‘Through Knua I have learnt how to manage my time, and how to effectively work in a team’ says Agapito Malequias Oliveira Moniz, a 26-year-old Enterprise Solution Executive working at Telemor.

Agapito is a successful youth worker who believes that youth must engage themselves in different capacities. He noticed that in Timor-Leste, the youth commonly lack knowledge and information regarding how to seek out projects, contacts and jobs.

This limits their capacity for development. Agapito wanted to create a different reality for himself and so, involved himself with the volunteer organisation ‘Timorese Youths Initiative for Development’ (TYIFD).

TYIFD allowed Agapito to broaden his understanding of many volunteer organisations operating in Dili. In 2017, he was chosen as one of 3 TYIFD youth volunteers to work on a collaborative project with UNDP. This project was a social business project focussed on waste management. The project reinforced and socialized recycling, reusing and reducing waste to improve livelihoods.

‘As a volunteer for TYIFD I was lucky enough to work with other different organisations and actors, such as UNDP. I never would have had that opportunity if I hadn’t been involved as a volunteer for TYIFD,’ he states.

While volunteering for UNDP, Agapito assisted one project in Motael, Dili.  The project connected local recycling companies, authorities and community members to enhance waste management knowledge. The project prompted behaviour change through education of waste management skills. Here, Agapito began to understand the intersection between many different actors in the development process.

‘We need the youth to open their minds before their mentalities can change. As a volunteer, I learnt that communities really need more information. The information doesn’t need to be specific to Timor-Leste. Worldly knowledge helps change the mentalities of communities’ He states.

At the Knua Centre, Agapito says youth are inspired to open their minds. The Knua Centre connects various volunteer organisations and is a central, free-of-charge facility. The Knua Centre provides entrepreneurship and business training, while at the same time, is a social hub for different organisations to link, connect and collaborate.

The Knua Centre supports different NGOs, volunteer groups, and individuals to motivate them to find their passion. Agapito is now working for Telemor and reinforces the power of partnerships for development. Telemor is one of Knua’s development partners and works to inspire youths who want to work in telecommunications.

The partnership enables information-sharing between different organisations. Agapito advocates for all youth to begin volunteering, and to motivate themselves so that they are exposed to different communities. This independence builds individual confidence and drives youth to stop relying solely on the Government for support.

‘The skills learnt at Knua are helping youth to become much more mature. Youth are given the opportunity to be independent, to grow, and to really feel inspired by all the people here working together’ he states.

Agapito believes the connections and services available at the Knua Centre build strong individuals who are capable of shaping and progressing their individual professional journeys.