From our Marketing Manager, on the road in Timor-Leste
I have a whole new respect for our colleagues in Timor-Leste, not just for the work they do, but for what it takes simply to reach the communities they serve.
I recently had the privilege of travelling to Atsabe, a remote mountain town, to witness a World Oral Health Day community health screening event supported by Mary MacKillop Today. What followed was one of the most challenging, humbling and beautiful experiences of my life.
The journey in
With torrential rain for most of the drive, we navigated roads that had partially collapsed, rivers running across broken bitumen and fallen powerlines blocking our path. Our team affectionately named it “the dancing road”, because for six and a half hours, that’s exactly what we did: swayed, bounced and lurched through unstable terrain.
Just 500 metres from the village, a major landslide had completely blocked the road. We left our vehicle and luggage behind, waded through deep mud carrying only what we needed, and were met on the other side by another vehicle from our team.
As we arrived in the village, a traditional funeral was underway. A buffalo and pig had been sacrificed in the street, a ritual honouring the eldest daughter’s responsibility to care for a parent who has passed. Life, death and community were all present in the same moment.
Warmth in a remote place
Our accommodation was the home of a local teacher, repurposed as a simple guest house. When Ana, Health Literacy Coordinator for Mary MacKillop Today, noticed my mud-covered runners, she quietly asked my shoe size. Within minutes, she had somehow produced a new pair of thongs that, I should mention, perfectly matched my pedicure! I still don’t know how she managed it. It was the kind of small, generous act that stays with you.
The guesthouse had no electricity, but it had everything that mattered: a clean room, a wash basin, a balcony with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains, and a candle-lit dinner of rice, chicken soup and green vegetables, cooked over a wood fire. The smoky flavour was extraordinary.
We were joined by a fellow guest, a Japanese NGO worker running gender equality programs, whose warmth and energy added to the richness of the evening.
At 6:30 each morning and evening, the village gong rang eight times. We never quite worked out whether it marked the time or called people to prayer, but its sound became the rhythm of our stay.
The event: World Oral Health Day
The following morning, around 200 community members, mostly school children, gathered for the health screening event. Dental technicians set up in one of the classrooms, and children filed through for check-ups, hands-on tooth-brushing training and fluoride treatments. The clinicians worked tirelessly until 6:30 that evening.
This context matters: there are only 30 dentists in all of Timor-Leste, and there is no university dental degree in- country. Those who wish to become dentists must study overseas. Dental technicians, however, can train locally. The dedication of these practitioners to reach remote communities like Atsabe is remarkable.
The event was a true celebration. Local children performed traditional dances dressed in cultural clothing. Community leaders, representatives from the Ministry of Health and our own team member Tina, Program Coordinator for Mary MacKillop Today, spoke about the importance of oral health and the work being done.
Each of us was presented with a tais, a handwoven scarf, and welcomed through a receiving line by community members. We were invited to present prizes to children who could answer oral health questions correctly.
What moved me most was a simple gesture repeated throughout the day: many of the children, as a mark of respect to an elder, would take your hand and gently bring it to their lips or forehead. It was an expression of grace I will not forget.
The journey back and what it left with me
The return trip was far smoother. The rain had eased, the roads had stabilised, and we travelled in convoy with the clinicians in the Mary MacKillop Today vehicle.
During the drive, our colleague Age, Communications Coordinator for Mary MacKillop Today, shared that on these journeys she stays quiet and prays to Saint Mary MacKillop for safe passage.
I understood exactly what she meant. Our driver was calm, capable and wholly focused on our safety, and yet the environment itself asks something of you. It reminds you that anything is possible out here, in both the most challenging and the most beautiful sense.
I came home with mud-stained memories, a tais around my shoulders, and a far deeper understanding of what our team faces, not occasionally, but every day, to bring health, education and dignity to communities like Atsabe.
To help support more programs like these please donate today.
