The FPCD mainly works in the small island nation of Timor- Leste. Timor- Leste is located in South East Asia. It was originally a Portuguese colony for several hundred years before decolonizing in the 1975. In 1976, Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste. This began an independence movement that lasted until 1999, when the Timorese unanimously voted to become an independent state. It became its own sovereign state in 2002, but the path wasn’t easy. The struggle for independence led to destruction of infrastructure, terror, and thousands of displaced civilians. The aftermath of this struggle is still apparent in Timor’s economy, industry, infrastructure, health care, quality of life, etc. Timor-Leste currently ranks 120 in the Human Development Index.
Our partner organizations work in South Africa, Iraq, Haiti, Nepal, and more.
We strive to work in countries that are still obviously recovering from conflict, where infrastructure is lacking and remnants of violence still taint daily life. The FPCD is a neutral organization and makes no judgment on conflict or the manner in which a conflict was resolved. The FPCD provides tangible results in post conflict development.
Post conflict development is different from conflict resolution. The FPCD does not attempt to resolve conflict but rather focuses on the creation of tangible projects that combat poverty and benefit post conflict countries in the spirit of the Millennium Development Goals.
Post conflict and conflict-affected countries can be classified as such due to a variety of factors. For example, post conflict situations can occur after, though not limited to, the following:
- Interruptions in elections;
- Racial / cultural tensions;
- Border disputes;
- Internal Civil strife;
- Bilateral strife
- Any of the above resulting in cross-border or internal displacement
All of these situations have a number of consequences which are specific to the type of conflict and the character of the communities in which they occur. The FPCD abstains from defining conflict or attempting to resolve conflict.