Duo raises funds for Timor- Leste preschool construction

TWO friends have completed one of the state’s most difficult walks in two days to raise important funds for construction of a preschool in Timor-Leste.

Alessandro Piovano and Adam Hegedus undertook a 104-kilometre walk from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles over the span of 48 hours raising $11,250 towards their not-for-profit’s mission to build a new preschool on the island of Timor-Leste.

“An hour away from the Twelve Apostles we arrived at a fork in the road,” Mr Piovano said.

“There was no clear marker for the track and one of the options was very clearly the Great Ocean Road. We elected to walk on the highway, finishing our second walk in the spirit of our first.”

Both Mr Piovano and Mr Hegedus founded Educating The Future (ETF) in 2016, a youth-led not-for-profit purposed toward increasing access to quality education.

The funds raised were dedicated to the organisation’s inaugural preschool construction in Timor-Leste, and ETF’s impact has been growing ever since.

To celebrate six years of ETF and seven years since the duo’s founding hike, Adam and Alessandro set off on a different challenge for the same cause.

Both young men traversed uneven terrain across undulating landscapes with over 3,000 metres of elevation, a difficult walk that Parks Victoria recommends doing in eight days, not two.

“Thinking back to everything ETF has achieved, it’s incredibly curious to think it all started with a walk,” Mr Piovano added.

“The idea came from Timor-Leste, where preschool-aged children would walk five kilometres to the closest school.

“Our first walk symbolised this plight and gained enough momentum for us to begin to effect change.

“Seven years later, we remain incredibly proud of our first walk, this walk, and everything ETF has achieved.”

ETF now operates in collaboration with the Timorese Ministry of Education, building preschools in areas that are locally defined as ‘in need’ of infrastructure development.

The not-for-profit has constructed three preschools in six years of operation.

EFT has also raised over $300,000, educated over 400 children, and received government funding.

Donations can be made at ETF’s website www.educatingthefuture.org.