Tag Archives: Maubara

TLDP Team 3 2025

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Railaco, Kasait, Maubara and Maliana

June 20 to July 5

Team 3 followed a well travelled path, following the same itinerary that we have used for the last few years.

However, this year we had a new addition with Dr Charlotte accompanying us for the two weeks. She was the recipient of an ICD scholarship that enabled her to spend time volunteering overseas and we were fortunate to have her join the TLDP. Team 3 also included our long-time Timorese colleagues , Ana Paula, Ana Martins and Tino Morais and also our recent Timorese recruit, Dr Delsita Martins.

Tino, Ana Paula, Dr Henry, Dr Delsita, Dr David, Dr Charlotte and Ana Martins

Dr David and Dr Henry arrived together into Dili on Friday, June 20 after travelling from Australia with the usual odds and ends of dental stock that the new team would require. A well worn path ensued, picking up the Troopy from Mario and Judite at Dom Bosco, shopping for provisions, mozzie coils, paper towels and the like at the Leader supermarket, collecting Ana Martins on the outskirts of town and then heading southwest for the hour long drive to Maubara. We store all of our stock and portable equipment at our Maubara Clinic which is hosted by the Carmelite Sisters. Stocktaking and packing of the Troopy and the Sisters Landcruiser took a few hours before we retired to enjoy a well earned beer.

The next morning saw us screening the children from the local orphanage, generally good teeth courtesy of the watchful eyes of the Sisters but the usual conundrum of potential ortho extractions without the ortho.

Then Dr David and AM departed in the Troopy for Railaco and Father Bong and his fellow Jesuits whilst Dr Henry headed back to Dili to collect Ana Paula and gather Dr Charlotte from her afternoon flight before also heading up into the hilltop destination of Railaco.

Somehow we squeeze 4 dental chairs and the plethora of equipment needed into Father Bongs medical surgery.

Having our presence broadcast at the big Sunday mass ensures that our clinic is busy for the next 4 days.

We have been coming to Railaco for a number of years now and it is heartening to see the improvement in the oral health of the children attending the large boarding school close to our makeshift surgery. We can see the real world effects of removing non viable first molars and having the teeth behind close the gap. Also we can assess how our silver fluoride/ glass ionomer restorations are protecting and saving teeth.

The Jesuits are good hosts and enjoy our company with interesting conversations around the meal table.

The days pass in a haze of mosquito coil smoke and finally it is time to load the cars and make an early morning departure for Kasait where we are to work in a community hall, close to the main highway just southwest of the port of Tibar. It’s hot and noisy with our overworked fans blowing away the diesel fumes whilst trying to keep us cool. However, our presence was appreciated by the locals and we had a busy day and a half of clinical activity.

Lunch is nearly ready!

Then the team moved onward to Maubara where we enjoyed dinner at the orphanage with the Carmelite Sisters. The highlight is the distribution of presents to the children……T-shirts, balls, bubble blowers elicits a lot of gaiety.

Our second week is to be spent in Maliana, a regional town about 3 hours distant. An early start sees us at Balibo where we enjoy pizza and beer at the Balibo Fort cafe. Then onward to our clinic in the Maliana hospital. We enjoy a good relationship with the Director and his staff and they help us unpack into the unused clinic built to cater for Covid patients who never came.

Somewhat disconcertingly, we share the building with the TB clinic.

The spacious clinic allows us to set up our 3 chairs, each with its own portable cart and suction. Whilst in the room next door, some surplus hospital beds make for an impromptu extraction clinic.

We asked the hospital if they could provide some coffee…..it came with biscuits and 5 kilos of sugar. What more could a dental team need!

Dr Charlotte was inducted into the “rooftop bar” hall of fame. We are still waiting for the owner to build the second storey.

Deconstructing an acrylic bridge.

After 5 busy days in our Maliana hospital clinic it is time to pack up and leave. We have a quite formal meeting with the hospital hierachy where we present our impressive statistics and then there is the requisite photos. Their dental clinic is woefully short of many things and they ask us if we could help by providing some odds and ends when we come next year.

Then it is into the cars and we set off for Maubara with a stop at a roadside Warung for lunch.

Some of the orphanage children pose for a pic with Dr David and Dr Charlotte

Unpacking and stocktake completed in Maubara we decamped to Dili for some well deserved refreshments at the Timor Plaza Sunset Bar to celebrate a successful Team 3

TLDP Team 2 June 2025

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The wettest visit to Timor Leste with the most driving to do much needed dentistry in far flung regions.

31 May to 14 June 2025

Arrival and First Week: Maubara & Vatu Vou

After the usual shopping for supplies in Dili, our team travelled to our Maubara Clinic, the base for the first week.

On 2–3 June, we worked at Vatu Vou school. The road to the school has improved greatly since previous years, making it far more accessible. The school had not received a dental visit for several years, so we focused first on the older children, with plans for a return visit to treat the younger students.

Equipment Repairs & Limited Clinic Days

On 4 June, we welcomed Steve Hodgkin, a Canberra-based dental equipment technician, who joined us to service much-needed equipment. Importantly, Steve was accompanied by Januario, a Timorese trainee technician, as there are currently no dental equipment repair specialists in Timor-Leste. Steve was also supporting two other Australian charities and the government clinic in Gleno, so his expertise was in high demand. Despite the challenges of ongoing repairs, Mary worked hard to continue examining patients.

John Denton, Mark Leedham, Steve Hodgkin, Mary and Januario

5 June was another of Timor-Leste’s many public holidays, so the clinic was officially closed, though we still managed to see one patient and treat the Sisters.

On 6 June, we returned to a full clinic day.

Maubara totals:

  • Patients: 121
  • Extractions: 67 teeth
  • Restorations: 40 teeth
  • Fissure seals: 2 teeth
  • Silver fluoride: 7 teeth
  • Cleans: 8 patients
  • Fluoride: 1 patient

Journey to Uato-Carbau: The Long Road East

On 7 June, we returned to Dili to collect Geordie and Shane, two young dentists from Queensland who had previously volunteered in 2024.

The following day (8 June), the team embarked on one of the most demanding trips we’ve attempted: a full-day drive to Uato-Carbau at the request of the Ministry of Health. After a lunch stop at the Pousada in Baucau we arrived after dark to this remote region The nearest government dental clinic is over three hours away, across an unsealed road to Viqueque.

Uato-Carbau is sparsely populated and home to Mundo Perdido (“The Lost World”), Timor-Leste’s last remaining rainforest.

Dentistry in Remote Villages

On 9 June, we travelled more than an hour from Uato-Carbau to a very remote village, where the team was kept busy with extractions.

On 10 June, we set up in another village meeting hall for another full day, again dominated by urgent extractions. That night, heavy rains began — marking the start of travel difficulties that would soon challenge the team.

By 11 June, the rainfall was so intense that patients could not reach the clinic. Concerned about becoming stranded, we made the difficult decision to begin the return journey.

Tison volunteers to check the water depth for our vehicles crossing

On 12 June, after three hours of wet and rough driving, we arrived in Viqueque, staying at Ana Paula’s sister’s guesthouse. We visited the government clinic next door, where we found a broken dental unit — a common problem across Timor-Leste. Encouragingly, the clinic had good supplies of extraction instruments and anaesthetic, and a highly motivated assistant director who shared that a new clinic is planned for the town.

Viqueque also carries deep historical significance. The town’s striking church, built during Indonesian occupation, was the site of a massacre in 1983, where 1,000 people were killed. In front of the church sits a car in which two nuns lost their lives — a stark reminder of the nation’s turbulent past.

Uato-Carbau & Viqueque totals (3 days):

  • Patients: 107
  • Extractions: 167 teeth
  • Restorations: 15 teeth
  • Silver fluoride: 27 teeth
  • Cleans: 8 patients

We return to Dili

On 13 June, the team drove the four hours back to Dili to ensure Geordie and Shane could catch their flight home.

Reflections

Team 2’s 2025 visit will be remembered as one of the wettest and most travel-intensive trips we have ever undertaken. Despite the weather and logistical challenges, we were able to provide essential care to over 228 patients across the districts of Maubara, Vatu-Carbau, and Viqueque.

The trip highlighted both the progress and ongoing challenges in Timor-Leste: improved roads to some schools, but a lack of functioning dental units across government clinics. We must thank Mary for her leadership and importantly, organising her technician Steve Hodgkins to service much of our (and other groups) equipment. He was able to mentor the training of a Timorese dental technician which offers hope for more sustainable solutions in the future.

Even with fewer clinical days than usual, the dedication of the team and the resilience of the communities we serve ensured that our work made a lasting difference.

TLDP Team 4, July 2024

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TLDP Team 4’s Maubara Extravaganza

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Usually we plan for our Teams to include one or two experienced Australian volunteers who are on hand to guide any new team member on the twists and turns that visiting Timor Leste will invariably provide. However issues out of our control meant that we would be sending Dr Kristina, our newest volunteer, to Timor Leste with no mentor. It is a testament to the systems we have in place and the abilities of our Timorese colleagues that we could contemplate this. Dr Kristina, a very capable dentist in Darwin was good enough to accept the challenge and so with a flurry of briefing notes and a mountain of supplies she set off for Dili.

It wouldn’t be a proper trip without aircraft delays due to emergency evacuations and the confiscation of dental supplies by officious customs officers due to “missing paperwork”. Met by Ana Tilman (our longtime dental colleague), Dr Kristina was taken to the customs office in town to remedy the paperwork, but no, you will have to come back tomorrow to retrieve the impounded stock. Visiting the Rotary office to say hello to Mario and Judite, picking up the petty cash and then our Toyota troop carrier was on its way to Maubara to deliver Ana T and Dr Kristina in the early evening. The Maubara accomodation induction is fairly simple and Kristina was soon well versed in the fine arts of throwing water over herself and dealing with mosquito nets.

The next morning saw the Maubara clinic humming along with the usual mix of treatments including impacted teeth, silver fluoride restorations and scale and cleans. After lunch it was back to Dili to retrieve the errant stock from customs, pick up a SIM card to communicate with the world and then the hour long return journey to Maubara. The road is generally good, however there are well known potholes and other impediments that necessitate some local knowledge. Our Troopy driver, Abico is all over it.

The ubiquitous Tum-tums, an infestation of electric powered 3 wheeled taxi’s need special care as they seemingly randomly deliver school kids and shoppers along the highway for a 25 cent fare.

Back at Maubara, wanting to get an early start in the morning, the Troopy was packed with stock and equipment for tomorrow’s out reach visit to a local school.

The water tower at the Maubara clinic which also hosts the clothes line affords a lovely view of the sunrise for the early risers. One of whom wasn’t Abico, our driver who slept in such that we did not make the school until mid morning. After setting up our equipment, with our first patient in the chair, only to have the local power fail. No problems, we have a backup generator, however that refused to proceed so the spare was sent for. Finally getting the clinic in gear to find that most children go home from school at midday. All was not lost with random children and community making a busy afternoon. Welcome to Timor Leste!.

Back to Maubara in time for Dr Kristina to get to the beach and have a swim, watched on in awe by our two Ana’s. Something about crocodiles.

The rest of the week was spent treating all the children from the school we were set up in. For most of these kids it is their first dental experience, however peering through the windows of our classroom clinic gives them an idea of what is to come.

There were also many new experiences for Dr Kristina , both dental and cultural, our local team enjoying her company while looking after her. Here, try this tamarind from the garden, this chilli won’t be hot and the word “doben” will surely come in handy.

Finally the week draws to a close, the equipment is packed back into the clinic to await the next team, the Ana’s do a stocktake of consumables to update our inventory and then it’s time for dinner and a well deserved sleep.

Back to Dili the next morning with time for Dr Kristina to see the museum, art gallery and Christo Rei before flying back to Darwin.

A whirlwind week for her, she left after making new friends, enjoying new experiences and helping provide much needed treatment for the people of Timor Leste.

Business As Usual (Well Almost)

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Team 3 returned quite a while ago….in fact Team 4 is now in TL. Even the ‘easiest’ trips are exhausting, especially for the Team Leaders, who go from being flat chat in TL to being flat chat on their return to work… here are a few notes on the trip from Team Leader, Dr Peter Shakes

Compared to post COVID 2022, 2023 team 3 trip was pretty easy. Smooth travels. No cancelled flights. No MEETINGS!

The Australian contingent consisted of Drs Peter Shakes, Ed Montgomery and Will Hariman – all dentists. The three met for the first time in Darwin International Departures with Will playing the “who looks like a dentist” game and winning!

We arrived quite refreshed in Dili, did the customs and visa thing, hastened by the highly esteemed Mario from Dili Rotary and met Ed’s soon-to-be-highly-esteemed son, Jack, who is living and working in Dili.

Timor Plaza, Leader Supermarket, local sim cards – this is starting to feel familiar…

We overnighted in Timor Lodge in preference to the Maubara Klinic and managed to see the Matildas beat France in the women’s world cup at an Aussie expat bar – great atmospherics even for someone who believes football of any worth can’t be played with a spherical ball !

Days 2-11…

Began with the now familiar long haul Dili-Maubara-Atsabe which takes pretty much a full day with 10+ hrs Timor Leste Driving!

Ed fell into the role of car 2 driver like an old hand, with Will doing a great job of GPS route checking.

We collected all 3 Annas (Ana Paula, Ana Tilman, Ana Martins) after a little confusion and some stressful u-turns and made our way to Maubara Klinic where Nico Pires was waiting with all gear fully packed and ready to load (of course!)!

Arrived in Atsabe after a quick lunch in Gleno just in time to see our first Atsabe sunset!

If we were cursing the state of the road being as bad as always, it was more than balanced by the place being as beautiful as always!

New parish priest, Fr Fidelis was now in charge; a young vital fella with a real enthusiasm for the Timorese people he serves and a pretty fine musician as well.

So the pattern emerges from day 3 with clinic set up on the front verandah of the priests’ house and a dentist or two with an Ana or two off to drum up business in the surrounding schools.

Timor being Timor, a funeral and a commemoration ceremony meant that most of the schoolchildren and teachers were either enroute to, in,  or returning from said ceremonies in Gleno for the first few days.

We still managed to get a good solid flow of work despite this and we rotated screening trips between Ed and Will with the rest of the team keeping busy on our verandah clinic.

A 4 pm finish allowed most of the team to join Fr Fidelis on a village tour higher up the mountain where an enterprising individual has built the Timor Leste Eiffel Tower. Not sure how or why, but you have to award him points for enthusiasm!

Day 6 saw a priest meet at Atsabe with the priests from surrounding parishes in attendance. Many of them have supported our teams in the past but for the few that were new to us it was a good networking opportunity most ably pursued by our marketing team of Anas.

Ana Tilma, in particular, was in her element and now has direct phone access to most of the parish priests in Ermera.

This area has had little access to dental treatment since we were here pre-COVID despite having a dental nurse in the community clinic in Atsabe. In a familiar story, he has a clinic but pretty well no equipment or materials and no local anaesthetic. Fr Fidelis asked if we could set up and work for a time in a remote village in his parish known as Laçao. So after the Sunday morning off for those who mass to attend Mass we packed up and made our way to Laçao. The trip was slow, as we have come to expect, but a couple of the bridges were a point and pray moment that neither of us drivers enjoyed. It was not the bridges that caused the most concern but what appeared to be a clear stretch of road. It was here that I demonstrated for the benefit of the team that even 4WD doesn’t help if you have diagonally opposite wheels in the air.

The locals were as always helpful and got us back on the road without further incident.

Day 12-14….

We left Atsabe with a positive report from Fr Fidelis “you can stay for a month if you like” and an invitation to return next year.

The road to Gleno is pretty much the same going the other way – I spent the first hour on the way to Letofoho in first gear! I have passed here a number of times but it was the first time I had stopped here at the invitation of the priest who spoke very highly of the efforts of team 1. We stopped at Gleno Hospital on the way to Maubara and replenished Tino’s near exhausted local anaesthetic supplies and passed on some other restorative goodies he can’t get. [Tino is regarded by many of us in the TLDP as our biggest mentoring success story. He continues to join our teams every year to help out and gain experience, even though he now runs a busy hospital dental clinic – Ed.]. Back in the vehicles after a quick lunch and back to Maubara, with Nico and Peter making a detour to Dili to refill gas bottles while the rest of the team ate pizza in Liquiça!

Accommodation in clinic in Maubara with meals provided! Two days work at a school in Siamodo with about a 90 min drive each way. Normal flat out school with a great, friendly and curious group of kids with no water at all on school grounds. A very dry and dusty venue.

Last day was a half day – the team had worked every day for the last 12 days and was showing some sign of weariness. No complaints though. Back to Maubara to stocktake and clean and stow gear for the last team of 2023. Drop off and goodbyes as we returned to Dili for a last night  at Timor lodge.

-Pete

Tales from Timor – reflections from Team 1

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Team 1’s Aussie contingent returned home 2.5 weeks ago. Team 1 consisted of dentists – Dr Leslie Leong (LL) and Dr Tom Li (Tom); oral health therapists – Ana Tilman (AT), Ana Martins (AM), Nicolau Pires (NP) and Diamantino Morais (TM); and admin organiser, Ana Paula Salgado (AP). Following is an excerpt from the team leader’s (LL) trip report:

Dropping in on the Saturday afternoon, Tom and Leslie were greeted to beautifully cool Dili day. Dili was a ghost town – peaceful, but somewhat unnerving. So election day swept through Timor (almost everyone who lives in Dili isn’t ‘from’ Dili, and has to go back to their home town to vote), which left Tom and LL the luxury of a day’s holiday. This was well-spent on underwater exploration.

On Monday morning, coconut and caffeine hit taken in, we set sail for Maubara. There, we picked up the sister’s Landcruiser, which thankfully was looking in much better nick that 8 months ago. With the two Toyotas at hand, we loaded one Toyota up with dental equipment and the other up with Ana’s (three Ana’s!). With now AM, AP, AT, NP, Tom and LL together, we needed only to sweep up one more (TM) on the way past Gleno, and we were ready to rock and roll.

Image: Team 1 – Left clockwise – Tom, LL, NP, AM, AT, TM, AP)

Up in the mountains made for stunning viewing. We were spoilt with views of the clouds sweeping across the valley while we sat and ate our morning bread and afternoon rice. The sisters were tight on space so the girls stayed with the sisters and the boys stayed in the priest’s guesthouse.

We set up in the clinic beside the church and were treated to an enormous room. Here, the community steadily flowed in. Tom slotted into the Timor rhythm like a seasoned pro. His Tetun for under a week of exposure was impressive! He also got involved in another TLDP tradition: screening and transporting kids from local schools. Does anyone know the Troopie’s max capacity? Tom and AT fit 15 littlies at one point.

Letefoho was super busy. Starting each day at 9am, we frequently powered on to 5-6pm. Extractions were Letefoho’s favourite procedure. They loved it so much that by day 4, we were running out of gauze. A generous donation from the health centre was welcome, and we also boosted supplies by modifying paper towels with a knife and scissors.

AT, NP, Tom and LL shared the duties on the two chairs reserved for restorations. What AT can do with limited materials is absolutely amazing. Her passion to improve a person’s smile is infectious. (Image above: AT performing her magic)

On the third dental chair, AM and TM were tag teaming nicely, with TM providing excellent mentoring along the way. It’s been really noticeable how AM’s extraction skills have improved since the last outreach trip. (Image below: Our longest serving Timorese mentee and volunteer, Tino, now mentoring himself)

AP was our trusty gatekeeper. Although she has been in Fiji the past few years, it really feels like she never left. How did we manage without her? (Image below: AP, organiser extraordinaire)

Three days in Letefoho turned into five. Our final two days were planned for Dukurai (30 min drive from Letefoho), however the sisters organised the Durukai people to travel to Letefoho themselves, saving us the pain of packing up and setting up once more.

The priest’s place was extremely comfortable. Fit with a dining room with million dollar views, and a table tennis table, it was relative luxury. There was the infrequent visit of a rat in Tom’s room, keeping the newbie on his toes [I probably was visited by that rat’s grandmother – Ed].

Each night, the team had dinner at the priest’s place, and then Tom and LL took turns dropping the Ana’s back to the sister’s place in the Landcruiser. Only perhaps a 1.5 kilometre walk, it was treacherous stretch of road. LL found the hard way, going down the wrong stretch of road, and having to reverse back for 400+ metres in the dark with a cliff on one side. Tom however, found out the very hard way, ending up in a ditch. Pulling the Landcruiser out required many, many helpful locals, the cheapest looking rope, crazy good knots, the Troopie, and several hours. Amazingly, no Landcruisers were harmed.

Travel day Sunday and heading back on simply awful roads on the segment from Letefoho to Gleno. We said goodbye to the ever smiling TM (but not before he pinched extra gauze from his health clinic in Gleno for us-thanks Tino) and plowed on. As much as LL and Tom love driving, they were pretty over it by the time we reached Maubara.

Monday struck another surprise. A close family member of Tom’s had fallen ill and he had to fly out later that day to go and see them. Onwards and depleted, a 1.5 hour drive to Lisadilla from Maubara and another 45-60 minutes of setting up, we were feeling slow.

Fortunately, the students of Filadelphia school had surprisingly excellent teeth (apparently a team was there a few years ago) and our workload was kept to a minimum.

Rinse and repeat for the schools of Folara on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the combined 5 hours of driving and setting up/packing down each day had us far more drained than any of the dentistry. Folara’s school however had a curveball.

Walking into our designated room, we were met with a dusty, messy heap that they called a library. It looked like it hasn’t been used in awhile and we soon realised why. Bees were flying through the open wall and had set up 3 lovely bee homes. Nico was more than up for it. Armed with tiny artery forceps, he extracted 3 bee hives, later to find out there were another 3 hives, only bigger. Nico had 4 stings after the rehoming and half a can of Mortein later, we had a bee free working environment. (Image above: Nico, our saviour)

Here we learnt that Thursday is ‘youth day’ and all the kids have the day off school. Got to love Timor’s schedule of public holidays. The team welcomed a day off and celebrated with a hearty bowl of Bakso, sate and many coconuts.

Back in on Friday with a visit to the final Lisadilla school. Nico has been a powerhouse in setting up the clinic day to day. The physical efforts and the efficiency in getting the clinic from the back of the Troopie and functional 45 minutes later is mighty impressive.

Friday flew by and we said goodbye to Lisadilla and those roads. Those roads will not be missed.

Bintangs all round closed out our two weeks in Timor for Team 1. Super proud of the hustle from the team.

A mighty effort from Team 1 and superbly managed by our youngest team leader yet. Well done Leslie. Team 1 saw 756 people, carried out 432 extractions, filled 126 teeth and performed 199 preventive procedures. Well done Team!!

Onto Team 2 – which hits TL soil today.

Nico and Ana giving oral hygiene instruction to school kids

TWO’S COMPANY, NINE’S A PARTY – LAST TEAM FOR 2019

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The TLDP’s volunteering year has come to an end after Team 5’s return last week. The team was big even by TLDP standards.  The Australian contingent  consisted of Team Leader, Dr Blanche Tsetong, returnee Dr Mary Tuituinnik and newbies, Dr Kim Hartley and Dr Lesley Leong, with Mr Keith Mentiplay arriving for Week 2. The Timorese division comprised the usual suspects  – Mr Nico Pires, Ms  Ana Tilman and Ms Ana Paula  Salgado – with the addition of Mr Tino Morais for Week 2 –  plus Dr Inda Dias rocked up for a couple of days during the first week and Mr Savio Moreira snuck in for a day and a bit . The ring-ins come to learn – we welcome all-comers!

The main team
The core crew – Ana Paula, Leslie, Kim, Blanche, Ana Tilman, Mary and Nico

Week 1 was spent in the Maubisse Subdistrict. After the quickest trip to Maubisse EVER – 2.5 hrs up the new, yet still unsealed road, the team was delighted to find that they could stay with the Carmelite community. In the preceding couple of years, our longtime partners had increasing difficulties fitting a team into their accommodation, and so TLDP teams were forced to try their luck elsewhere, with variable results. This time, the team arrived to a newly constructed building, which even had hot running water at times! As usual, it was an absolute delight to take their meals with the Sisters and the team was thoroughly spoiled with big breakfasts, feasts for lunch, scrumptious afternoon teas and multi-course dinners.

The View from Gruto School
The View from Gruto School

The team spent their first 2 days at Gruto School, which is down a steep, rough, dirt road. The views were fabulous. On the second day, as it was just down the hill from Gruto, Blanche, Ana Paula and Ana Tilman went down to see if there were any kids that had pain and wanted treatment. At first it seemed like it was going to be a bust – although plenty of kids dobbed in their mates,  there were no volunteers. It just needed one brave child to break the ice…and then there was a full car!

The next 2 days were spent at Fleixa School, another school with a spectacular view, but with no electricity or running water. This was a large school on the main road to Same, and the team was flat out trying to get through all the kids, as well as see some of the adult members of the community. The difference between the more remote Gruto and Samoro,  and Fleixa was stark – Fleixa’s kids had much more decay than the other two schools, probably because of easier access to junk food.

Day 2 in Fleixa fairly flew by, and  it seemed like the team was going to finish work at a reasonable hour for a change. All the equipment was working, the sterilisation was finished and they were starting to pack up. Then Inda let in a ‘last-minute-easy-patient’. It took the combined efforts of one dental therapist and 3 dentists, plus an extra hour to extract  that ‘easy’ wisdom tooth!

Our senior dental therapist, Nico, is a quiet achiever. After 3 years of mentoring, his skills are formidable.

After an abortive attempt to work at the not-famous-Balibo School, the team’s final day in Maubisse was spent in the Sisters’ Clinic. Despite letters and multiple phone calls to the Principal, the team arrived after a gnarly drive up a goat track to find another spectacular view…. and the school deserted. At least the drive was interesting! The roads in the subdistricts are challenging and Leslie found this out on the job. In Sisters’ car,  he had a near miss with a horse, got stuck in a rut on the steep track out of Gruto and fell into another ditch on the drive down from Balibo. It’s a good thing that he is blessed with unshakable aplomb!

Blanche and Nico fixing suction
Fixing the suction unit

The suction broke down on Day 1, necessitating hours of repair work; mysterious water leaks sprung from the dental units that were ‘fixed’ with gaffa tape and plastic cups; and there was a bunch of other niggly faults in the equipment that had plagued everyone for the whole year. Like all the teams before them, Team 5 treated this as par for the course, all the while counting down the days and hours to when our equipment guru, Keith Mentiplay, would arrive and make it all better. What made these little annoyances easier to bear was the team had managed to borrow 2 extra dental chairs from Solar Smiles while they were in Maubisse, and so the work still flew. Having 5 purpose-built chairs going at once made it easier to mentor clinicians without significantly slowing down the pace at which they saw patients. It was great! Thanks Solar Smiles!

It’s always a blast with the Sisters

The team left their beer in Maubisse. DISASTER. Luckily, this was mitigated by the arrival of two old friends – miracle-working equipment-whisperer, Keith, and long-time mentee, Tino – so Week 2 was off to a great start! Although the entire team stayed at Maubara this week there were so many people that they had to split into 2 locations to sleep. Dinners were raucous feasts with the Sisters at the Orphanage, which kept everyone super happy.

The second week was characterised by long commutes, dust-choked air and crowded cars.  The TLDP’s School Dental Program includes 17 schools. Some of these are impossible for Nico and Ana Tilman to get to by motorbike – they are too far away and the roads are too rough – so a team is needed to help them out.

The crazy kids in Faulara

The team spent the first 2 days at Faulara, which is on the farthest edge of Maubara subdistrict. The drive took 1.5-2 hours each way and resulted in some extremely long days. There were lots of waterway crossings, and then a drive UP a waterway to the school. The first return trip shredded one of the tyres on our precious Troopie.

Beers and tyres

Keith the equipment whisperer
Keith the equipment whisperer and his newest acolyte

The teeth in Faulara were not too bad – again, probably due to the remote nature of the village. And there was electricity! Over those 2 days, the team managed to check all the kids, Ana Tilman performing  her by-now-familiar toothbrushing pitch to all the classes, and everybody pitched in with treatment and mentoring. And in the meantime, Keith fixed and tested everything! The team was now working like a well-oiled machine, so they managed to finish early at Faulara, break down the clinic, and drive to nearby-ish Guiçu School to set up the clinic for the next day.

 

Keith and Tino on a road trip
Keith and Tino on a road trip

It was a huge relief to the team that Guiçu is closer to Maubara – only 1 hour each way on bad roads for the next 2 days! While most of the team was tasked to see the school under Mary’s watchful eye, Blanche and Keith were absent for most of the next 2 days. Blanche headed into Dili for meetings (and to buy tyres). Keith accompanied a grateful Tino on a 4-hour return motorbike adventure to Gleno Hospital in order to check out Tino’s non-functioning chair. He was able to get the  drills, light and triplex working, but was unable to get the chair moving again – luckily, it is stuck in a good position! Keith also serviced all the equipment in our Maubara clinic and ran his eye over the clinic’s big generator, as well as the solar panels at the orphanage –  the Sisters were so happy to have him there!

Mary mentoring Tino

Working in TL requires adaptability, and our teams are characterised by a fluidity of roles. Team 5 was no different. All the dentists shared all the tasks, from mentoring of Timorese clinicians to accompanying  Ana Paula to do a share of the examinations; Ana Tilman and Nico delivered oral health education either en masse or class-by-class; Kim, Nico, Ana Tilman, Mary, Tino and Leslie were at different times the work horses of the crew; and everyone functioned as steri-nurse and dental assistant.

Kim demonstrating with Leslie assisting

It was a very busy 2 weeks and so the last day spent in Maubara clinic, winding down and taking stock was much-needed. Kim did a vital skill demonstration for our mentees, a few patients were treated, there was a bit of tidying up and the team had important personnel and team meetings, but essentially the day was for closure, and farewelling the Sisters for the year. Later that night the extended team, including translators Bony and Isa, reconvened for a rowdy end-of-trip-end-of-year dinner in Dili. After being kicked out of a cafe at the end of the night, the team lingered in the carpark – it is always difficult to say ‘Goodbye’ to our Timorese family.

Team 5 examined a total of 836 patients, extracted 348 teeth, filled 368 teeth, did 383 preventive treatments and 2 root canal treatments. YAAY team! We will see you all next year!

 

 

 

The Power of Many

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Team 2 has returned home safe and sound. In the past couple of years, our teams seem to have become quite large as a general rule, as our Australian volunteers are matched in numbers by Timorese employees. This team consisted of Australian volunteers, Dr David Digges (Team Leader), Dr Henry Gilkes, Ms Liz Eberl, and the tag teamers – Dr Geoff Knight and newcomer, Dr William Hariman. The Timorese contingent consisted of Ana de Jesus Barreto Tilman (AT), Ana Paula Dos Santos Tavares Salgado (AT), Nicolau Tolentino Faria Pires (Nico), Isabel Noronha Pereira De Lima Maia (Isa), Bonifacio Cardoso Martins (Bony), and Diamantino Correia Morais (Tino). Hence, at any given moment, this team had 3 dentists, 2 or 3 dental therapists, a dental assistant/steri nurse and 2 translators/dental assistants/admin officers. A massive team!

DD, HG, Isa, AP, AT, LE, Nico, GK

The team spent the first few days hosted by the Sisters in Bobonaro. The girls got to stay with the Sisters themselves, but the boys were housed in the Sisters’Tuberculosis clinic  – we suspect that they will be looking for some new digs next year! The team spent the first 2 days operating in the meeting room of Gumer Primary School, with the nearby High School kids walking over. Gumer is an isolated valley between Bobonaro and Maliana and  there are 800 children in these 2 schools, many of whom have very poor oral health. The team soon realised that on Day 1, but were able to broaden their scope on Day 2. 

The fabulous GK in action with the equally fabulous Isa

For the remainder of the week, the team shifted accommodation to Maliana –  this is the Big Smoke in this area, and the team gets to enjoy a little luxury. Isa’s Mom runs Restaurant Maliana, so the team is well-fed when they live here. Day 3 and 4 saw the team working out of a very impoverished village called Memo, 30 minutes west of Maliana and within spitting distance of the Indonesian border. They found it a little unerving to be able to see an Indonesian Military checkpoint from the school where they set up. The villagers here had never seen a dentist.

Tino and the omnipresent Ana Tilman!

Day 5 was changeover day – the team started working out of Maliana Hospital. Bony and Tino arrived together on what would have been a very long, dusty and bumpy tandem ride from Dili. Bony still managed to look immaculate coming off that bike – some people just have that knack! Geoff headed back to Dili – any team lucky enough to have Geoff with them benefits from his wealth of knowledge, especially with Silver Fluoride, which we use extensively in our work over in TL. William had been picked up from the airport by one of Isa’s friends and was put straight on the tools when he arrived in Maliana – no problem for William!

The team spent the next 2 days treating the community as well as students from the High School. This team is impressive with its logistics. They split into two teams, with screening and transportation of the students carried out by Bony, Willian, Tino and Liz, and treatment carried out in the hospital by Nico, Henry and David. Translation, sterilisation and patient marshalling were efficiently handled by AP, Isa and AT. After working late, the team had sunset drinks on the rooftop terrace – a last hurrah with Isa, who is now employed by Maluk Timor as the Oral Health Coordinator for all the dental charities that come to TL – we wish her well, but are very sad that she will no longer be spending so much time with us!

Week 2 was spent closer to our home base, Maubara. Three days were spent visiting Loes Orphanage, which we have never been before, Loes School (one of our regular schools) and Tapamanolu School (last seen in 2012 – very hard to get to). This involved a commute of 40 min along the crumbling coast road. The last 2 days were spent in Ediri School, one of the schools in our program.

The team with HG, WH and DD on the tools

What a hectic schedule!!! The team did a fabulous job – there was heaps of mentoring for Nico, Tino, Ana Tilman and Ana Paula, a whole stack of work got done, and they all had a great time! Henry did a super job of keeping us updated on social media. What more could we ask for?

Back in Maubara with Sister

The TLDP is exceedingly lucky to have so many dedicated volunteers who continue to come back year after year. We are even luckier that we are supported in our work by dental companies such as Henry Schein and SDI. And we are the luckiest to have so many enthusiastic, hardworking, talented  Timorese people working with us. We are immensely grateful in particular, to our primary partners, The Carmelite Sisters, who smooth our way through the bureaucracy of TL. Our program has carried on unabated despite constant changes in the Ministry of Health over the past few years.

The home team watched over by Henry

Nico and AT have become an excellent home team. They are in charge of the Maubara Clinic and our school dental program – Nico is an excellent operator and has the confidence of the Sisters – that is a HUGE endorsement! Although we initially employed Ana Tilman as a dental assistant, she too is trained as a dental therapist and so is now also benefitting from mentoring within the team environment. Her skills are on the up!

We are especially lucky to have an unofficial Timorese Committee of bright, young people – AP, AT, Nico, Tino, Bony and Isa – they are expert problem-solvers and can-do people. They are unstoppable!

Henry trials the new hand washing unit

Team 2 itself was pretty lucky – there were minimal repair issues, although they did get a flat tyre on the way home from Maliana – changing tyres in the dust and heat could not have been fun. They also were the first to try out our brand new custom-made portable hand washing unit – for all those places with no running water (it was a hit! Conceived in the Sunshine Coast, Made in Grafton), and they were the first team to wear our new spic uniforms!! 

Overall, the team examined 1350 people, they extracted 467 teeth, placed 770 fillings, and carried out 722 preventive treatments. Well done Team!

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.

CONVIVIALITY OVER FRUSTRATION

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Team 2 returned from TL on the 6thJune after a 10-day whirlwind trip. The team consisted of team leader, Dr John Moran, his steadfast mate, Dr John Whyte, newbie volunteer, Emma Whyte, the TLDP’s dental therapist, Nicolau Tolentino Pires (Nico), and Australian-trained, Timorese dental assistant, Ana Paula dos Santos Tavares Salgado.

This team is well known for its efficiency. They covered a lot of ground; dividing their time between the Railaco, Kasait and Maubara areas. In Railaco, they were hosted by our Jesuit partners, and as usual were kept thoroughly fed, watered and entertained by the ebullient Father Bong, with his team, Fathers Truong, Phong, Siriak and Sagi, plus trainee Jesuit, Ismal. Lively dinner discussions, well-oiled by wine, ranging from attitudes towards eating pets, to a coffee delicacy produced from predigested coffee beans, and libido-limiting fruit, kept the team recharged during their stay in Railaco.

The first 2 days were spent treating patients in the Railaco Parish Clinic Centre, where the team treated patients from the local community. The team was augmented by Ismal and a local man, Victor, who performed the vital task of interpreting – neither Nico, nor Ana Paula, are from Railaco, so they don’t speak the local language of Railaco.  Timor has 2 official languages – Portuguese and Tetum, but there are also scores of local languages, or what the people call ‘mother tongues’. Many people struggle with Portugese, and even Tetum can become sketchy the further out one ventures. In most of the tiny, remote villages, knowledge of the local language is essential. (Pic: Emma Whyte, John Whyte, Fr Bong, Ana Paula, John Moran, Nico)

The team had a single day before equipment issues started rolling in. Day 2 saw the foot pedal of one of our dental units go bust, necessitating a 4 am dash back to Maubara for Nico on Day 3 to get the spare. Luckily for this team, Railaco is one of the closest locations to Maubara. Nico was back 3 ½ hours later, the offending foot pedal fixed, and the team headed off to Railaco Leten, almost 2 hours drive away.

The team worked in the Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel in Railaco Leten, which is a lovely space and has great views; however, electricity is dodgy in Railaco Leten and this played havoc with the electric autoclave that the team had chosen to take with them. This meant that the team spent most of the night sterilising on their return to Railaco, where the electricity is more reliable. (Pic: Our Steri-Room)

Day 4 saw the team heading up the hill to Tocoluli, where they worked in a community hall overlooking Mt Ramelau. At this point they started to run out some of the anaesthetic. Despite being small in height, many Timorese, especially the ones in the remote areas, have large teeth, with massive roots, and need more anaesthetic. It must have been a very tiring day, but at night, the team were rewarded with a feast at the Order of St Paul of Chartres Convent – the sisters are superb cooks and their singing is a real treat. (Pic: John Whyte in his room with a view)

Day 5 was a day of endurance and patience for the team – they had to set up and break down the portable clinic twice. Their clinic in Nasuta was stymmied not only by yet another new public holiday – Children’s Day – but also the Sacred Heart of Jesus Procession. After only a few patients, the team packed up and headed back down the hill and spent the rest of the day in Railaco Parish Clinic Centre.

Days 6 and 7 were spent in Kasait, back on the coast. The two days were productive and busy and were only marred by the suction motor burning out on the first day. Nico, with local, Nani, drove the suction motor and one of our generators to Dili for repair. The suction unit’s motor was replaced with a vacuum cleaner motor overnight and was in action again the following day (albeit with less power)! (Pic: The team about to farewell Kasait)

The final 2 days were spent in Maubara, first at the senior high school, then finishing up at our base clinic. The team experienced their final breakdown – one of the dental carts turned up its toes – but reached the finish line with their good humour unscathed! They spent some time at the Maubara Orphanage, where they were treated to a coffee, biscuits and a little concert. A fabulous way to end a visit!

Overall the team did 849 treatments, including 266 fillings, 229 extractions, and 132 preventive treatments. The two Johns are also great teachers and they spent a large amount of time with Nico, honing his restorative skills. Despite the setbacks, the entire team had a fantastic time and enjoyed working and living together immensely. Go Team 2!

 

 

That which does not kill us…..

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Team 3 has returned from a difficult trip to Timor Leste this month. The team leader, Dr Wayne Pearson, says that he found it difficult to write a positive report; hence, the tardiness of this update. In addition to Wayne, the Australian contingent of Team 3 consisted of Dr Karen Sloan, Sally Stephens and newbies, Dr Marius Mocke and Abbey Notley. The Timorese component of the team consisted of Nico Pires (our in-residence dental therapist, Bony Cardoso Martins (friend, translator, fixer) and the redoubtable Sr Filomena.

The team ran into their first problems with the airline, Airnorth before even leaving Australian soil. Airnorth’s system refused to recognise the TLDP’s current NGO status and so there were issues with the materials and equipment heading over. The team eventually sorted that out – money will fix almost anything. They arrived in Dili and were met by Judite and Mario, the Rotary Liaison team who handles much of the minutiae for many of the Rotary programs in TL. They liaise with customs to ensure that our dental gear gets through, pay bills for us, and deliver our car to the airport for us, which they keep safe when we were not in town. They are indispensable.

The team then met with Bony, who advised them of the new registration required for foreign dentists volunteering in TL. As mentioned in the previous report, this involved a great deal of documentation – two statutory declarations in Tetum and Portuguese, a copy of the passport, two passport photos, a copy of the dental registration, a copy of the degree certificate, a curriculum vitae in Tetum and, of course, a fee of USD 25. This was to be presented in person to the Ministry of Health and then there would be a wait of two weeks for it to be processed, after which the dentist could carry out their volunteer duties. Logistical difficulties were immediately apparent to the team – our teams are only in TL for two weeks! Having arrived earlier in the week, Sally had already bought the team’s general supplies and they finally got to Maubara in time for dinner with Sr Filomena.IMG_3204

(Pic: TL from afar – seemingly peaceful and pristine)
The next day, instead of starting work, the whole team, plus Sr Filomena and Bony, trooped back to Dili for an interview with the Ministry of Health (MoH). As the team were already in TL and had their AHPRHA registration, Dr Jaõa Manuel, who is in charge of professional registration, gave the team a once-off permission to work in TL. However, the following teams would have to comply with the new rules. As a concession to our short visits, he said that documents could be sent over in advance, but Wayne pointed out that this would be difficult when there is no postal service to TL; in addition, having to translate the documents into 2 different languages might prove to be a big deterrent to volunteers. Dr Manuel agreed, but this was the will of the political arm of the MoH, so it must be complied with. It was decided that the documents would be sent over to Bony by Blanche via email; Bony would do the necessary translations and then deliver the documents to the MoH. The team seemed to have arrived at a workable solution that the MoH was happy with. Disaster averted, the team had a well-earned lunch at Black Rock in Cameo Beach, Liquiça.

[Since then, the Ministry of Health has changed its mind. It wants originals of the CV, in a particular format, and originals of the statutory declarations, not scans. It has now added that it wants a criminal check as well. The TLDP is still trying to work out how we are going to do this in advance of our teams’ arrivals] (Pic: A fuzzy of most of the team: From Left bottom, Bony, Abbey, Sally, Karen and Marius)crew esplanada

The remainder of the week was taken up by a clinic in Guiço, and a couple of days in Klinik Maubara. Karen, Marius and Abbey spent a lot of time with Nico, honing his diagnostic skills; this is of prime importance, as most of the time he has no one else to seek advice. Sally spent a great deal of time sorting out the stores – the MoH has also developed stricter protocols on materials. On top of his clinical tasks, Wayne attended to maintenance, reconstructing the suction unit with the reconditioned motor which Blanche dismantled earlier this year. Wayne and Sr Filomena were summoned to the MoH again, this time to meet with the official who’s jurisdiction includes Atauro. This official told Wayne that he needed to provide her with an official letter so she could inform the people that they were coming. Despite assurance that, in fact, our visit had been planned a year ago with the local Atauro health authority, that Sr Filomena had been in close communication with the Director of the Hospital in Atauro, and that the people already knew the team was coming, a letter was demanded by close of business the next day. This necessitated a return to Maubara, where Sr Filomena produced a very official letter, with lots of stamps and signatures, and a quick return to Dili by motorcycle by Nico by 1pm on Friday.

The week was rounded off by dinner at the orphanage where, like so many of us before, the team was charmed and entertained by the Sisters’ young charges. All of us are no stranger to the upwelling of maternal feelings during these visits, but apparently, Abbey was particularly affected by the experience.IMG_3003

(Pic: The Nakroma – unloading at the Atauro end)

Saturday saw the team off to Atauro. In true Timorese fashion, boarding the vessel was colourful chaos. Although passenger tickets are available the day before, vehicle tickets are only purchasable on the day of departure – and even with a ticket, there is no guarantee of getting on board. The team had to hustle to fit both vehicles with all the gear onto the boat – Sister’s car was the second last car on! At least one other vehicle was turned away. The trip over was otherwise uneventful and the team arrived, unscathed, at Barry’s Place which, as always, was simultaneously a hive of activity and an oasis of peace. This time they were hosting a TEDX talk in the dining area! After meeting the local administrator, Mr Lucas, and hammering out a few details, the team was then free to soak off the frustrations of the previous week over the remainder of the weekend.IMG_3082

The team set up in the Vila hospital for the first 3 days and they were kept busy as usual. They had few problems with the equipment – only a dicky chair with a threaded screw, which they jury-rigged with a  strap. They even had lights and a fan from Day 2 after paying for some fuel for the hospital generator on Day 1. The final two days they went up the hill to Biquelli for 2 days. Here there was a lot more work, as these people have never had a dental service. They were ably assisted by Mr Lucas and a young German volunteer, Fransiska, who both helped with translation and reassuring patients. Timor is amazing in that way – one gets random help from everywhere.Franciska and Mr Lucas

In total, the team  treated 213 patients, extracting 371 teeth, placing 162 fillings, cleaned 21 people’s teeth and placed 17 fissure sealants. They were disappointed that their trip was not more productive. However, judging their trip by figures undervalues the peace building and diplomatic work that they carried out, which cannot be measured by numbers. In meeting with the MoH, working with Sr Filomena, Bony and Nico, and continuing Nico’s training, the team’s efforts were not only valuable, but vital for the continued growth and evolution of the program. On a personal level, dealing with difficult situations and difficult people inevitably delivers insight into oneself and encourages personal growth. As far as the TLDP is concerned this trip was not only a success, but a big win for all involved. Well done Team 3!! (Pic: Mr Lucas and Fransiska)

THANKYOU. An especially BIG thank you to Bony for his continued trips to above and beyond for this program. We would be a dead duck in the water if not for him. Thank you to Nico for his excellent work ethic and his willingness to learn from us and to take on the responsibility of the clinic. Thank you to Karen and Sal for the hard slog in the storeroom and to Karen for taking Nico under her wing. Thank you to Marius and Abbey for throwing your effort into the team – it’s a hard place to work. Thank you to Barry for his organisational skills and support for our teams in Atauro. Last, but not least, thank you to Henry Schein Halas for continuing to support out work with much needed materials. We appreciate it. No pics at the moment, folks – its slow going!