The NTA joins with the people of Indonesia and of Flores, in mourning the death of Frans Seda on Thursday 31 December, 2009, in Jakarta.

Born in Flores in 1926, for many years, Frans Seda has been one of the most well-known figures from Nusa Tenggara Timur on the national scene. Between 1963 and 1973, he held a range of ministerial positions, including that of finance minister, under both Presidents Sukarno and Soeharto. More recently, Frans Seda has been extremely active in public life in Indonesia: he has worked with one of Indonesia's leading newspapers, Kompas, and was the founding dean of the faculty of economics at the well-known Atmajaya University in Jakarta. The Jakarta Post discussed some details of his life here.

The mission of the NTA East Indonesia Aid (NTA stands for the Nusa Tenggara Association) is to reduce poverty among communities in rural areas of the East Nusa Tenggara Province of Indonesia.

The NTA sponsors small-scale economic and social development activities selected by consensus. This empowers local communities to control their own development in ways that are sustainable in the longer term.

The NTA is run on a volunteer basis in Australia, and currently commits over 90% of its funds directly to its projects in the field in Indonesia. We support and monitor grass-roots activities, mostly involving education, small infrastructures, and income-earning activities. The NTA is making a difference by helping communities to improve the standard of education, facilitating local participation towards infrastructure development, and supporting improved health and sustainable income-earning activities.