The Youth Communication Forum is currently organizing various activities to entertain the children who earn a living picking up rubbish at the rubbish dump in Tibar. 
Chief of the Youth Communication Forum (FCJ) Education Division Januario Gago said the weekly activities included football, music lessons, literacy training, drawing and others.
These activities are held to encourage them and remind them that education is important.
Gago said the activities are held four times a month at the Miguel Magone Shelter Home and Tibar to encourage the children.
“The general activities are held in Tibar and Balide, and in Tibar they are held weekly. We have activities around literacy, music, drawing and sport for the children who collect rubbish at the rubbish dump,” said Chief Gago in Balide, Dili.
Meanwhile, FCJ Director Viriato Alves said these activities were a way to indentify problems and difficulties faced by the children, including any violations.
“To know clearly how many children access and don’t access education, and for their cases, what sort of violations and crimes they’ve experienced,” he said.
He said in the future FCJ would make an effort to work with the Secretary of State for Professional Training, Policy and Employment (SEPFOPE) to create a place for training in Tibar, as more than 500 children collect rubbish at the rubbish dump each day.
On the hand, Tasi Tolu resident Teresa de Araujo, who also collects rubbish in Tibar, appreciated the activities run by the organization as they could at least create activities for children.
“Our brothers go down to hold activities to gather children here and they asked us and the children to stay in the Miguel Magone Shelter Homea, as we don’t have a secure place,” she said.
According to the FCJ statistics, there are 23 vulnerable children and a mother with a baby staying at the Miguel Magone Shelter Home, as they don’t have anywhere else to stay.
