Paul Vasconcelhos
Paul Vasconcelhos has worked with HAI in the Timor-Leste field office since November 2004. He began as temporary staff providing interpretation, transcription and data entry for our initial community assessment. Early on Paul stood out as highly capable and was quickly offered a permanent position as a Health Promotion Assistant in HAI’s new field office in Dili. Paul is credited with assisting HAI to establish positive and meaningful community relationships and links with district-based government health facilities in the six districts where HAI is working.
In 2008, Paul was promoted to a senior staff position as Health Promotion and Community Outreach Coordinator. He supervises the work of three assistants.
Like the story of most Timorese, Paul’s life took a dramatic turn in 1999 when Indonesia announced it would allow the Timorese to vote for independence or simply greater autonomy. Paul cut short his university education so that he could travel the country conducting community civic education to encourage people to go to the polls. The response was amazing when 98.5% of Timorese waited in long lines under the hot sun and voted overwhelmingly for independence. Hours after the election results were announced and with little time to rejoice in the victory, the country was thrown into turmoil as the Indonesian military led a violent campaign of retribution leaving a path of death and destruction in every corner of the country. Paul and his family, like thousands of others, fled to the relative safety of the mountains where they stayed for two months while waiting for the United Nations to restore peace and order.
After the vote, Paul was eager to resume his studies but was compelled to find work to help support his family. He worked for the U.S. Peace Corps before joining HAI.
When asked what he likes most about his work with HAI, Paul notes that he values working for a small nonprofit organization that offers strong management support for his work. He also values HAI’s philosophical approach of supporting the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health. When he considers the most important aspect of his work Paul states, “Too many Timorese women die as a result of pregnancy and delivery bringing tragedy to many families. For me, the most important thing is to work with the Ministry of Health to reduce maternal mortality in Timor-Leste.”
Paul credits his parents, his wife and his two daughters for inspiring and supporting him to strive toward his goal of obtaining an advanced degree in the field of public health. He is currently studying to complete his bachelor’s degree in Public Health at Peace University in Dili, working for HAI by day and taking evening and weekend classes. Eventually Paul hopes to get a scholarship to study abroad to continue his studies. By 2020 Paul would like to be in a position of leadership in the health sector of his country working to improve health outcomes for Timorese people.