Kate's Timorese friendship odyssey

KATE Owen left behind her newly-built home, her family and her beloved cat.Since she was a teenager she had felt a pull towards one day working in a developing country, doing her bit in a place where her contribution would be valued and valuable.So when a two-year volunteer placement in East Timor was advertised, the Ballarat mother of three put up her hand.She had travelled to the country several times and was not blind to what she would face.But the emotional challenges of being immersed in a culture so different from her own can still bring her to tears."Seeing people in huge need and knowing people are really struggling just with basic things, like food and health, is very confronting," Ms Owen said.Sitting in The Courier office on a flying visit back to Ballarat, she wiped tears from her eyes as she told of just one experience from the time she had already spent in the role."I was sitting in my house drawing and looking at the mountains and an elderly man came in begging for money," she said."He made eye contact with me and I could see he wasn't just asking for the fun of it; he was really in need."I just found it so difficult to respond because I'm not in a position where I can start giving people money, for many reasons."You can't possibly give to everybody and you also don't want to be setting up that position where people are needing to be begging."But if you had told me sitting here in Ballarat, before I went, that I would see someone who was so needy and starving and then do nothing about it . . . " Ms Owen said."You just wouldn't believe you would do that. I was very upset and cried the whole afternoon to think I would turn my back on someone who was obviously very much in need."Things like that are very difficult and there are a lot of people in a bad way. You are looking in their eyes and you know how hungry they are and you are there to help but then on that level, you can't really help them."Ms Owen is in the East Timorese district of Ainaro, a region which has a special connection to Ballarat.The city helps to run the Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian Volunteers International last year.The agreement saw Ballarat fund a volunteer placement in Ainaro, Ms Owen's position, with all administration to be taken care of by the volunteer organisation.Ms Owen said she had been an active member of the community committee and Ballarat's Australian East Timor Association sub-branch for many years."I first went over to Ainaro in 2004 and then again in 2005 and then last year for the centenary celebrations," she said."So I had a long term involvement and that gave me a little bit of confidence when it came to applying for the position because I knew the community I would be going into and I knew people in Ballarat and the program," she said."I thought it was a now or never opportunity. My kids are 29, 26 and 24 and are all independent and I don't have any grandchildren yet."It was just an ideal opportunity at an ideal time."With little representation from international aid organisations in the region, Ballarat's friendship with Ainaro was essential, Ms Owen said."They certainly value it very highly," she said."And having someone there helps because you have the opportunity to help even more."Ballarat has been keen to be of assistance but it has been good to actually have that negotiation, how you can best help and what is the best way you can be supportive."Now I'm there and I can actually speak with people and work that out."Health is a big area of concern, with Ms Owen spending a great deal of time with the health department and Ainaro township's community clinic, identifying projects for the next six to 12 months.Improvements in the region's agricultural industry are also in the pipeline, with increased food production and seed storage and quality the focus.And next year, the country is looking towards holding elections to establish local municipalities, a process in which the City of Ballarat could assist.Ms Owen said Ballarat could also learn much from Ainaro."While we can do some great things and it's great to have access to funding, it's more than that," she said."It's about being friends and sharing and there is so much people in Ballarat will learn."Ms Owen has been in Ainaro for over four months and will remain in the position until the end of next year.At the beginning, she felt the distance between her new home and Ballarat."During the the first three or four weeks in Ainaro, I was enjoying it and everything was going fine," she said."But when I had quiet time I was still feeling a loss because I was missing my family, missing my cat, missing my house, which I'd just built, and I was missing Ballarat."Now she is growing into the role and feels change is in the air."I am feeling, and this is just from my personal observation, there is a sense that things are happening," she said."There is some progress in terms of the current government getting some implementation on these issues."And if I look at the really positive, the community and many of the organisations within the community are very positive about me being there."But most of all they are positive about Ballarat being there and being a major friend to them."