Timor Leste Immerson 2017

Year 12 Timor Leste Immerson

At the end of a hectic Year 12 year and examination period, seven intrepid students and three staff members made their way to Timor Leste to continue our school’s tradition of immersion and assistance to the people of this beautiful nation. Students spent time working collaboratively to prepare for their interactions with the Timorese students in Remexio.

Remexio has been the focus of our Brigidine Day fundraising over the past few years and we have been instrumental in the beginning plans for a new school building at the Catholic Secondary school in Remexio. We are hosted in the parish house and have considerable opportunities to visit the students in the schools and in the community. This year our students worked closely with the youth program at AHHA, which is an NGO which provides educational programs in the development of one’s potential.

We began our trip in Darwin with visits to the War Museum and Darwin’s underground tunnels, to gain some understanding of the Australian forces' connections to Timor in World War 2. We also visited the Darwin Gallery and Fanny Bay precinct.

We were fortunate enough to add a new leg to the tour on this trip and visited Atauro Island, staying in eco friendly accommodation and investigating the various NGOs working on the island with a focus on sustainability and conservation programs. Our connection there will continue this year as Fr Julio has moved from Remexio to take up the position of Parish Priest on the island.

Our visit to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Dili, gave us new insight into the difficulties experienced in developing nations and led to some of our students taking up new interests for further study at university this year.

The trip will continue this year with a new group of students interested in raising awareness of the needs of the people of Timor Leste.

The video was created by Maddie Strugnell and we think it will give you a snippet of what we experienced last year, we hope you enjoy it. 2017 travellers were Olivia Guhl, Maddie Strugnell, Caitlin Bilos, Gabrielle Deres, Sarah Carino, Chloe Gordon and Millie Boltwood.

Password to open: kilbreda

Carolyn Callaghan, Sue Grima

and Trish Moloney

Kilbreda Staff