How does it feel to work and learn at the same time? Ask Chelsea dos Santos, a Timorese youth whose passion is to help others through her work and life. Born and raised in Liquiçá, a municipality very close to the capital, Chelsea’s dream is to become someone who can uplift others, especially the marginalized and vulnerable.
Perhaps unexpectedly, she can trace the origin of that dream to a moment when she actually felt she had lost her direction, and so she prayed to God. “I still remember that prayer”, she recalled. “It was something like: ‘God, now I want to surrender only to You. Take me wherever You want. I want to serve only You. Please use me to help other people with all the skills and capabilities You have given me’”.
Not long after, during a quiet moment, she was scrolling through the internet, like many young people do today, and one Instagram story caught her attention. “It was in 2022. The post was about a job application opportunity with a program called Timorese Youth For Change (TY4C), run by Casa de Produção Audiovisual (CPA), the Jesuits’ media ministry in Timor-Leste. I applied online immediately and made it through all the selection processes.”
At first, when Chelsea attended the interview, she thought she would be paid. “I thought the program was a professional paid position, not a volunteer program, so I had doubts. At that time, I was running my own small start-up baking cakes,” Chelsea explained.
Image: Chelsea in the left corner (wear Dalan Ba Fututu uniform) with her batch match.
Fortunately, after being selected, and while attending one of the briefing sessions with fellow participants Berna, Clotilde, Liborio, Abilio, and two others who did not complete the program, her heart was moved by one particular sentence. “One of CPA’s staff members mentioned CPA’s vision, mission, and motto: ‘BE THE VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS.’ At that moment, I remembered my prayer, and something inside me told me that this was the answer from God Himself—to become part of this program.”
The Timorese Youth For Change program was founded by CPA’s current director, Rui Muakandala, in 2022. It aims to support and prepare the younger generation of Timorese for their professional careers. Chelsea and her team were the first batch of participants.
Chelsea’s journey has opened many opportunities since she joined TY4C. She found a new family, a place to grow, learn, and train herself to become more professional in everything she does.
“My journey with CPA started with the three-month TY4C program, from June to September 2022. I then had the opportunity to become a member of CPA’s staff in 2023, and I continue to work there still today as a Researcher,” she said.
Image: Chelsea is the one wearing blue T-shirt and white tote-bag, with CPA team in a documentary production.
She finds CPA an ideal place for people who want to work and learn at the same time: “For me, it is very flexible and offers many opportunities to unlock my skills.” In her experience, CPA has helped her discover her hidden potential.
“Over the past three years since joining CPA, I have worked as a Researcher and sometimes as a Presenter, Co-Producer, and Associate Producer. Along the way, I have learned many things, including critical thinking skills, which have been helpful especially when researching new topics for storytelling productions,” Chelsea shared.
In addition, she has also developed skills in media and communications, including how to approach and interview sources, create schedules, manage pre-production activities, and adapt to changing situations in the field.
While traveling around Timor-Leste to produce Dalan ba Futuru, a weekly television documentary series, Chelsea gained valuable experiences from every place she visited.
“One of the most meaningful experiences was in Maununo Village, Ainaro Municipality. During the filming process, I witnessed how eager children were to attend school and receive a proper education, even though their classroom had no chairs or tables and they sat on the dusty ground. The distance from their homes to the school was also quite far, yet they still enjoyed the learning process.”
Image: The condition of pre-school at Maununo Village, Ainaro Municipality (Photo 2023).
These experiences also helped Chelsea to become more grateful. Unlike before, when she often complained about many things, these encounters reminded her to appreciate what she has. They also remind me, as a writer and as someone who has met many people and listened to their stories, that our professional experiences can teach us to grow and focus on what we already have and to be grateful.
One of Chelsea’s achievements as a member of the first TY4C batch was producing a short documentary that was screened for donors and benefactors, including Misereor. In fact, as a researcher, Chelsea has explored many topics and helped CPA produce various documentary films that support communities in rural areas by amplifying their voices. “One of the documentaries I produced was about cyberbullying and the importance of reading books,” she shared.
Through these CPA productions, Chelsea has been able to realise her dream of helping people share their stories—using their own voices—and especially those who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to express themselves, thus creating a positive impact on their own communities.
You may find all the documentaries by clicking this link:
Written by:
Iriana Soares, ETR Communications Officer