In collaboration with the United Nations and local authorities in East Timor, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is helping to rehabilitate market sites in East Timor following the military upheaval in September last year that destroyed most of the country’s capital city of Dili.
ADRA is working with the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and local leaders to rehabilitate two of the outer market sites in Becora and Comoro. ADRA hopes this will lure vendors out of the over-populated Central Market and help reduce congestion. The three-month project involves rebuilding 2,700 square meters of covered market stalls, and building up a local market management committee to manage the markets. Funding for the project is being provided by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The rehabilitation project, which started at the end of June, was initiated due to the destruction of all market sites and 70 percent of all buildings and infrastructures in Dili in September of 1999. Vendors have since sprung up in the ruins of the Central Market area, which is fast becoming a concern for UNTAET. Small markets are springing up on streets, vacant land,in front of private homes and other places that were once banned under Indonesian law. These markets are now causing health, safety and security concerns.
“Ninety percent of vendors were once Indonesian, but they all left,” says Marlon Butler, who is assisting ADRA with program planning in East Timor. “The response of local Timorese to fill their space has been incredible to watch. Now, East Timor faces a number of major challenges, such as extremely high unemployment and the lack of skilled people to fill leadership and management roles.”
ADRA Japan staff in East Timor foresee additional projects supported by ADRA to further develop market distribution systems in the district areas.
The market rehabilitation project and the recent process of vendor registration has gained ADRA international media attention, as well as visits by the deputy Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Koji Tsuruoka.
“Ambassador Tsuruoka commented that he was very impressed with the marketrehabilitation project, and stressed the importance of cooperation with NGOs such as ADRA,” says Stephano Tsukamoto, ADRA Japan country director, and the person leading ADRA operations in East Timor. “He further encouraged the UN administration and ADRA to work together to quickly rebuild the destroyed market places, which he considers to be a high priority.”
ADRA has been providing relief to refugees who fled to West Timor since September 1999.