In many rural parts of Timor-Leste, access to healthcare is constrained by distance, difficult roads, and limited infrastructure. For pregnant women and young children, this can mean that access to vital antenatal care is limited or unavailable. Pregnant women are also left to give birth at home without skilled attendants, often going months without nutrition or health checks. These crucial healthcare challenges are why Maluk Timor’s Maternal & Child Health (MCH) program exists, empowering women, building community-led health systems and creating safer futures for mothers and babies alike.
Through this work, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting Veronica C. Soares, a 30-year-old mother of one who lives in Suku Samalete. Her journey from volunteering with our team to becoming a trusted community health supporter demonstrates just what’s possible when Timorese women are equipped and empowered with knowledge, confidence and the tools to lead.
Veronica’s early days with Maluk Timor
Veronica first joined Maluk Timor as a volunteer in 2023.
‘I wanted to learn and help the community,’ shares Veronica. ‘In 2025, I was a member of the Mother Support Group (GSI) and participated in health education training, health consultations, health promotion, supported child immunisation and support for pregnant and breast-feeding mothers.’
Veronica was also able to access Maluk Timor’s care herself during her own pregnancy. ‘I also came to do an antenatal care consultation in a mobile clinic because my home is far from the health post,’ she reflects. ‘After delivery, I also brought my baby to the consultation and got the vaccination.’
In many remote areas of Timor-Leste, volunteers and local health promoters play a crucial role in connecting families to the national health system. As both a volunteer and a patient of our mobile clinics, Veronica has now journeyed with Maluk Timor through both sides of our work, bringing her own first-hand experience to her volunteer work with the organisation.
‘I’m really happy to work together with Maluk Timor every month to help and support mobile clinic activity,’ says Veronica. ‘Through this work, I’ve also learned a lot about safe pregnancy, child nutrition, and danger signs. Now, I know health information that means I can help the community in my village, ensuring mothers give birth safely at health facilities and children have access to the vaccinations they need.’
Why Maternal & Child Health support matters
Too many women in Timor-Leste have no option but to give birth at home without skilled attendants, and are prevented from accessing care because of geographical complexities. Antenatal attendance is often low, and malnutrition remains a widespread health problem that threatens the health of Timorese children into the next generation.
Maluk Timor’s Maternal & Child Health program responds to these pressing needs with a comprehensive, community-centred strategy:
- Improving maternal health care – through our mobile outreach clinics, our staff work with local community healthcare workers to build their skills in providing respectful, comprehensive maternity care. Our antenatal clinics are also identifying women with high-risk pregnancies, supporting them to seek care at higher-level facilities through this growing awareness.
- Child malnutrition assessment, counselling and follow-up – this program works in conjunction with our maternal health program, allowing women and older children to receive a malnutrition screening. Non-pregnant mothers are also able to bring their children in for screening. If malnutrition is identified, these mothers then receive crucial nutritional information, counselling and ongoing follow-up to monitor recovery.
- Training community healthcare workers – PSFs (Promotor Saúde Familiar) are Timor-Leste’s Community Health Workers. Elected from their communities to become local health promoters, PSFs are a crucial link between their communities and Timor-Leste’s national healthcare facilities. Maluk Timor’s staff works directly with PSFs, growing their skills and knowledge so they’re better equipped in the areas of maternal health, infectious and chronic diseases, and health promotion. PSFs also work to link people who have been identified as having health concerns with their local health facility, closing healthcare gaps and improving healthcare outcomes across regional Timorese communities.
Conclusion
We’ve got a long way to go in our fight to improve maternal and child healthcare across all of Timor-Leste, but with the power of incredible volunteers like Veronica, we’re able to make progress day by day.
‘I feel more confident with all of the information that Maluk Timor provides and the support for this activity in rural areas,’ Veronica says. ‘I’ve gained practical experience and continue to dedicate myself to supporting my community to be stronger and healthier.’
Veronica’s story is such a powerful example of the heart of our Maternal & Child Health program, empowering local women, strengthening local systems, and creating lasting health solutions. By equipping volunteers, supporting PSFs and bringing mobile clinics to remote areas, we’re able to give mothers and babies the care they deserve to flourish.
We’re grateful to our global community of supporters for making this work a reality. Join our family today and become a part of building a brighter future for all Timorese people.