Very, very, very sadly, the Timor Leste Dental Program farewells a dear friend from TL, Daryl Mills, who has been the Rotary Liaison Officer, ROMAC coordinator and general fixer for all Rotary projects in Timor Leste since time immemorial. Daryl has met teams at airports, organised accommodation, arranged emergency medical care, sorted out repairs for equipment, sourced us a new car and facilitated its purchase, paid our bills, been our TL banker, shown us all the good spots to eat, unloaded our stuff from shipping containers and ferried it to wherever it had to go, smoothed our way through customs, helped us with visa issues and generally been an irreplaceable, good-natured, super-helpful mate who we loved to hang out with. We also enjoyed the company of Daryl’s wife, the lovely, kind-hearted Widya, who worked at the Australian embassy, and has always had a finger on the pulse of TL life and a big sense of humour; and we have watched their son, Adji, grow into a very mischievous 7 year old. We will miss them all!

The family is planning on eventually heading to the WW1 &2 battlefields of France to start a tour business there – Daryl knows more about WW1 and WW2 battlefields than I could have ever imagined! For now – they are in Indonesia, dealing with the congestion and bureaucracy of Indonesian life.  Our deepest thanks to you Daryl, for your help, good-humour  and friendship. We wish you, Widya and Adji all the best and hope to visit you in France soon!