Dozens of unemployed young people in the Bidau Mota Claran neighborhood of east Dili now are earning income through fishing, thanks to an initiative by the Missionary Dominican Sisters of the Rosary. With funding from USAID's Small Grants Program, the sisters are helping the Bidau Mota Claran Youth Group manage a new fishing boat and gear.

The 55 members of the group come from traditional fishing families, but none can afford the cost of a new boat. With the grant, the sisters ordered a new 20-foot boat from another USAID-supported NGO, Aussie Boats for Timor-Leste (ABET). They also bought an outboard motor and essential fishing gear, and they pay for the 10 liters of fuel needed for each fishing trip.

After placing their order with ABET in September, the sisters and their protégés took delivery in November. An agreed rotation of the youth group's member means that each dawn a fishing team of five or six young men takes the boat out and brings back the catch in mid-morning.

After only a week, buyers from around Dili were already waiting on the shore for the boat to return. The catches raised about $20 a day in the first week. The young men, who only the week before had been unemployed, suddenly had a regular income. Of the total they take in every day, the fishers have agreed to set aside 25% for maintenance of the boat and gear. Another 25% goes back to the youth group for its other activities. The other 50% they split among the members of the fishing team. At regular meetings with the youth group, the sisters help with organizing the fishing teams and managing the income they generate.

"There has been a good level of cooperation between Dominican Sisters of the Rosary, Bidau Youth Group, and ABET to finish the project," said Joao F. Soares, the president of the youth group. The fishing teams expect the size of the daily catch and the resulting income to increase as their skills improve.

USAID's supported the sisters' project with a $9,300 grant. The project offers better economic prospects to young people in Bidau Mota Claran, gives them an opportunity to improve their skills, and expands the availability of food at local markets.