A young student from Timor-Leste's Oecusse District has won a nationwide art contest on the importance of water in everyday life. More than 23,000 elementary school students from across the country participated in the competition, which was organized by the staff of CARE International's Lafaek children's magazine. Since January 2003, students from all 13 of Timor-Leste's districts have been creating images on the topic of "Be'e Mak Fo Moris" ("Water Gives Life"). In June, 200 drawings made the final cut for the national competition, with the prizes awarded in November.

The overall winner was Zebeno Falo from Benaef Manat Primary School in Oecusse, an exclave of Timor-Leste in the Indonesian province of West Timor. Leandro Pires Viana from Viqueque District in the east of the country took second prize, and Angela Morais from Alieu District in the central highlands took third.

Lafaek is one of the few classroom materials that all elementary schoolchildren in Timor-Leste have in common. Research shows that Lafaek is often the only teaching material available in schools, particularly in remote areas. Additionally, it offers them the only written material available in Tetum, one of Timor-Leste's two official languages. In its recent impact survey, CARE found a huge demand from children and adults, particularly those living outside the capital, for information about Timor-Leste as a new country. For example, when asked about a Lafaek story on visiting Parliament, some rural children responded that Parliament was a river or mountain.

In response to this demand, CARE is planning a special issue of Lafaek to teach children about the role and structure of their government. The special issue will supplement the regular editions of the magazine, and like them, it will go to all 698 elementary schools in the country. CARE estimates that Lafaek reaches more than 80% of Timor-Leste's 184,000 elementary school students and all of their teachers. Indirectly, it reaches a significant number of rural households, as well as government offices and development agencies.

USAID has supported CARE's publication of Lafaek since May 2001. The latest grant of $99,820 will fund the special civic education issue. Through its articles on such topics as government, history, culture, children’s rights, reconciliation and peace building, environment, and community development, Lafaek helps strengthen Timor-Leste's democracy by improving its citizens' understanding of civic and community issues.

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