TLDP Team 1 Visits Oecusse May 2024
Oecusse is somewhat of an anomaly, the site of some of the first Portuguese landings in Timor in the 1560’s, it sits landlocked within Indonesian West Timor.
The TLDP last visited Oecusse in 2018 with a team led by Dave Sheen.
Logistically, this was the most complex trip that we’ve undertaken in the last few years and plenty of planning was necessary to minimise the inevitable curve balls that get thrown at us. Should we take the ferry or travel overland…..the ferry schedule seems somewhat random, what documents do we need to get through 4 border posts……plenty of things to think about.
On top of all this, there was a wedding invitation in the mail from our old friend Bony…..and he wished for all the team to attend the celebrations to be held at the start of our visit.
Team 1 consisted of Dr Henry, new recruit Dr Josie with our employees Ana Tilman and Ana Martins, fellow dental nurses Tino and Tison and Ana Paula, our super organiser.
Dr Henry arrived on Wednesday May 1 to be met by gout free Mario (our Rotary liaison in Dili) and AT. There followed much racing around to collect consumables (there was not one paper towel left in Dili) and dispense funds for various activities. This included money for tickets to get most of the team onto the nights ferry to Oecusse. The original plan was for the team and Troopy to take the Friday nights ferry however Bony’s wedding needed to be moved forward a day because the priests in Oecusse don’t do Saturday weddings. Apparently nobody turns up at mass the next day. So away they went on Wednesday night.
Dr Henry and AT took the Troopy to Maubara, and filled it full of the contents of the clinic. Thursday dawned and a local driver took the heavily loaded Troopy back to Dili whilst AT and Dr Henry followed in the requisitioned Sisters car, heading to the airport to pick up Dr Josie.
She was in surprisingly good humour after lugging in 40 kilos of stock all the way from Newcastle. Introductions done, we decamped back into Dili to gather sim cards, final shopping and a collect couple of Bony’s friends, fellow travellers to the wedding who reputedly had crossed the borders previously and had the requisite knowledge.
Back to Maubara for our merry band of travellers. Having completed Dr Josies induction into the vagaries of bathrooms, mosquito nets and most things Timor Leste, we took an early night to get ready for the overland adventure in the morning.
The 2 hour trip down the coast to the border town of Batugarde was uneventful, however vigilance was necessary with many children walking to school on the road and goats and chickens crossing the road (to get to the other side). Nervously we approached the Timorese border post, our passports and papers were in order but did we have 7 copies of the cars documents? Commandeering a motorbike, a search for a photocopier began and 7 copies later, the Timorese bureaucracy happy, we advanced 500 meters to the Indonesian officialdom.
A well oiled machine at extracting money from unsuspecting travellers sprang into action. Yes, there possibly was transposition of a couple of numerals in our vehicles documents but it can be all fixed with a $70 facilitation fee, just see that man over there.
Finally we emerged into Indonesia and set off in search of Oecusse.
It was here that our fellow wedding guests with the intimate knowledge of roads, maps and local experience were able to apply their expertise. Suffice to say that the Sisters car has seen a lot more of West Timor than it needed to.
Finally arriving at the next Indonesian passport control we were pleasantly surprised to be ushered through with a minimum of fuss. Only to be deposited into the clutches of the Timorese officials who insisted that our good for 30 days “Visa on Arrival” which we procured at some expense at Dili airport just a day or so ago needed to be renewed because we were entering Timor Leste. Go figure.
Our sense of humour somewhat dented we arrive just in time to miss the wedding service, something the locals said was no bad thing. This lucky break left time for the team to “preperate” ( an ill defined term, but known to those of us who’ve seen the girls emerge radiant from the bathroom after throwing ladles of water at themselves ) for the evenings festivities.
They are possibly still talking about the wedding of Bony to Byca in Oecusse; a cast of thousands, it was a joyful celebration. Spare a thought for Dr Josie who found herself dropped into a huge Timorese wedding as a guest of honour, not knowing the protagonists and still finding her Timor Leste feet.
Making our exit in the early morning, dropping a bunch of nuns home on the way, it was a very tired Dr Henry who arose to meet the ferry at 5am, retrieving the Troopy loaded with all our equipment and materials.
Commandeering a church hall, we created our 3 chair portable dental surgery which was to be our home for the next 12 days. We were fortunate to have a new compressor and 2 new portable dental units which had been recently bought with funds donated in recognition of the long service that Dr Blanche had given the TLDP as Coordinator.
We settled into an easy routine of walking to work from our Carmelite accommodation, through a cow pat studded field, saying “Bondia” to the flock gathered to see us at the hall front door, prepping the surgery for the days endeavours, lighting mosquito coils and firing up the fans.
The church hall enjoyed an ambient temperature of about 32 degrees C and if you weren’t in the range of a fan it became somewhat uncomfortable.
Ana Paula marshalled the throng, numbered them off with requisite paper chit and set them to patiently wait watching their compatriots get treated. It was amazing to see that they all knew exactly where they were in the queue, often wanting to load themselves as a chair became empty.
In tandem, two of the team would be dispatched to the school next door to triage the students class by class and herd the chosen ones back to the hall. Then came the tricky part, with the students as our priority we needed to gently ask some of the community to come back in the afternoon or even tomorrow. For the first few days, our optimistic judgment of time had us trudging home in the dark.
Our hostesses, four Carmelite Sisters, a quartet of passion and activity, proved to be very good company. Nothing was too much trouble, from whistling up a driver, to setting off in a Tum-tum to do some shopping for us. In the evening, strumming a guitar and singing whist we enjoyed a well deserved beer and in the morning, woken to the sounds of “Alleluia” drifting through the wall from their small chapel.
Our association with the Carmelite Sisters helps navigate the sometime impenetrable pathways of bureaucracy that seem commonplace in Timor Leste.
On our first day, the Sisters accompanied the Team to present our credentials to the local Minister of Health and with much nodding, handshaking and with a small speech, he allowed us to do our work.
Sundays being a day of rest, we were discouraged from working, apparently dental pain can be assuaged by attending mass.
So we thought that we would get a bit of fresh air, see the great outdoors and tick off a number of local waterfalls. Our first choice was quickly discounted when we found that the local bad spirits preyed on unwary travellers who walked in an odd numbered group. Our team being seven.
The next choice looked suitable and we set off with a jaunty gait, through the coconut grove and up the creek. Not hearing the sounds of falling water we employed some local children to guide us toward our aquatic destination. Yes, it’s just up this hill, around the corner and up and down a little bit. What started as a merry doddle turned into a team bonding session. Who would have thought that a waterfall would be at the top of a mountain! Just as we were wondering who to eat first, through the mist our waterfall appeared. There followed a frenzy of selfie taking with the photogenic backdrop ensuring friends and family scattered through Timor Leste could travel along with us and be suitably impressed.
The following Sunday we drove out to conquer our second waterfall, this one more conventionally situated at the bottom of the mountain. Reached by walking up a dried river bed and then through the stream itself for a kilometre or so, this waterfall was another scenic example of what the Oecusse landscape has to offer.
The dental treatment we were able to provide varied quite a bit. Of course, there was attention to “moras” (pain) for many patients with extraction of the offending tooth a quick remedy. One young man who had come off his motorbike a year ago and fractured his front teeth was able to be treated with multiple root canals and large resin restorations.
We also saw many large anterior cavities where the team was able to provide tooth saving treatment.
Another important facet of our TLDP is to help provide clinical knowledge and guidance to our Timorese colleagues. Dr Josie (who could still remember being at University) provided the intellectual heft whilst Dr Henry imparted some more practical advice.
The days ticked past and finally it was time to pack up, thankfully not needing to turn any patients away in the final hours.
Team 1 for the TLDP provided treatment for over 660 patients, many of them secondary students, much of it relieving pain and infection or preventing future problems. It is so rewarding to be able to help young people and change the course of their life by saving their anterior teeth from future removal.
After having enough of border crossings we all returned to Dili on the overnight ferry to be deposited at the docks at 5am. There is not much open at that time so we decamped to the lobby of the best hotel in town, fought the night manager for the sofa and grabbed some much needed sleep.
Later that morning we said goodbye to Dr Josie as she was to wing her way back to Australia, leaving behind some new best friends and taking with her the myriad experiences that volunteering in Timor Leste will provide.
However no rest for the wicked, the cars still needed to be driven the hours drive back to Maubara, unloaded, stocktake done and still time for an afternoon clinic with children from a local school.
Back to Dili the next day, leaving the Troopy in Mario’s capable hands, final goodbyes and another successful TLDP team visit was completed.
There are many people who contribute to our TLDP team success, from those who donate funds that allow us to operate, our self funded volunteer dentists who contribute their time and expertise, our Timorese collegues, the many Carmelite Sisters and our Rotary friends, Mario and Judite.
Special mention to Dr Mary and the TLDP Advisory Board who attend to everything that makes for a successful and fulfilling program.
Timor-Leste Dental Program 