The Literacy rate in Timor-Leste is 50%. Half of the population can't read. Even at San Miguel, the school where we worked, 2000 students have to take shifts (morning and afternoon) to be able to attend the school. The tiny classrooms are filled with 75-80 students at a time in unbearable heat. When it is the normal temperature outside (10 degrees hotter than hell) it is like an oven indoors. There is no air conditioning. little or no ventilation, no indoor plumbing or running water. During the torrential downpour of the rainy season, the roof leaks and buckets are placed everywhere to catch the leaks. There is a mountain of donated miscellaneous books in one storage room, but during our entire visit I never saw a student carry a book. Cristna, the head of the school works tirelessly from 4 am to 11 pm to do the impossible. This year he did it. After taking the standardized exams, only 6 out of his 200 seniors failed to graduate and one scored the highest of any senior in the city.
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