why we are supporting the tertiary education of two teachers and one teacher trainer.  We hope to become more directly involved in primary education by promoting “friendship school” links between schools in Hong Kong and schools in East Timor.  In addition, we know how important it is to a country’s development for girls to continue their education, which is why we support the Alola Foundation.  We further recognize the dangers of ‘brain drain’: each of the scholars we select makes a promise to contribute to East Timor’s development in future. 

We are now the United World College National Committee for East Timor which means that every year we send two members of the BFMT board to the country to make selections through our contacts there. All this takes time and money and whilst we have managed to maintain the Trust, if we wish to make further developments as mentioned above, we need to raise more money and more awareness about the situation in East Timor. 

Please support us by helping us bring more awareness about the country and about the Trust and help us provide better education to the young people of East Timor through generous donations.

How to Donate:
Please click here to find out how you can support the work of the Blair Forster Memorial Trust in East Timor >

BBC Profile: East Timor
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