Susan's Asian Adventures

Escape to Atauro....

Last weekend I returned to a place I had visited briefly last Sept - Atauro Island. Last time I just visited for the day but this time me and some friends from Dili & Maliana went over on the ferry on Sat morning and came back on a fisherman's boat (at about 4 AM!) on Mon...(now that was an adventure that deserves its own blog....hmmmm....)

It was a lovely weekend, just R & R to the max! Painting, reading, swimming, playing some Swiss card game that one of our friends taught us, enjoying a bit of wine and lovely local food....a wonderful escape from the 'city life' and World Cup noise in Dili!

View from the gazebo where we stayed....

...the best spot for swimming...

...sunrise....

....dusk....

...sunset just before it started to rain....

End of (fiscal) year celebration at 'One Dollar Beach'

As I am sure you have figured out by now :-) I live and work close to the beach, so what better way to celebrate the end of our (fiscal) year than to have a staff outing at the beach :-) Although the rain interrupted some of our festivities, we had a fabulous day enjoying the sun & sand and playing games and dancing and eating BBQ chicken and fresh fish and veggies - incredible! :-)

The beach in the morning when we arrived...before and between the rain....

Me and some of the girls from Dili & Aileu...

Some time in the shade when it got tooooo hot....

Another hard part of my job....

...is when we 'phase out' or close our programs - we generally do this when the community has reached a certain level of development and the government is in a position to fulfill the rights of children....or when we determine that there are other areas that need more support, etc...but in all cases, it is a difficult decision to make, since Plan staff become very close to community members so it is a rather sad time for everyone involved....

In late June we phased out of several areas in Dili where IDPs (internally displaced people) had transitioned back to over the past 1-2 years....here are some pics from the formal handover meetings we had in the communities...

....the children wanted to know who will come and play with them now....

... and the village chief's wife complained that the government still does not take all of their concerns seriously....

....but in the end, the chief (in red shirt) and youth chief (on the far right) confirmed that they will continue the activities that Plan started in the community - and we will continue to work with the community on a more informal basis, to share communications with them from the government, etc....

Although a sad day, we did manage to gather around for a big group picture before saying goodbye...

My Saturday morning walk....

On Saturday mornings (before it gets too hot....), I like to go for a walk from my house, down to the beach, along the shore and across Dili - here's a little peak at what I usually see....

...looking across the harbour to Christo Rei (the place where the big Jesus statue is)....

...the famous Motael church (about 3 mins from my house...)

....Palacio Governo (Governor's Palace)....

....young men with their morning's catch...

....and a special treat - the recently launched Timorese navy!

Sunday afternoon at the beach - Pantai Kelapa (near my office...)

Well what can I say? One of the best parts of living in Timor-Leste is access to the beach - this is a beach in the area called Pantai Kelapa, about a 2 minute drive from my office....all you have to do is be careful to avoid the crocodile! (seriously, there is a crocodile that has been hanging out here recently....)

An emotional evening....

While in Southern Leyte, I had the opportunity to not only visit the memorial at the site of the 2006 landslide, I also witnessed one of the most heart-wrenching plays I have ever seen, put on by a group of children and youth, to share their memories of the day that the landslide occurred and devastated their community.....

They were a little shy at first....

...but once the dramatization began, I don't think I blinked for about 45 mins! It is difficult to put into words the emotions ran through the crowd, watching as the children acted out their school day....

...and some activities in their community....

....followed by the absolute horror of the landslide (which left thousands dead and wiped out almost an entire school)....

...followed by their passion for their future!

(and someday when I have a decent internet connection, I will upload the video!)

Southern Leyte, Philippines

On my second trip to the Philippines I got to go on a field trip with some of my Plan colleagues to one of the areas in the south of the Philippines called Southern Leyte to see some of their development programs 'in action'. Our field trip focused on their local Disaster Risk Reduction program i.e. how to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and - quite common in this area - landslides.

Before heading off for the day, I captured this photo from my room at the guesthouse...

Then we spent the day touring the area - lush fields & beautiful hills.....

...and then visited the location where a major landslide occurred in Feb 2006 - quite a shocking and surreal place as it all looks so calm and peaceful now....

After meeting with the mayor of the local community and hearing about how they have organised themselves to respond to future natural disasters, we enjoyed dinner by the water....