By participant Richard Murphy [Project Manager Mentor] with wife Ushi [Business & Finance Mentor] with FHM.
Very little has gone according to plan which is what we expected. Some things are better than we hoped for. Some things are not. Ushi and I are going well. As predicted by Ushi, and doubted by me, I am doing particularly well.
Our home is about 10km out of Maliana, Bobonaro District in a rural area. By the time the road gets to us, it is little more than a rough dirt track. To our surprise, we are surrounded by gum trees, a native variety called ai-bubur. We are living on a 5-hectare block that is the main tree nursery for Fundasaun Haburas Moris (FHM), the NGO we are working with. This is a big farm, being five times larger than the TL average garden (farm).
We have 2 comfortable rooms and large balcony located above the office, an outside squat toilet and a bucket and ladle to wash with. The grass roof is elevated about the walls to allow air flow which is our only means for cooling. The water is pumped from a creek which we have found to be clean. Drinking water comes in purified 1-gallan bottle that FHM produces. Our home has two rooms upstairs and a lovely balcony area. Meals are shared together down in the veranda space below.
We are really connecting with nature. The abundant geckos are cute but do have a habit of falling from the ceiling or, less often, dropping a poo. Fortunately taking a direct hit by either is rare. We also have a rat which is causing us some problems. Roosters crow till late in the evening and promptly recommence about 4am. Small packs of dogs (Stray or wild? We are not sure.) come through some nights. They make a racquet but don’t appear to cause any harm. The lawn mower (goat) ignores them.
There are 4 permanent staff who live on-site who are all men. Ushi began feeling the odd one out but they are very welcoming, respectful and eager to please, and she has come to feel quite safe and included. Though our accommodation is basic is it much better than that enjoyed by the staff and palatial compared to the homes that surround us. (Bamboo and grass houses remain in use). As none of the men speak English, our learning Tetun has on overdrive. Below are a traditional house still seen regularly and shopping in the main street of Maliana.
The challenge of feeding ourselves was quickly resolved. Electricity is expensive and unreliable; cooking is done on wood fire with very basic equipment. The men were already cooking for themselves and included us from our arrival. A system quickly evolved where we purchased the food, they cooked the food, we all eat together. The men have shown themselves to be awesome cooks. We are all eating immensely better if we were operating independently. As we are all getting to know each other, and our Tetun improves, we beginning to cook together.
It appears, we both have a box in our brain labelled, ‘Language Other Than English’. We keep using Chinese when reaching for Tetan. I have found myself pulling out Chinese words and sentences, I have not spoken in 20 years and had no idea I remembered.
Ushi has found Chinese a common language with the Chinese shop keepers. When we first arrived, in an act of desperation, Ushi tried speaking Chinese to overcome the language barrier with the shop keeper who, kind-of, looked Chinese. The shop keeper stood up from their slouched position in complete surprise and obvious delight. It is a little bizarre that Ushi now conducts our shopping in these Timor Leste stores in Chinese. The shop keepers love it. I doubt they will ever talk with her in Tetun and they speak no English.
The nearest village is Maliana, about 3km walk. This is where we attend church. With our little bit of Tetun, familiarity with the proceedings and willingness to imitate those around us, we can pretend to know what’s going on. For a tiny community, the singing is amazing. With every song, we find ourselves immersed in an ocean of harmonious voices. The congregation is very young and they have an abundance of priests.
We are made to feel most welcome. Maliana was a base for Australian soldiers with the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) peace keeping force that work to reduce the death and destruction that was part of the Indonesian withdrawal from TL after the 1999 independence referendum. Fortunately for us, the Australian soldiers are fondly remembered and people remain grateful for the service they provided. We find ourselves the beneficiaries the good will the Australian soldiers left behind.
The work has proved immensely more complicated, and demanding, than advised. We are reviewing project design processes, contracts, plans and budgets. I have never been more appreciative and grateful for high standards and training in these skills I have received at Glenelg Hopkins CMA.
Ushi has stepped up as a business finance and operations consultant and doing an amazing job. The training and management experience with SWTAFE, and decades leading community organisations, are proving invaluable. Her contribution to the review on these elements has been vital and outside my expertise.
An unforeseen necessity was having two genders undertaking the work. The women have opened up to Ushi to a depth and honesty that cultural norms would exclude me. As it is women who lead FHM, this level of openness has been essential in our building a clear picture of what is going on. Once the knowledge is out, it is openly discussed.
We came to Timor Leste to challenge ourselves to place our trust in God to give us a meaningful challenge. I would have liked something a little simpler but it is the challenge we have received.