Song, dance, music is a universal language that creates equals. This brings us so much closer to these little children and their families in poor remote communities outside Railaco. Every time we do it a barrier comes down.
The key observation I made during our visits to the villages and schools in Timor Leste was that the people have great need, but they are NOT needy. The people are filled with faith, hope and love. They dance and smile like they are the happiest people on earth.
This video is about Elijah travelling with his mother Lynda with Fr Bong’s Mobile Medical Clinic outside Railaco, East Timor – a short video.
Lynda Slavinskis, Elijah’s mum writes: You can click here to get a handy copy of Lynda’s words.
When preparing for our visit to Timor Leste, I often wondered ‘what can I do to help? What can I give?’
Today on our visit to the remote mountain village of Fatu Besi, I realised that the greatest gift I could give was just to be me, a mother. I experienced the simple yet extraordinary power a smile and a gentle touch can have, in the absence of a shared language. It is the silent ‘knowing’, especially between mothers, that can engender trust and cement even the most unlikely of friendships.
Travelling into a remote sub-district, Khoda meets and shares a meal with children of the village. The Railaco Jesuit Mission in Railaco has been driving out to this village for fifteen years now. Khoda got busy chopping onions and garlic to help make the meal, before climbing aboard the stormtrooper to drive up the mountain to the village and help serve the kids. Imagine how big and round their eyes were when Khoda alighted from the back of the stormtrooper he was travelling in with his mum, Odelia Potts, and started marching up to the gathered kids playing his bagpipes.
On the very first day on our Railaco ‘immersion’ experience for my group of six, we leave the sealed road from the coast up to the mountains and at an appointed junction, we fall-in behind Fr Bong in his carbon-belching old 4WD.We jolt over almost impossible dirt tracks, hewn through thick bush by local villagers with pick and shovel to permit access to the outside world. And us! There we are, bones rattling, holding-on for grim death, but so excited, nonetheless. Our confident Timorese driver, Edu, manoeuvres around huge pot holes, deftly avoiding cave-ins, and using his gears to escape wheels spinning in slippery muddy patches.
The word neighbour derives from those near-by. When the neighbour is drawn into the exchange of kindnesses, our human-ness is enhanced by the enabling of goodness.
This is what the relationship between St Canice Elizabeth Bay parish and the Jesuit Mission in Railaco is all about – simply being neighbourly, the mutual comfort each of us derive from having good neighbours.
Welcome to 2019! To say we are thankful is an understatement. 2018 was a bumper year and it was made possible by the commitment, compassion and hard work that you showed, day in and day out. From the Parish, myself and our guests we say thank you. So many people
A huge Thank You to those who turned up at the St Canice’s Kitchen Trivia Night 2 weeks ago. We’ve finally received the results of the profits we made, and with help from all the people who attended, bought drinks and raffle tickets, we made, for the kitchen: $4000 PROFIT!
This year St Canice’s Kitchen is celebrating its 30th Anniversary and every year we host our annual Volunteer Party in October to thank the amazing work our volunteers do each year to support the kitchen. This year was no different with 70 volunteers turning up on the night. The night
Last week, ABC Sydney wrote an article on St Canice’s Kitchen and it’s upcoming 30th Anniversary. Our Wednesday group featured in the article about the kitchen, and the 50,000 meals we provide each year to the homeless and disadvantaged community. A journalist Harriet Tatham, came early Wednesday morning to speak
