Tag Archives: David Sheen

Ana Paula & her good mates Patisepta & Mena

Ana Paula – 2 years on….

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As our many friends and supporters know, the TLDP has been supporting a young Timorese lady, Ana Paula Dos Santos Tavares Salgado, in her dental studies in Fiji National University for the last 2 years. (Above Pic: Ana Paula and her good mates, Patisepta and Mena.

David Sheen, Ana Paula & Dr Tara Savou

Ana Paula hit the shores of Fiji in February 2019 – right at the beginning of the pandemic – and has been stuck there ever since. University study is hard enough, but studying in another country, away from family and friends, in a foreign language is even harder. The difficulty is heightened even further with Covid factors; there have been periods of extreme isolation, and much helplessness and distress due to separation from sick and dying family members.

It has been a very hard 2 years for Ana Paula.

Nonetheless, Ana Paula is determined and resilient, and she has had staunch support from Australia; Dr David Sheen and John Tweedie have had almost-weekly WhatsApp meetings with Ana Paula throughout her time in Fiji, and have taken on the responsibility of her welfare in Fiji, while Dr Geoff Knight and Dr Stephanie Shields have provided academic aid. Ana Paula is much-loved by all our team members and many of us keep in touch with her.

Ana Paula and friends

Fiji finally opened its doors last week, and David Sheen flew over to touch base with Ana Paula. She has garnered some amazing supporters in-country, and David was able to spend some time with her friends and tutors, as well as check out the dental program at Fiji National University.

David Sheen, Dr Leenu & Ana Paula

David found that Ana Paula has now settled into student life and regards the rest of the course with positivity. She has supportive friends and is well liked by the university staff and people she meets. Ana Paula is now studying second year Bachelor of Oral Health subjects, and with a credit average, she will be able to transition into the Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

And with a bit of luck, she will be able to head home to Timor-Leste at the end of this year. Stay tuned!

Great small things

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It’s just over a week since David and John finished their very long ramble from Chatswood to Blackheath to raise money for Timor. David was raising money for the TLDP; in particular, for Ana Paula’s education in Fiji. John was raising money for Hatubuilico, a beautiful, but remote village in the highlands of TL. By the middle of his 150km challenge, David was aiming to raise $20 000, an enormous amount of money in our estimation.

HE DID IT.

As of today, Monday, November 2nd, David has raised a total of $20 485.

In a conversation at the end of last week, David humbly remarked that it was ‘just a walk’. Yet, his ‘small’ action will have large repercussions – it will help in the building of a better future for the health of the Timorese people.

Although David (plus John and many, many others) did the hard physical slog, this amazing result is a true team effort. Only with the support of our friends and donors, could David et. al.’s walk become transformative. A small thing became something great.

The TLDP is in awe of David – thanks David for doing the hard yards for us all! We are also so grateful for everyone’s contribution. We have tried to get in contact with the many people who supported David, and we apologise if we missed you. Thank you thank you thank you.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

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Our volunteering year is now ended with Team 5 returning a couple of weeks ago from TL. It has been a very busy year, and so we are quite happy to be able to draw a quick breath or two before we start to prepare for the year ahead. (Pic: Isa, Nico, Tino, Bony, David and Ana Paula)

Team 5 was led by Dr David Sheen, one of this program’s founders, and an excellent dentist, teacher and mentor. David has decided that this will be his last clinical trip, so we imagine that this trip tasted bittersweet. David will be sorely missed. He is a gracious, good-humoured and considerate person and a skilled team leader. However, there is no rest for the wicked – David will continue to be involved in the TLDP management committee, and he has taken on the responsibility for getting a Timorese person into and through a dental degree! We haven’t seen the last of him yet!

The remainder of the Australian contingent of Team 5 consisted of returnee, Dr Geoff Knight (Week 1), and newcomers, John Darby (Week 1 and2) and Gaye Dumont (Week 2).

We are proud to say that the Timorese portion of Team 5 was considerably larger than the Australian part, something that is now typical of all our teams, and an ideal that we have been steadily working towards over the past 15 years. We believe that a program is only sustainable if it has local ownership and it can only be locally-owned if there is a preponderance of local participation. The timorese contingent consisted of TLDP dental therapist, Nicolau Tolentino Faria Pires (Nico), TLDP dental assistant and translator, Ana Paula Dos Santos Tavares Salgado, Ministry of Health (MoH) dental therapist, Diamantino Correia Morais (Tino), translator, Bonifacio Cardoso Martins (Bony), translator and organiser, Isabel Noronha Pereira De Lima Maia (Isa), MoH dentist, Dr Inda Zulmira Dias, MoH dental therapists, Armando Da Costa Martins and Ricardo Mendonça, and Carmelite sister, Sr Delfina Soares. With the exception of Sr Delfina, all the Timorese in this team have worked with the TLDP for many years.

The lucky team spent the first week in Oecusse, an East Timorese enclave within West Timor, Indonesia. They were lucky not only because Oecusse is a beautiful area with coral reefs off the beach, but also because they got to spend time with our beloved Sr Filomena da Costa, our old Timorese program coordinator who was uprooted from Maubara to take over the new Oecusse Carmelite community. (Pic: Sr Carmelita, Sr Filomena and Ana Paula)

This team journeyed by ferry, a quite expensive and time-consuming exercise involving putting the 2 packed vehicles on the ferry in the morning, waiting around Dili all day, then boarding at 5pm, before finally arriving at 5am the next morning. Luckily, the team scored the only 2 cabins onboard and were able to sleep! Thanks to Isa for booking the tickets in advance! (Pic: Dedicated Nico and Tino)

The team worked for 3 ½ days within the Carmelite Health Centre, São Domico Clinic, mostly treating the children from the neighbouring high school and the local community. Sr Filomena, Bony and Nico did all the oral health education and screening of the school kids. After that, the team broke up into two teams, each comprising a Timorese clinician with a mentor; Geoff teamed with Tino and Ana Paula to do all the fillings and preventive treatments, while David and Nico did all the extractions. John Darby, a dental prosthetist in Oz, became the team’s super-efficient sterilising nurse and infection control manager. It was a very busy few days! It was a real treat for the team to be able to spend time with Sr Filomena, who is also one of the founders of our program and a delightful lady with a loving and ebullient nature. (Pic: Geoff, Sr Carmelita and Tino)

Another 12-hour boat ride and the team returned to Dili on the Saturday for restocking and team changeover. The team farewelled Tino, Bony and Geoff and welcomed Gaye and Sr Delfina into the fold. Sr Delfina is keen to study dentistry and the TLDP has agreed to support her studies if she gets into a training program. In a meeting with the Carmelite head honchos on the weekend, David suggested that Sr Delfina gain some work experience, so she also joined Team 5 for round 2! Off to the hills of Maubisse! (Pic: John and Gaye atop the Christo Rei)

The trip to Maubisse takes 4-5 hours from Dili. The team was scheduled to work in one of its more remote regions, Manetu, for the next couple of days. The team arrived in the early afternoon in Maubisse town and collected Dr Inda, so they decided to push onto the Manetu-Lebululi Health Centre to set up for the next day. Unfortunately, they travelled via a suggested ‘short cut’, which turned out to be an extremely bad road, and when they finally arrived, the health centre was locked up with no one around, leaving the team to do a u-turn and head back to Maubisse. At least the return trip was on the longer, but much better, road and so the return journey only took 1 ½ hours! (Pic: Gaye and the Maubara sisters)

Manetu is a very poor area, which suffers from severe water shortages when the rain doesn’t come on time. As a result, the villagers have difficulties with personal and home hygiene, and the team saw many people with scabies and badly infected mouths. This is the first time the TLDP has travelled to this village (this was an agreement drawn up in April this year in a meeting with the local chiefs) and the first time this village has had any dental care at all, so it was unsurprising that most of the treatment was extractions. Dr Inda manned 2 extraction chairs all by herself, and David mentored Nico doing restorations.

The last couple of days were spent in the Horaiki High School, which had already been screened and given oral health education by the Maubisse Hospital team (Dr Inda, Armando and Ricardo). Team 5 was assisting the hospital team to follow up with treatment. David and Inda mentored the two Maubisse dental therapists, Armando and Ricardo, while Nico gave additional toothbrushing instruction in the classrooms. In both locations, Gaye, John and Ana Paula kept the team going. Support staff are essential for maintaining good infection control in TL! (Pic: Dr Inda and Ana Paula doing the admin)

Team 5 had brought over our new 34kg suction unit. It worked brilliantly, which meant happy clinicians and happy patients. Lucky for them, there were no equipment breakdowns. NONE! That must be a record! The team also got to spend time with 3 different sets of Carmelites – Sr Filomena, Sr Carmelita and Co. in Oecusse, Sr Joaninha, Sr Lindalva and Co. in Maubara, and Sr Domingas, Sr Rosa, Sr Eva, Sr Veronica and Sr Zeza in Maubisse. That’s a lot of cheeriness and good food right there! (Pic: the Maubisse Sisters)Overall the team saw 443 patients, carried out 318 check-ups, took out 460 teeth, placed 218 fillings and did 42 preventive treatments. Well done Team 5!

Thank you to everyone who continues to support our program! From our donors, to our team members in Darwin who collect supplies and bring them to the airport for the teams, to our biggest materials donors – Henry Schein Halas and SDI – and the Rotary Liaison Team in Dili who do so much running around for us, we are in your debt. Thank you for your generosity. We could not do this without you.

The Old Switcheroo

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It’s coming to the end of our volunteering year. Phew! Team 4 arrived back safely 2 weeks ago, but  we have been super-busy trying to address some of their problems, as well as sort out some tricky logistics for Team 5; so we have yet to update our friends and supporters on what Team 4 got up to! Sorry for the delay – the team leader’s report was just posted last night – we will update you as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, our last team for the year, headed by Dr David Sheen, arrives in TL tomorrow. Accompanying David, is long-time volunteer, Dr Geoff Knight, and Sydney prosthetist, Dr John Darby. Team 5 is working in the Oecusse and Maubisse areas. Oecusse is an East Timorese enclave within West Timor (Indonesia). It is Timor Leste’s East Berlin – difficult to get to, significantly poorer,  and with less services than the rest of TL. With equipment and vehicles, one gets there via road or via sea. The road option takes a several hours visit  to the Indonesian embassy, a whole day drive through 60km of West Timor, stopping at  multiple military checkpoints, and multiple ‘extra’ payments. It was a total pain the last time we chose the road. So, this time, the team is trying to get their by boat; however, the last time a team took the sea-option, our vehicle almost went for a swim. So…Good Luck Team 5!

THANKYOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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It seems that the years fly by faster and faster as we get older. Here we are again at the end of the year, with the silly season looming. At this time, I reflect upon everything that has happened during the year – good and bad – all our achievements, all our losses, and how we have handled it all.

This year has been tumultuous for the Timor Leste Dental Program; we hired a new dental therapist, Nico Pires, at the beginning of the year, in a bid to increase the local ownership for the program. He has proved to be a true asset – a hardworking and competent clinician, who is unafraid to take charge even in the presence of some extremely authoritative (bossy) Aussie dentists. We simultaneously entered into a partnership with the Maubisse-Bendigo Friendship Association, which has increased the support for the Maubisse District, but has also had the effect of increasing (temporarily, we hope!) our workload, as we bring these newcomers up to speed. Maubisse Hospital acquired a new dentist – Dr Inda Zulmira Días –  who has already shown her skill in organising the Maubisse sectors for Teams 1 and 5, as well as an ability to connect with the community though our dental workshops. Everyone who got to work with her this year fell in love with her charm and enthusiasm.

Overshadowing everything was a great deal of frustration dealing with the moving goal posts of the new Timorese dental registration process – delays, lengthy meetings with government officials, multiple trips to Dili, mountains of paperwork, and emails, and submission and resubmission of documents…this is still ongoing. All the teams felt the absence of our translator, and friend, Bony, who was in his final year at university. Although he couldn’t work with the teams, he still set aside time to help the TLDP with the registration, as well as sorting out many other details for our teams. Thank you Bony!

The TLDP sent over 5 teams this year. We had a host of new volunteers – Dr Mary Tuituinnik, Dr Marius Mocke, Mrs Yvette Young, Ms Abbey Notley, Ms Liz Thompson, Dr Mengzhu Wang, Ms Malita McCabe, Dr Andrew Frame, Dr Phil Hill and Dr Christine Underhill. It was wonderful to see the way these new volunteers took the Timorese people into their hearts. We also saw the return of our regulars – Dr John Moran, Dr David Digges, Dr Wayne Pearson, Dr Karen Sloan, Dr Geoff Knight, Dr David Sheen, Dr Blanche Tsetong, Ms Bella Miller, Dr John Whyte, Dr Ashley Freeman and Dr Peter Shakes. The people who return, year after year, is what keeps this program running. They are gold.

Sadly, two of our team leaders, Wayne Pearson and David Sheen, claimed that this was their so-called ‘last’ trip to Timor; however, it is hard to resist Timor’s siren song – we think that Timor hasn’t seen the back of them yet! However, by far the biggest blow to the program this year, was the loss of Sr Filomena da Costa – our Timorese Program Coordinator. The Carmelite exec ruled that she had to move to Oecusse to head the community over there; as a relatively young community, they need someone with her 26 years of experience. In one fall swoop we have lost our boss, the best chef in Timor, our spiritual advisor, local folklorist and a quirky, mischievous friend. No prizes for guessing that everyone will be vying for the Oecusse spot from now on! Nico and Sr Joaninha have big shoes to fill.

This year the TLDP treated over 2330 people; we extracted over 1851 teeth, placed over 937 fillings, and carried out 411 preventive treatments. This treatment is worth about $977,650. We facilitated one dental workshop and mentored 6 Timorese dental clinicians over a period of 10 weeks.

We would like to wholeheartedly thank all our fabulous volunteers, who never stint on giving their time and effort to the Timorese people. We would also like to thank their families and friends who support them – they would not be able to do what they do without you. Thank you to all our Timorese workers, partners and helpers. There are always a multitude of local people, often unsung and unseen, who help keep the program running while we are over there – they are teachers, drivers, groundsmen, elders, nurses, passersby – they give because they can, and we are awed by them.  A massive thank you to Henry Schein Halas and SDI for their extremely generous donations to our program this year – we would not be able to function without your donations of vital dental materials and equipment. Last, but not least, thank you to our donors – 97% of your valuable contributions go directly towards helping the Timorese people. We are more than grateful for your support. Your contributions pay for equipment and vehicle maintenance, for material and equipment purchases and for the salaries of Nico and other Timorese translators and fixers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

From all of us at the Timor Leste Dental Program, we wish all our volunteers, our supporters, our donors, our partners and their families, a happy Christmas. We wish you all the best for the new year. Keep safe and well and we will see you in 2018.

The Luscious Luxury of Language

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(Photo: Neil Langley, Macu, Sr Filomena, Bony, Denise Salvestro, David Sheen, Ben Sheen)

patick and gals

 

Team 1 has returned from a vastly entertaining, happy and successful trip to TL. They lost a team member before they had left the country – seemingly a very common occurrence for this program – Dr Mary Tuituinnik had to again bow out due to illness (we hope you feel better soon!); nevertheless, by all accounts, the team revelled in each other’s company and work proceeded it its normal chaotic fashion. In the first week, the team consisted of Dr David Sheen, Patrick Fitzgerald on his second trip, and Dr Neil Langley – he and his wife, Dr Denise Salvestr0, are both dentists in remote Northern Territory and long-time advocates for indigenous health. They were joined by Bonifacio Cardoso Martins (aka Bony), who was recommended to us by our friend, Mimi Chungue, as a translator. Bony is a student at the University of Timor Leste and is studying Linguistics. Bony kept the team’s spirits high with his cheerful, helpful nature. He was so enthusiastic that he ended up staying with the team for almost the entire trip! (Pic: Patrick and Co. at the Poussada)

Bony and co

In the second week, the Team farewelled Patrick, and welcomed David’s son, Ben Sheen, and Dr Denise Salvestro to the workforce. They were also joined by another student recommended by Mimi, Immaculada (aka Macu) for a few days. According to Sr Filomena, they were a boisterous bunch, who worked hard during the day and stayed up all night carousing!(Pic: Bony registering kids at Tapamanolu)

Usually our two week program consists of the first week in the Maubara/Liquiça subdistricts followed by a week in a more remote community; however, Sr Filomena has decided to reverse this structure, thereby preventing the disorderly haste (and accompanying mess) when returning from afar and closing down the program. She’s not just a pretty face! Hence, Team 1 spent the first week in Maubisse, treating patients at the hospital clinic and in the health post of the more remote village of Maulau. Neil did the bulk of the slog, ably assisted by Patrick and Bony, while David got down to the nitty gritty of supervising Armando Martins and Ricardo Mendonça.

You may remember these infamous Maubisse boys – enthusiastic dental therapists, so dedicated to learning that last year they took the 8 hour return trip to Letefoho to work with Team 3 for half a day. David gave them valuable experience and knowledge in tooth extraction methods as well as in the use of different filling materials and preventive measures. They would have loved working with David and his team! (Pic: Denise, Neil, Bony)

 

tapamanolu girls

Week 2 saw the team back in Maubara clinic, as well as in the Loes area, where they spent 3 days in Tapamanolu School and a day in Guiço School. They spent the last morning visiting the kids at the orphanage in Maubara, where Bony added his own special flavour to toothbrushing instruction. The team especially enjoyed Bony’s company, his exuberance and work ethic, so we have asked him to join us; he will be working with all future teams, except those heading out to Railaco – Father Bong has translators aplenty. Welcome to the TLDP, Bony! (Pic: Guiço gals)

bony at orphage

The team had surprisingly few problems with equipment this trip. The ultrasonic scaler refused to work, and one generator was on the blink, but everything else must have shared in the general mood of this team and just worked!

Overall the team saw 456 patients, extracted 306 teeth, placed 196 fillings, and  carried out 223 preventive treatments. Good going Team! Thank you to you all for such wonderful work! (Pic: Bony demos toothbrushing)

The team, along with all of us at the TLDP would like to thank Sr Inacia, Sr Lourdes, Sr Rosa and Sr Eva in Maubisse for their hospitality and their delicious food – the team certainly did not starve over there. Thank you to Bony and Macu who helped the team tremendously not only with translation, but with a myriad of other tasks, which made their job much easier. Thank you to Sr Filomena who rules us with her heart of gold. It is always a privilege to spend time with her. Thank you to Daryl and Mario for keeping our car in top shape and making sure that our battery doesn’t die between trips. And a massive thank you to Henry Schein Halas, particularly Kelly Wood, for dealing with our latest disaster (the boat we sent with our supplies in February is seemingly on a worldwide cruise and we can expect to see our gear in July-ish). Thank you to everyone that makes our work possible.

TEAM 1 FLOATS HOME

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Keith, Patrick, Sally and Peter
Keith, Patrick, Sally and Peter

Super-slick operators Team 1 have returned home after a hugely successful trip. As previously mentioned, the team consisted of Dr Peter Shakes, returning for the second time; equipment guru, Keith Mentiplay, on his 4th trip to TL; newcomers Patrick Fitzgerald and Sally Stephens, and their team leader, the ever-cool Dr David Sheen.

Sr Filomena doing a toothbrushing demo
Sr Filomena doing a toothbrushing demo

This team had the additional responsibility of sifting through the equipment and materials that we sent over earlier this year, determining which equipment was to stay in Railaco and transporting the rest to Maubara. After accomplishing this task on Day 1, the team spent week 1 in the Maubara and Loes districts with our indefatigable boss, Sr Filomena. They treated patients in the villages of Fau Lara, Trans and Guiço, as well as seeing the kids from Maubara Orphanage at the fixed clinic.

Keith works his magic
Keith works his magic

As usual, the team was confronted by equipment issues – a flat battery in T2, misbehaving generators and a troublesome compressor. Luckily for this team, they had a not-so-secret weapon – Keith – who spent all hours day and night fixing and upgrading our equipment, as well as installing the new chair and compressor in Railaco and fixing equipment issues in our Lions partner’s Klinik Pas. He did a lot of travelling – Keith had a hectic 6 days before leaving TL at the end of Week 1. He probably needed a holiday! Thanks Keith!

Father Bong with Patrick and Peter
Father Bong with Patrick and Peter

The following week, Sr Filomena handed the team over to the Jesuit crew in the Railaco. Lucky Team 1 had the opportunity to enjoy the unparalleled hospitality of the enthusiastic Fathers Bong, Bert and Phuong, Sr Rita, and the company of a chorus of others, including the high school principal, Michael, and a visiting Aussie nurse, Jenny. The team treated patients in Railaco Leten, Railaco vila, Cocoa vila and Gleno. This area has beautiful scenery and the temperate weather is a welcome relief from the sweltering coast. They were fortunate to have the help of friendly English-speaking locals, Victor and Noberto, who provided assistance with communication.

Tino and Victor at Cocoa Vila
Tino and Victor at Cocoa Vila

To the team’s disappointment, both Aida and Tino – the Timorese dental therapists whom we mentor – both had to attend a Dept of Health inservice for almost the entire time the team was in TL. Fortuitously, Tino (who is stationed  at Ermera) returned to base on the team’s penultimate day and everyone had the opportunity to work together. We first met Tino in Liquiça and is great to hear that he is still as dedicated and enthusiastic in helping his community as ever.

Superslick Team 1 in operation
Superslick Team 1 in operation

According to reports, this team never lacked for enthusiasm or the will to do some hard graft. Patrick, a builder by trade, proved he was a truly multi-talented individual, becoming an excellent dental assistant, sterilisation expert and roadie overnight, while entertaining the team with his Irish humour. Sally proved to be one of those dental assistants that we dentists refer to as Supernurses – able to handle anything and everything with good humour and ease. She kindly made her car available for the team’s use during the trip. Thanks Sally! Also,she is so enthusiastic that she has already volunteered to work with the next couple of teams as well as to do their inventories and sort out the clinic once they depart. We may have to decline or be spoilt forever. Peter Shakes (the quiet achiever and smooth operator, who gets the job done) and Sally were the ‘Dream team’, doing the bulk of the clinical work.

Thanks HSH!
David, Sally and Peter with kids say, “Thanks HSH! “

All up, the team saw over 356 patients. They extracted 305 teeth, and despite the breakdown of our remaining slow speed handpieces, restored 127 teeth and carried out 47 preventative treatments. Thanks to David, Peter, Sally, Keith and Patrick for all your hard work and adaptability. Your humble and helpful natures contribute to the building of peace and trust in TL.  Thanks also to Sr Filomena, Father Bong, Tino and all the other Jesuits and Carmelites whose dedication and patience continues to make this program possible. Lastly, thankyou to Henry Schein Halas for continuing to support our program with much needed materials and equipment, which allows us to continue to help the East Timorese people.

TEAM 1 to KICKSTART 2015

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This Sunday our first team for 2015 heads to Timor Leste’s sunny shores. The team, led by Dr David Sheen, has the important tasks of touching base with our network in TL, as well as the installation of the dental chair in Railaco, on top of the usual tasks of treating the East Timorese and mentoring Timorese Dental Therapists that are our everyday challenges. David is joined by new volunteer, Patrick Fitzgerald, and by Keith Mentiplay and Dr Peter Shakes. We are also very lucky to have Sally Stephens join the team for the first time. She is an Aussie dental nurse who currently resides in Dili.

We wish them a safe and productive trip and hope that their interactions with everyday East Timorese continues to build peace, understanding and resilience within this still very young nation.

DENTAL SUPPLIES HEAD TO TL

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Last Thursday, vital supplies for the Timor Leste Dental Program  were delivered to Rotary’s Donation in Kind warehouse in West Footscray, Victoria, where in two weeks, they will be placed in a shipping container bound for TL (via Hong Kong!!?) – an unwieldy way to get goods across to a country that remains without a postal system. Many, many thanks go to Ben Sheen, who drove the supplies from Sydney to Melbourne.

Blanche with a generous donation from Henry Schein Halas
Blanche with a generous donation from Henry Schein Halas

Amongst these supplies  are an electric dental chair, bound for Railaco, a portable suction unit, a dental drills cart and lots of consumables!  Many thanks to the amazing Keith Mentiplay for checking out the chair, to fabulous John O’Connor for overhauling the dental cart, to Dr Gordon Howe for donating the suction unit and to Dentsply for the consumables. Special thanks to Henry Schein Halas for the 15 cartons of gloves, bibs, and masks  etc- the Henry Schein Cares team really came through for us at short notice. Thank you Jessica and Kira! I know that our dental teams will truly appreciate NOT having to carry all this stuff to TL this year!

Our gear should arrive in Dili by March 22, where it will be taken in hand by our hardworking Rotary Liaison Officer, Daryl Mills, who seems to effortlessly, and tirelessly, juggle all the needs of all the Rotary Programs in Timor Leste. Daryl will distribute the gear – just in time for the first team which arrives in April! Thanks Daryl!

Like all volunteer programs, the Timor Leste Dental Program exists because of the efforts of a multitude of dedicated, generous, caring people. We are grateful for you all.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE TLDP

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As 2014 draws to a close, one naturally reflects upon the year which has passed so rapidly. It has been an exceedingly busy and exciting year for all of us in the Timor Leste Dental Program. We have welcomed a whole bunch of new volunteers and said our sad goodbyes to those who have called it a day. It has been a year of outrageously intense fundraising and thanks to all our supporters, we managed to not only achieve our goal of buying a new Troopie – T2 – but we have been able to raise money that will carry us forward for the next few years. Your generosity and support has been overwhelming and we are grateful not only for your financial support, but also for  your ideas and advice.

Sr teachingAs this goes to press, we are preparing to transport a second hand dental chair  (donated by Dr David Sheen) to our new partners, the Jesuit Mission in Railaco. This chair will  be useful when our teams are in Railaco and we are hoping it will also be useful for Father Bong, a medical GP, for procedural work. With the chair goes a second portable suction unit, donated by Dr Gordon Howe of Manly, and a portable dental unit as well. We are also hoping to sneak in 119 boxes of gloves with the ‘package’ so the teams don’t have to lug around so much luggage next year. Fingers crossed! The ‘package’ will be sent to Melbourne by courier, to be placed on the next shipping container to Dili.

church bellWe have had an unprecedented number of volunteers putting up their hand for 2015, and I am happy to report that our increased profile has allowed us to send 5 teams in 2015 – we may even have a 6th! Our volunteer year kicks off in late April with Team 1 being lead by David Sheen, who will be accompanied by the super enthusiastic Peter Shakes and equipment guru Keith Mentiplay. Team 2, lead by John Moran and his talented daughter, Sam, will head out in early June.  Newcomers, Dr Mary Tiutuinnik and Beth Bowen  will join Team 3 in late July, with  Blanche Tsetong and jack-of-all-trades Wayne Pearson. Team 4, lead by super chilled David Digges, with dental legend, Geoff Knight, will leave late August. Team 5, consisting of Andy Moran (Snake), Gordon Saggers (Cowboy) and Alan Christie (Agatha) will head to TL in mid- September and will be the first of our teams to work in Railaco only. For advice on those nicknames – I am reliably told it is secret Railaco business – apply to Father Bong.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, our long-suffering families, our friends and supporters for everything you have given to the program this year. We wish you all a safe, very happy Christmas and a super new year! See you all in 2015!