CLUB SPONSORED ROTARIAN in Timor Leste… Kindly supported by RC Balwyn & RC Melbourne D9800. Telephone Office +670 3317452 Mobile +670 77232015 Email; rawcsintl@gmail.com TIMOR LESTE LIAISON OFFICER REPORT FOR PERIOD 30 JUNE – 31 JULY 2015 To Bob Glindemann, Bill Dagg, DIK West Footscray, Moorthy Karuna & RC Dili Board. Thank you to RC Balwyn for their continued support… CONTAINERS & SHIPMENTS Commenced paperwork for a shipment of Medical Supplies for Bairo Pite Clinic from Darwin on the Sky Melody yacht. Arrived in Dili but big problems with Customs not releasing the shipment due to Bairo Pite Clinic having no licence to import. Now in discussion with Ministry of Health to sort out the situation. Commenced paperwork for a shipment of Medical Supplies for Bairo Pite Clinic from Darwin on the Vega yacht. Arrived in Dili but big problems with Customs not releasing the shipment due to Bairo Pite Clinic having no licence to import. Now in discussion with Ministry of Health to sort out the situation. Commenced paperwork for a 40’ container from Peter Snell from RC BentleyCurtin in WA of Humanitarian Aid for various recipients. Will arrive next month. Commenced paperwork for another 40’ container from D9800DIK West Footscray of Humanitarian Aid for various recipients. Still on the way… Completed paperwork for a 20’ container from Margaret Aggar from RC Erina in NSW of Building Supplies for Remexio Birthing Centre. Arrived, released & attempted to send to Remexio however road washed away & goods had to be transferred to a number of Express distribution Services’ trucks to deliver items. Commenced paperwork for a shipment of Medical Supplies for St Damian Leprosy Clinic in Baucau from Bren Milsom of Burleigh Heads Rotary Club in QLD. Arrived in Dili but big problems with Customs not releasing the shipment due to St Damian Leprosy Clinic having no licence to import. Now in discussion with Ministry of Health to sort out the situation. 1 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL LIAISON OFFICER TRANSPORT Pajero ongoing problems were repaired at another mechanic, given up on EDS. VARIOUS ACTIVITIES & PROJECTS Attended all Rotary Club of Dili weekly member meetings & Board meeting this month due to being elected to the Board for 2015 -2016. Secretary left the country & nobody offered to take over the job so guess who volunteered… ROMAC ROMAC. Natalina Moniz is a 15 year old girl who went to Brisbane in 2010 to have a brain tumour treated successfully. Will arrange another delivery of 3 months worth of medicine from Brisbane via ConocoPhillips soon. ROMAC. Celestina Dias is a young girl with a heart problem. Travelled to Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne on 26 January. Still in Australia & will be for 6 months or so due to having a back & leg problem fixed. Mum returned due to unknown pregnancy however Celestina in good care at Children First Foundation. ROMAC. Heldericky da Cruz Tolentino is a 16 year old boy with a leg problem referred by Bairo Pite Clinic. Arranged medical update by Dr Josh & sent to ROMAC. Will travel to St Vincent's Private Hospital, Melbourne on 23 September. ROMAC. Nidia Dos Santos is a 13 year old girl with a tumour referred by Dr David Brewster. Surgery approved at the Memorial Hospital in Adelaide. Travelled to Australia on 15 July. ROMAC. Jesuina da Costa Belo is a 13 year old girl with a heart problem identified by Bo Remenyi. Have approval from ROMAC & will go to Melbourne on 13 August. ROMAC. Esperanca Marcal dos Santos is a 17 year old girl with Scoliosis identified by Dr Dan Murphy. Arranged passports after final approval from ROMAC & travelled to Newcastle NSW hospital on 10 June. May return next month. ROMAC. Mila da Silva is a 2 year old girl with a heart problem identified by Bo Remenyi. Referral sent to ROMAC. David Brewster has checked medical condition & report sent to ROMAC. Await result. ROMAC. Frinaliya Soares dos Santos is a 7 year old girl with a heart problem identified by Bo Remenyi. Referral sent & awaits approval from ROMAC. ROMAC. Sonia Soares is a 9 year old girl with a heart problem identified by Bo Remenyi. Referral sent & awaits approval from ROMAC. 2 ONGOING PROJECTS Continue to assist the Oecussi Women’s Group with purchase & marketing of tais products. Collected 100 First Lady Cup tais. Remexio Ambulance from Midwives East Timor Australia & RC Erina NSW. Coordinated payments of ambulance repairs, driver’s wages & fuel as necessary. RC Five Dock in Sydney is funding the construction of a kindergarten in Atabae. Sent RC Five Dock a quote for US$2443.70 for guttering & a water tank for the kindergarten. Approved by RC Five Dock Board & funds received. Met with Fr Sipri on site to discuss installation. Received 5500lt tank from ETR & rolls of PVC piping & fittings will complete the task. Another US$2500.00 wanted. The ultrasound machine sent from D9800DIK West Footscray for the hospital in Solo had the set of leads to operate the machine missing. Have communicated with GE & they have confirmed the leads stayed with the original owner. Bob Glindemann from RC Melbourne has funds to purchase in Indonesia & now await arrival of the money. On it’s way… Kindergarten teacher training program continues with Barbara Woodberry from RC Richmond in Melbourne & Grover Joseph Rees, the retired US Ambassador to Timor Leste, a member of RC Lafayette in Louisiana working through a 2 year Global Grant. Almost finished with final report due. Approval from Chris Fenton from Bairo Pite Hospital Board for building a new Emergency building using an East Timor Roofing prefab building. XLConstructions appointed as contractor. Researched the waste water situation & every buildings taps, sinks & water usage & reported. BJM Constructions appointed as contractor for entire plumbing system rebuild & work on both projects continues. Robert Koehne of Central Region Save Water Save Lives committee in Adelaide has registered a RAWCS project to fund a water supply project at Taupo Mahulu. Toilets are broken & no water connected. Proposal for 2k of pipe to bring water from a reliable spring. Funds have been paid from RC Dili & work continuing with a temporary pipe now at the school & a new kitchen well underway also... Finally commenced a large water project at Hatugara in Liquica district from DG Mr Moorthy Karuna in 2014 - 2015 & Sao Miguel school in collaboration with the District Water & Sanitation department. Global Grant funds arrived. Contractor has started works after LO travelled to Hatugara & trekked up the mountain to inspect the spring & meet with the community. Received enthusiastic support. Stage One paid for & the job continues. The current DG of D9550 in 2014/15 Mr Moorthy Karuna wants to do another Global Grant & now planning a large water project in Ermera district at Lisapat village in collaboration with Eddie da Pina who has done water projects in that area. Have sent budget, drawings & plan & Global Grant application submitted. Not sure where this is up to…. no mention of this Global Grant on RI website. 3 Bren Milsom from Burleigh Heads Rotary Club in QLD has RAWCS registration of 4 projects including new roof, toilets and rebuild of St Theresinha’s Catholic Junior High School in Ossu, container load of resources for above school to be shipped by Interact Clubs, assistance with building and fitting out Carpentry Workshop & Training Centre at Uai Lili & construction of a new kitchen at St Lukas Orphanage in Ossu. Bren has go ahead & will commence shortly. Mt Lilydale College in Melbourne wishes to arrange a partnership with Sao Miguel College for educational & cultural exchange. Teacher Tom Leydon arrived on 30 June & met with Sao Miguel director Armindo Crisna, staff & students & many discussions concerning pushing the program forward. Tom & Crisna went to Taupomahulu to see a district school we support & various other institutions Tom was interested to contact. Tom returned to Australia on 7 July. Bob Horth from RC Dili & Chandra Sluggett from RC Unley SA arranged a VTT to Adelaide. The group of English Language Training teachers have returned to Timor with much improved skills. Now 3 teachers from SA visited Timor to follow up the students & go to their schools. Plans to have this great program extended. First Lady Cup was held on Sunday 16 November 2014. Big logistics exercise with all staff involved. Many volunteers made very successful event with over 600 runners/walkers. Raised over US$26000.00 gross. Funds spent this month; Help Domingos Alves to pay Uni fees for medical studies US$250.00, buy a printer & cartridges for Hatugara school, they have a computer but no printer US$125.00. Jenny Mills, President of RC Loxton SA, agreed to a project to fund children to access kindergarten. Received amount of US$3976.69 to initially help 10 poor kids get into the Bebonuk kindergarten & paid US$2596.00. An arrangement has been made with a kindergarten in Venilale to spend the remaining US$1380.69 by US$330 per quarter paying fees & upgrading the very basic situation. Discussion with Prof Jeremy Oats & Prof Sue McDonald & VTT team regarding site of next midwife training visit & have suggested Balibo. Approval for another full round of funding from Rotary will enable at least 5 more trips. Officially approved as a Sawyer International Dealer to supply their products particularly water filters to the Timor Leste market. Have submitted first order which should arrive next month from Florida USA. Have now placed 2nd order. Discussions continue with Pat Fleming, Bill Bonner & Rock O’Keefe from Rotary Club of Ashmore who wish to rehabilitate a girls dormitory roof in Maliana for Sr Helen Nolen. RC Ashmore has indicated approval of ETR roof only. Still waiting for some action… Sr Helen produced a quotation from a Timorese builder with no tools to use Indonesian steel, no support for this from LO office. Still assisting Balibo House Trust & Ricardo Krauskopf of RC Port Melbourne to establish a Health & Dental Clinic in the CLC in the Flag House at Balibo. Have basic plans, Bill of Quantity & price from architect with changes requested. Documents gone to 2 contractors & will arrange 2 more shortly. 4 Ron Lunt Director International RC Moruya in NSW will do a project in Timor Leste with US$1826.17 funding. Approved Sawyer Filter distribution to needy villages on Atauro Island. Money has arrived & filters coming from USA next month. Assisting the Whitehorse Community - Friends of Oecussi Group & Rotary Club of Box Hill Central who have raised $8,000-00 to pay for a major Solar Power Units Project in Kusi Aldeia. Likely to proceed in 2015 but no news update. Working with Alotu the Timorese Speech pathologist to arrange 4 weeks of hands on training in Darwin & Perth. Rotary home hosting has been arranged. Trying to confirm a date possible early October. Discussions continue with Tim Hewitt RC Lilydale Vic & Jonathon Gault an audiologist who wish to arrange a clinic & other assistance to Timorese with hearing problems. Have list of children to be seen… 2015 First Lady Cup was held on Sunday 2 August with everybody in the office involved. Big logistic exercise over many days & taking over the office. Sponsors happy to support & now have Pepsi as a major contributor. Excellent volunteers made a successful day with about 350 runners/walkers. Much discussion with Max Bird from Rotary Club of Kwinana WA who has a Global Grant approved to continue his water supply projects in the eastern districts of Timor Leste. Max arrived on Sunday 19 July but due to some unrest around Baguia spent little time out of Dili. Met at airport & lots of logistic support. Still discussing with RMS Engineers & Contractors concreting or asphalting the Bairo Pite Clinic car park but first quote too expensive, simultaneously talking to East Timor Roofing regarding quoting a prefabricated parking area structure. Ken Hubbard, Jenny Feiss & 2 other women from Bendigo Friends of Maubisse arrived on 23 June to teach art skills to junior and senior high school students at the Pousada in Maubisse. Departed 7 July after successful trip. RC Kununurra in WA wish to proceed with a project on Atauro Island to complete construction of a school started by the locals & also build a cattle trough. Funds received are US$7680.50 to purchase water pumps & taps arrived from WA & all have gone to Atauro. Unfortunately contact to complete the school has returned to Australia & now Barry Hinton is looking for a building team to start work. Ian Toohill from RC Eltham arrived on 22 June with a work team to complete the second storey of the Primary School classroom at Dominicans convent complex at Hera for Sr Mila. 2nd team arrived 2 July & departed 12 July. Usual logistics. NEW PROJECTS Problems with East Timor Roofing licence to operate a sales facility in Dili. ETR have approval to manufacture steel products but no licence to sell the products. 5 Michael Dahl & 12 volunteers from Nazareth College in Adelaide arrived on 6 July to head to Triloka to help the Good Crocodile Foundation. Usual logistics of accommodation, vehicle hire & airport connections. Departed 17 July after successful trip. Rotary Lions Club Maubara Dental program team arrived on 18 July & met at airport with their Troop Carrier. Will depart early next month. Bob Glindemann arrived 13 July to attend East Timor Roofing in Baucau & other commitments. Bruce Parker arrived 15 July & assisted both with airport connections & other logistics as required. Lots of bureaucratic red tape to extend Temporary Resident permit for another 2 years. Police check, medical check, passport copies, applications, too much… Daryl Mills Rotary International Liaison Officer for Timor Leste ROMAC Coordinator for Timor Leste Board Member – Rotary Club of Dili. Dili, Timor Leste. 6