Deep in our hearts we knew that the first trip to TL in almost three years was always going to be an unknown quantity. A change in government with the accompanying change in administration meant that we had to renegotiate to be able to continue to provide the same services that we have provided for the past 20 years. And after over 6 fruitless months of texts/emails/calls to seemingly every official person in TL, we decided upon a new strategy:
Wing it.
So we sent in Team 1. The Australian contingent consisted of a single sacrificial victim – Dr Peter Shakes – who was to brave the sea of endless red tape for the rest of us. Luckily, he had the support of a hefty, indefatigable Timorese contingent, consisting of TLDP veteran dental therapists, Nico Pires and Ana Tilman, who have continued to run the Maubara clinic throughout the pandemic; our very able first mentee, and now head dental therapist in Gleno Hospital, Tino Morais, and new graduate, Ana Martins, who the TLDP supported through her studies. (Title image: From Left Nico Pires, Tino Morais, Ana Tilman. Image below: Ana Martins assists Tino Morais)
The trip was the typical mixture of trial and tribulation. After much paper shuffling prior to arrival, and expert shepherding by super-reliable Rotary Liaison Officer, Mario Jesus, Peter glided through customs. However, even Mario was unable to ensure that those pre-arranged meetings (that Peter had arrived early for) with the Departments of Registration, Pharmacy and Cooperation went ahead. The meetings were rescheduled for Monday and Team 1 lost a clinical day.
The weekend was spent prepping equipment for the week ahead and the boss of Maubara Clinic, Sister Fatima, ensured Peter received the full Carmelite spoiling. Peter and Mario returned to Dili on Monday morning for the big meetings – described by Peter as, “impacted third molar extraction without local anaesthetic would have been quicker, more productive and much more enjoyable”.
While the dealings with the government were unsurprisingly less-than-useful, the team’s woes continued, with the outreach plan being thrown into disarray by a mix-up with accommodation. There was no room for all of them in Maubara, so the team upped sticks and headed to west to Kasait.
Kasait was a treat for the team. The clinic staff were very helpful and the working conditions and digs were positively luxurious – three rooms with running water, power AND lights! The team worked in Kasait until the Saturday lunchtime, reluctantly declining another week’s hospitality.
Saturday afternoon saw a first in TLDP history.
The team made their way to an open flat area where Peter bravely conducted the Inaugural TLDP Driving Course. All Timorese members ‘had a go’ and all went well. Peter only had to employ the (emergency) handbrake once and although they only made it into second gear, considerable progress was made. Yet another step towards self-sufficiency! Well done Nico, Ana, Tino and Ana!
The second week was spent in Railaco, in the tender and efficient care of the redoubtable Father Bong. The team conducted clinics in Railaco Vila as well as Railaco Leten. As expected, Railaco was extremely busy and the team worked long hours. Luckily, with the exception of Ana Martins, everyone in Team 1 was a well-seasoned TLDP worker – Peter found that it was easier to just get out of the way of that well-honed team when there was any packing/unpacking/setting up/breaking down of the mountains of gear that we carry around. Indeed, the Timorese team members were at great pains to take good care of Dr Peter, affectionately calling him”Katuas” i.e. old Grandfather.
What was patently obvious to Peter this trip was that the TLDP’s Timorese mentee clinicians can now consistently provide high standard restorative treatment as well as competent extractions. They have highly-developed standards of professional competence, motivation and conduct – a testament to their efforts and those of the volunteers who have contributed to the TLDP.
Tino farewelled the team after the week at Railaco. The TLDP started mentoring him in 2011 and it is truly wonderful that he continues to take leave to help out the TLDP teams. He returned to his clinic in Gleno Hospital with the team’s excess local anaesthetic – a treasure in a place where supply is extremely limited. Meanwhile the rest of the team headed back to Maubara and thence to Dili and Oz.
The work with the government is ongoing. Team 2 is now in the zone.
The only thing that went slightly awry was in Loes when Yvette – driving Sister’s car – temporarily forgot the existence of those rather large drains. Nobody was hurt and there no damage to the car, but Yvette provided a whole bunch of entertainment for the locals at the cost of a slightly bruised street cred.
Many thanks to all our team members, and to their families, who support them, to our lovely Sr Filomena, Sr Joaninha, and to the Maubisse Sisters. Thankyou to Mario and Judite in the Rotary Liaison office in Dili – your help is essential to our work, and thank you to Henry Schein Halas, who continues to support our program. (Pic left: Novagenerian who fought with the Australians in WW2; right: Full of grace, Sr Filomena and everybody’s favorite dish, Brinzela). 
stint in TL late last Friday. They had already lost one dentist, Yvonne, to health issues a month ago, so they were left with a team of 3 – Blanche, Wayne and Eve. The team lugged in 90kg of supplies to TL, including the new Forrest dental cart and the repaired ultrasonic scaler unit, and sailed through customs, thanks to our soon-to-be departing Rotary Liaison Officer, Daryl Mills. The team bought a mobile phone for the use of the teams’ in-country – only USD 10!!! (Pic: Sr Filomena, Bony, Afonso and the big truck)
But soon they were on their way, with Afonso (One of the Sisters’ drivers who has been on many of our trips before) and Bony, in a borrowed yellow tip-truck, carrying all our less-sensitive gear, and Wayne, Eve and Blanche in T2. The trip took 5 hours; the roads were a quagmire due to unseasonal rain. 
since last July. Also heavily involved was Ligia Ximenes, an attaché to the Timorese Consul General, whom Blanche had met at our big fundraiser in 2014, and who generously gave up her time to do the initial translation of the workshop material – thank you Ligia!!!! Bony had been recruited in April and he had spent a lot of time with Tino and Blanche discussing the workshop. The plan was for all three to meet back at Maubara in the afternoon on Friday to go over the presentation and to set up for the next day, which was to start at 8am. The reality was vastly different. The borrowed overhead projector had no cords with it. Tino and Bony stayed in Dili until 8pm at first looking for a replacement, and then waiting for the cords to be delivered to them. They arrived in Maubara at 9pm, and the team stayed up into the wee hours going over the material. 
The next day the projector refused to work for 2 hours, but no one showed up until 10.30, so that was ok! 
The presentation went well – Tino’s delivery was excellent – and all the participants (local doctors, nurses and midwives) found the information enlightening. Success! Tino was especially happy to have been given the opportunity to present the workshop and is keen to do it again. Tino is the TLDP’s longest mentored dental therapist and he has now been given the opportunity to teach students of his own from the University of Timor Leste – he is a measure of our program’s success.
Three very different locations – a small clinic; an open-air pavilion where the team was helped by the local health post director, Mr Paulino, who made all announcements to the patients via loud speaker; and the foyer of Atabae Hospital’s newly built administration building. In all three locations, electricity was sporadic. 
Unfortunately, the dentists discovered that nodding and saying ‘yes’ was not truly indicative of our translator’s understanding. A pact was made with Bony – he would tell them what he thought they were trying to convey (before delivering it to the patient) and they would give him more context. Bony was an excellent member of the team. His light-hearted company and the insight into Timorese culture was priceless. The team, especially Mana Eva, sadly parted from him at his home in Dili, which is almost prophetically close to the Presidential Palace! (Pic: Mana Eva and Bony)
So lucky Team 3 found themselves dossing down in waterfront grass huts at Barry’s Place in Beloi. Quiet, relaxing, super-clean with great food – the team recommend this as a great place to get off the treadmill and de-tech. 
Barry had spent a week fixing a diesel generator for the team (thanks Barry!), but they had to carry water in. Already tired, the team slogged through 3 days of heat, diesel fumes and some of the longest, largest teeth and hardest bone they had come across in TL. Many of the patients had walked for hours, often starting in the dark, to attend the clinic. Due to the patient’s early morning habits, the team ran out of patients by about 3pm each day, and so there was time for a recuperative snorkel and restorative beer. Unfortunately, Barry’s own generator was on the blink and his fridges had to rely on town electricity – available from 6pm to 6am. This equated to warm beer…or warm coke in the case of Mana Eva – yuk. (Pic: One of Lina’s health initiatives for local women – Zumba! They will be entering a Zumba competition in Dili at the end of the month)
Timor-Leste Dental Program 