In 1999, as part of the Australian-led InterFET deployment, Steve Wilson, a Warrant Officer, found himself stationed in Balibo, on Timor-Leste’s western border. As the fighting eased, he traded his role as war fighter for interpreter, working alongside the Battalion’s doctor and Catholic Padre, quickly picking up the basics of Tetum along the way.
Amid empty, abandoned towns, he rescued schoolbooks left to the elements, sheltering them in the only building left with a roof: the local Catholic Church. Many were in Tetum, published by the Mary MacKillop Press, and treasured by the community. When local families returned, the books were put straight back into use, a small but powerful act of preserving culture and learning.
That experience never left him. Today, Steve is a regular giver to Mary MacKillop Today, supporting the education work he witnessed firsthand, work that gives Timorese children the foundation to build sustainable livelihoods and a self-sufficient future.
