Fund for East Timor

The Directors José Ramos-Horta, co-Chairman During the 24 years of the occupation, José Ramos-Horta was the internantional voice of the Timorese people. In exile from his country from 1975 to 1999, he was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Timorese independence movement. The youngest UN diplomat in history and an internatonal human rights figure, he is one of the three central figures in the country's struggle for independence. In 1996 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Belo, the religious leader of East Timor, "to honour their sustained and self-sacrificing contributions for a small but oppressed people." A portion of the funds received from the Nobel prize were used to establish the José Ramos Horta Microcredit Fund for the Poor, which is in full operation today, with a payback rate of 97%. (The José Ramos-Horta Microcredit Fund for the Poor is one of the recipients of the Fund for East Timor).
In 1999, under the umbrella of the United Nations, East Timor held a referendum allowing the Timorese to vote on independence. When the referendum results showed more than 85% favoring independence, Indonesia-backed militia were unleashed across the country. They killed thousands in the streeets, displaced hundreds of thousands, and burned 85% of the buildings in the country. After the entry of a UN peacekeeping force, Ramos-Horta returned to his homeland to help rebuild the country from the devastation. Working closely with the UN and Sergio Vierra de Mello, the head of the UN Adminstration in East Timor until 2002, he helped to bring about peaceful elections of the country's President and Parliament, who in turn drafted the country's consistitution. After serving for seven years as the new country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, when turmoil and civil war threatened the new country, he stepped into the shoes of Prime Minister for the country and immediately set about restoring calm to the country. In 2006 he was elected President of the country, a position he currently holds. In 2008 he survived an assassination attempt. While President of the country, he continues in his role as the international voice of East Timor.
Xanana Gusmao, co-Chairman Xanana Gusmao was appointed head of the Timorese independence movement in 1978, following the death of leader Nicolau Lobato. He continued to serve as their leader through the referendum. Today he serves as the first democratically elected President of East Timor. On November 20 1992, Gusmao was captured by Indonesian armed forces and taken to Jakarta where he was sentenced to life imprisonment (later commuted to 20 years). While in prison he wrote poetry and painted, earning the description "poet warrior". Despite his jailing, as a result of international pressure, the Indonesian government allowed world figures and UN leaders to meet with him during visits to Jakarta. In an historic event in July 1999, South African President Nelson Mandela met with him for two hours, dramatically raising international awareness of the deteriorating situation in East Timor.
Gusmao was released in 1999 and returned to East Timor. Today he remains the wildly popular figurehead for East Timor's independence and now, reconciliation. In 2001, in an entirely peaceful election, he was voted into the office of President with an 86% majority. In 2006, at the end of his Presidential term, he was elected Prime Minister. Still unpretentious, he comes to the office in his shirt sleeves; it is not an unfamiliar site to see him stopping to talk to local residents on the way.
Kirsty Sword Gusmao, Officer An Australian native, Kirsty moved to Indonesia in 1991 to teach and do aid work. While there she began supporting the East Timorese independence movement. One of her duties was moving information in and out of the prisons in Jakarta. The prisoners Kirsty was running messages for included Xanana Gusmao. As Xanana directed the resistance from his cell, he was aided by Kirsty, who he knew by her code name "Ruby Blade". When Xanana was released from prison in 1992, he and Kirsty were married. Their first son, Alexander, was the first registered citizen of the new democracy. Today they have three sons. Kirsty continues her work as a widely recognized activist and founder of the Alola Foundation, with particular emphasis on the plight of women refugees and victims of rape in East Timor.

Mary Wald, Executive Director Based in the US, Mary acts as Executive Director of the Fund for East Timor, directing operations for the fund. She has worked in marketing, promotion and public relations for the publishing and graphics industries for fourteen years. For three years she ran the Tibetan Students Project, which generated resources for the Tibetan children in exile, sponsored by US high technology leaders. In 1999 she sold her web site company in the San Francisco Bay Area to found TheCommunity.com. Since that time she has run numerous projects to provide communications and other forms of support to the Nobel Peace Prize winners. In 2001 TheCommunity.com was the exclusive internet outlet for the collective statements of the Nobel Peace Prize winners. The site received widespread international media attention, and was selected the number two site of the year on USA Today's top ten sites for 2001. Through TheCommunity.com Mary is currently producing an interview series for broadcast with the Nobel Laureates being interviewed by celebrities. Entitled What's So Hard About Peace?, the series is being produced in partnership with Alex Kitman Ho (producer of Hotel Rwanda, JFK, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and others).
Non-profit status The Fund for East Timor is under the fiscal sponsorship of the Foundation for Post conflict Development, a registered 501c3 non-profit corporation in the State of New York. Federal Tax ID is 20-2737116.
Contact: e-mail:easttimor@thecommunity.com