Mrs. Lurdres is a primary school teacher at Matata Filial School in the Ermera municipality, a mountainous area of Timor-Leste. She is a teacher with mission.Her mission is to prepare a better future and better education for children in Timor-Leste. Mrs. Lurdres and her husband, Manuel donated the land to the government to build a school for her community. They both become teachers in the school since 1999.

Mrs. Lurdres became inspired to become a teacher because when she was a student, she was very impressed by her own teachers, the nuns of a private Catholic secondary school. She decided to study to become a teacher of religion. However, upon completing her studies, violence erupted throughout the country, and many schools were destroyed. Hundreds of teachers also fled back to their homeland of Indonesia, leaving severe gaps in the education system in Timor-Leste. Those who were trained in the teaching profession (as well as many who were not) were called to help resurrect the education system in their respective villages.

Mrs. Ludres started out as a teacher who taught in a traditional way. Until 2007 when she was introduced to child friendly school model of UNICEF which focuses on child-centred, and inclusive education. Since then she has changed her teaching style completely. She has implemented the teaching techniques in her school. She was soon become one of the best national trainers for the Ministry’s Child Friendly Schools program. From there she was chosen to become one of the teacher representatives on the Curriculum Revision Team for Tetun literacy for grades 1 – 6. (Tetun is one of the two official languages of Timor-Leste, and the one most widely spoken in the country).

She used weekends to train other teachers in her school and other schools. She also was a regional trainer for the curriculum roll out and has made several training films for UNICEF and the Ministry of Education.

Mrs. Lurdres made an immense contribution to the national curriculum, but her greatest passion is teaching. She focuses on providing hands-on, experiential learning, encouraging her students to develop academic prowess while at the same time developing their self-confidence, cooperative skills, and their abilities to think critically. She also values the holistic development of her students, and is a mentor for the school’s Student Association, as well as leads several extracurricular sports activities. Her commitment to positive discipline and classroom management techniques have not only won over the hearts of the children in the school, but also revolutionized how the school is now managing student discipline and has also spilled over into how the general community treats their children. Community members have attested that whilst in the past they used physical violence to keep their children in line, after witnessing more non-violent ways of discipline used by the school, they now are more creative and restorative in their disciplinary practices.

Mrs. Lurdres is a firm believer that the most important skill that young students need is the ability to read. EBF Matata stands out not only for its clean and organized appearance and lively, respectful atmosphere, but also because all children can read by the end of first grade. In order to achieve this Mrs. Lurdes has personally set up Saturday tutoring sessions for children who are at risk and sits with them one by one in order to ensure that all students develop early grade literacy. She works diligently with the other teachers as well to ensure that all the teachers of her school can effectively help all children learn, regardless of their background, language, or special educational needs. Her attention to each child, and the recognition that all learners have specific needs and strengths, is an example to be followed throughout the country.

In her own words, Mrs. Lurdres describes herself as having 3 overall objectives as a teacher: 1) She wants all students to achieve success through sciences; 2) She is committed to making a transformation in their lives especially through their behavior; and 3) She wants children to be aware of how to take care of their own health. For her the most important goal is organizing her school to become a place that is safe and calm for the students, and she herself sees her role as not only a teacher, but a counsellor to all children who need a sympathetic ear. She reaches out to both students and parents to ensure that children are attending school and attaining maximum benefit. Cooperation and coordination are key in ensuring that her school provides a true space for learning.

When asking about the challenges, she said that it was the large number of students in the classroom in Timor-Leste which made it difficult to implement. However, she overcame it by constantly finding solutions and solved problems along the way.

She is doing something that is greater than her LIFE.Ms. Lurdres is the mother of five children. She is also the adopted mother to hundreds more, as every child who goes through her school calls her “Mother” or “Mama Lu”.