NEWS:

Having suffered serious head injuries in a fall,
East Timor activist Rob Wesley-Smith is now
at home after a stint in Royal Darwin Hospital.

for a full report, click here

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The Quilt | Idea of North | Silent Movie Festival | A Letter from Sarah | Chris in Timor

The Kangaroo Valley-Remexio Partnership

After the destruction and killing which devastated East Timor in September 1999, a small group of KV residents felt a need to help. A partnership was discussed with an East Timorese village, Remexio (a small village in the hills about one hour's drive south of Dili) and the Kangaroo Valley - Remexio Partnership was born. Eight years on (2008), we continue to have a mix of KV locals and associates working with East Timorese in Australia and in East Timor.

The KV-RP is a "bottom up" or "grass roots" approach to helping the East Timorese help themselves. We strive to assist the East Timorese achieve dignified living through health, education, justice, employment and ecologically sustainable industry. We selectively try to help in ways that may be of a low priority to the UN and other NGOs.

Rather than large single projects, we pursue small, personal and usually integrated activities. Being substantially self-funded, our material contributions are small. Instead, we rely on sharing our existing skills in projects or in day-to-day situations.

We try to foster long-term personal relationships with East Timorese people and actively encourage this approach in others. That part which is conducted in Australia is the provision of education and training to those who have appropriate interests and aptitudes for leadership and mentoring roles back in East Timor.

Much of our involvement is now outside of Remexio, in other parts of East Timor, as well as in active networking within Australia. We now enjoy ongoing relationships with numerous individuals and activities. Along the way we have tried to identify the best and worst of our respective Australian and East Timorese lifestyles, to better influence both our paths into the future.

The violent "situation" in Dili, that drastically worsened in May 2006, provided us all with significant and new challenges in safety and communication. Yet clearly, the needs of the East Timorese people became even more acute, highlighting the importance and urgency of continuing and extending our Timorese relationships.

Paul Turnock (02 4465 1357)


Remexio kids left: kids in Remexio, March 2002

Note:

KV-RP is largely self-funded but donations are always very helpful. If made to "AFAP KV-Remexio Partnership" they will be tax deductible (AFAP - Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific Ltd - is our umbrella group, which is recognised by the ATO for tax deductibility).

We cover all our own expenses such as air fares, accommodation etc as well as all administration overheads. 100% of funds raised from the public go directly towards helping the East Timorese and are fully accounted for. Donors may request that their funds be directed towards particular areas of their own special interest, such as health, education, etc.

people

KV-RP is a loose collective of like-minded souls who meet (at Bella's Café in Kangaroo Valley) to discuss, plan and implement projects.

Local residents who contribute regularly include Brian Bailey, John George, Helen George, Terry Hennessy, Diana Jaffray, Michael Moore, Louise Morgan, Peter Morgan, Pam Morrissey, Chris Nobel, David Prescott, Sue Prescott, Peter Stanton (pictured, left), Rosemary Stanton, Libby Turnock, Paul Turnock, Martin Wesley-Smith & Peter Wesley-Smith.

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fund-raising

In recent years we have raised most of our funds through concerts (e.g. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda) and silent movie shows (e.g. The Fifth Annual Kangaroo Valley Buster Keaton Silent Movie Festival). A recent concert - a great success in every way - was As It Is In Heaven, featuring SHE (The Seven Harp Ensemble), Kangaroo Valley Hall, 7.30pm Sunday January 27 2008. Support group: The Choir That Dare Not Speak Its Name. For more information, see here. Excerpt from the review by Anne Glading in the local journal of record, The Kangaroo Valley Voice, February 2008:

"superb talent ... An exciting concert to witness: it certainly shook any preconceived ideas I may have had about the gracious and sweet-sounding harp. This concert showed a more meaty and percussive side to the instrument without losing any of the beauty ... If I had to sum the concert up in one word, it would be Charming!" [more]

a recent concert: wonderful a cappella vocal jazz quartet The Idea of North, Kangaroo Valley Hall, 7.30pm Friday 27 June 2008. For details, click here.

most recent event: the hilarious Sixth Annual Kangaroo Valley Buster Keaton Silent Movie Festival, Kangaroo Valley Hall, 7.30pm Saturday 30 August 2008, featuring pianist Robert Constable. For details, click here. All six festivals have been a rip-roaring success and an important contributor to our funds. Some have featured locally-made movies in the Dirty Dan the Pump-Out Man series, starring Paul Turnock as the disgusting Dirty Dan. Sadly, this series has now come to an end, but it is hoped that a new series will begin next year ...

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projects

One of our current projects is the provision of scholarships for students from Remexio to the Teachers College in Baucau, East Timor. Agostinha, Eduarda, and Virginia (left) are among the first recipients of these. Their costs from October to December 2007 have included, for the three of them combined, college registration: US$75; fees: $180; photocopying: $45; note paper: $5; lodging ($10/person/month): $90; food: $40; gas, phone card: $15; and bus fares (for one trip home each month): $54. That's about AUD200 per student per tri-semester, or $600 per year (which is 20 concert tickets @ $30).

We believe that education is one of the key areas to be developed if East Timor is to make the transition from a war-ravaged divided country to one that's prosperous and peaceful. Helping Timorese learn to teach others is one of the most useful contributions we can make.

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archives

This is an example of one of many articles published in the Kangaroo Valley Voice over the years. It appeared in June 2000.

to read others, access our archive site

read here (separate page, .pdf, 36KB) Louise Morgan's recommendation, in 2003, that KV-RP purchase soccer uniforms for young people in Remexio
read here (separate page, .pdf, 52KB) about her trip to East Timor in July 2005

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The Kangaroo Valley Friendship Quilt

Louise Morgan writes:

After the political and civil unrest from May 2006 there was an absence of visitors to Remexio from Kangaroo Valley for some time. We felt an important gesture was required and a reminder to our Timorese friends of our commitment to their wellbeing and the importance of our relationship with them.

The Kangaroo Valley community was invited to contribute to a Friendship Quilt, a rectangle of fabric depicting life in Kangaroo Valley. The quilt resulted in thirty six diverse and beautiful pictures, the historic churches; fauna and flora were popular; various views and scenes around the valley; even a gaggle of well-dressed children. See one of the individual panels below (click on it, or click here, to see the whole quilt).

The quilt is now hanging in the Catholic Church, Saint Joseph's, in Remexio. Many people have visited the church, gazed at our gorgeous creation, and are apparently astonished and delighted to receive this gift to their community. All the quilt pictures are signed by their creators, which make the connection more personal and interesting. Two friends created some pictures, which further symbolizes the importance of co-operation and friendship.

The KV-RP group graciously thanks all contributors, including KV-RP-members Chris Nobel and Louise Morgan, pictured at right, for the generous gift of their time and talent to create this beautiful object.

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The Idea of North

This wondrous Australian group - one of the world's finest a cappella (unaccompanied) vocal jazz quartets - performed a concert for us in Kangaroo Valley Hall at 7.30pm on Friday June 27 2008. Tickets ($30, $25 (concession)) were to be had from the Kangaroo Valley Supermarket - or by mail order via this concert booking form.

for a report, photo and review, click here (separate page)

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The Sixth Annual Kangaroo Valley Buster Keaton Silent Movie Festival
7.30pm Sat Aug 30 2008, Kangaroo Valley Hall; tickets: $25, $5 concession (kids under 16 only), available from Kangaroo Valley Supermarket or by downloading this booking form and posting it, with a cheque, to KV-RP

This was as hilarious as the five previous festivals! This year we moved from Upper River Hall to Kangaroo Valley Hall (a slight loss of atmosphere, perhaps, but better sight-lines and larger capacity). Brilliant pianist Robert Constable again accompanied some Buster Keaton classics, this time the feature film The Seven Chances [1925], the politically prescient short The Paleface [1922], and Keaton's collision with unholy matrimony, My Wife's Relations [also 1922].

for more details, click here (separate page)

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A letter from Sarah

"... love, friendship and respect."

American Peace Corps volunteer Sarah Winnan spent four years in Timor, initially in Remexio, assisting us with many of our projects there. In March this year she left in order to return to the States and resume her studies. Her final letter from Timor (click here) gives a beautiful and fascinating picture of life in this complex and troubled country.


click on each photo of her to see the original shot (Sarah with her Remexio "family" (left, 756KB) and Sarah in front of the Remexio shrine (right, 564KB)); click here to read her letter

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Chris Nobel's visit to Timor

KV-RP member Chris Nobel spent ten days in Timor during June 2008. To read her report, click here:


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page last updated November 15 2008
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