Donate to Educating the Future Today!
This link with remain open for those that wish to support Educating the Future after the Annual Gala Dinner!
Our Founding Story:
ETF was founded by two recently graduated high-school students, Adam Hegedus and Alessandro Piovano at the start of 2016. Three years earlier, both Adam and Alessandro visited Walgett, a rural town in northwest NSW and were given their first taste for the disparity of educational standards, an experience that exposed to them the world of volunteering.
This experience inspired them to partake and lead the inaugural Waverley College Immersion trip to Timor-Leste the following year. It was on this trip that the spark of Educating the Future was first ignited. Fuelled by the generosity and passion of the local Ermera community, Adam and Alessandro were motivated to make a difference, in any way they could.
During their HSC year, the founders released the independent initiative ‘Schoolies For Schooling’ (SFS), a crowdfunding and awareness campaign aiming to bring Timorese education standards to light, and raise money for the construction of a pre-school. SFS involved Adam and Alessandro walking 758 KM from Bondi to Byron Bay, four days after the conclusion of their final exams. After 21 days and enormous community support, the then 18-year-olds had raised $20,000 for Timor-Leste.
Educating the Future was then founded in 2016 as a registered Australian not-for-profit, aiming to empower youth through education. The student team grew from 2 to 33 by the following year and in November 2017, the initial pre-school was constructed in Railaco Motahare. With the support of an expert advisory panel and professional board, ETF has committed to a long-term future in Timor-Leste.