The Oan Kiak Trust fund Program has offered scholarships to 2275 Timorese orphans from all 13 districts to allow them to complete their secondary education.
Program caretaker Bishop Hilton Deakin said education was key.
The program is supported by Australian and Timorese veterans.
“I hope that this program will help them be good leaders in order to lead the nation in the future and become good parents for their family,” Bishop Deakin said at a secondary graduation ceremony for trust beneficiaries.
Trust fund co-ordinator and East Timor Development Agency (ETDA) Palmira Pires said 186 of the 2,275 program beneficiaries had completed their studies while the remainder were still at school.
She said the fund covered the costs of secondary schooling at private institutions but could not pay university fees.
Pires said beneficiaries of the program had gone on to work in local organizations and government institutions while others were police officers or continued training through ETDA.
The program began in 1994 but stalled in 1999 until after independence.
Trust beneficiary Francisca thanked the Orphan Trust Fund for the money which allowed her to continue her education.
Most of her fellow trust beneficiaries found employment after graduation, she said, allowing them to help their families and continue their studies at university.
