The flight from Darwin to Dili in Timor-Leste is surprisingly short-75 minutes and yet it is a world away from Australia in so many ways. The first thing you notice flying over the country is how mountainous the terrain is. I wonder how the population travels, communicates, connects, makes a living and accesses health and education- I know not very well. And yet I am aware that this mountainous country has also provided protection during multiple hostile occupations by invadi

From Ornella Byak, 2014 I am a 15 year old student attending Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, North Sydney. I am currently in year 9. I had the good fortune last year to visit the area of Letefoho in Timor Leste. I embarked on what felt like a wild adventure to an unknown land. I was unsure what to expect and to be truthful I was very scared of what I might see and experience. I knew little of the country and of the history to independence. My Mum sat me down in the weeks be

The district of Letefoho, which our parish has supported for over 10 years is about 3 hours out from Dili, the capital of Timor Leste, on very rough roads. It’s in the mountains some 1500m above sea level so not too hot and quite cool at night. The area has a population of about 30,000 in 65 villages, and the village of Letefoho has about 600 people spread out randomly. It was incredibly dry and dusty, so I was rather dirty quite a lot of the time. Time and arrangements are a

By Olivia Fenlon, LNS Parishioner Every year I volunteer my skills, services and time to a foreign country as part of my holiday abroad. In July and August 2019, I spent just over a month in Timor Leste. Initially I went to join in the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Parish of Letefoho which has a special connection with the Parish of Lower North Shore as ‘twin’ Parishes. The village of Letefoho is approximately 4 hours’ drive out of Dili in the mountains, keeping in