Fuan Nabilan ba Matan A’at (in English)

Fuan Nabilan ba Matan A’at:
Fuan Nabilan Foundation ba Matan A’at (Shining Heart for the Blind Foundation) is a small NGO working with people who are blind or have impaired vision. Their office/residence is located in Nularan, Same Vila, across the road from the hospital.  The Foundation was originally founded in 2002 in Dili and was later relocated to Same in 2007. Joana Meluk, is the director, and her husband Joaquim da Costa Tavares, a volunteer at FN, teaches music to the students.

Left to right: Fernanda, Bela, Rita, Januario and Julio
FN has put out two CDs, Fuan Nabilan 1 and Fuan Nabilan 2 (which Januario is holding), with Fuan Nabilan 3 to follow next year! The third CD will be launched by a big concert in Same next year and other Timorese musicians will be invited to come and play. FN also had the honour of playing at the Natarbora Music Festival this year. Band members Julio, Bela, Rita and Januario play acoustic guitars and traditional drums and all songs are written by Joaquim.
FN also make dusters from raffia. Below is a photo of Fernanda making a colourful duster. Raffia is imported from Kupang and the members can make raffia dusters according to colour choice. Available colours are deep pink, yellow, blue and green.FN also has a program of integrating blind and visually impaired children into schools and two students Jakel and Ediana are attending local primary schools. Ediana is doing very well and achieving high marks at school!

Jakel and Ediana with ukueles, also used in traditional Timorese music

Two of the FN members also give therapeutic massages and foot reflexology. Julio and Bela were trained in Malaysia for a year and are very good at what they do! Bela lost her vision at the age of 3 after contracting conjunctivitis (matan mean). As she was living in the remote village of Rotuto her parents tried coconut oil and penicillin. Bela can locate and manipulate all the pressure points and is very good at getting knots out. Despite her small frame she is quite strong and also quite chatty. She goes home to see her family on the weekend and she can also go alone to kiosks. She is also a good singer.
For more information on Fuan Nabilan please contact Joana and Joaquim when in Timor-Leste or Friends of Same. Also go to http://fuannabilan.infoxchange.tl/ for more information. You can join the Fuan Nabilan group on facebook. To order the CDs please contact the Friends of Same www.friendsofsame.org or call into FN when visiting Same. To see a clip go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v+7Oj-WMbBXpw