One of the things Ana Pereira was certain she wanted to do was to visit Ballarat while she was in Australia.
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It might seem like an odd request, given Ms Pereira was in the country for health reasons, but strangely enough she lives in a small area in Dili that has recently been renamed Ballarat.
Ms Pereira had mitral stenosis, a condition caused by childhood rheumatic fever, which is still prevalent in developing countries. She recently had a mitral balloon procedure to address the problem.
The journey and surgery was only made possible thanks to The East Timor Hearts Fund, a charity aimed at providing life saving heart surgery for people in East Timor. However, the charity also made the journey to Ballarat possible.
The charity’s chair Ingrid Svendsen said the area that was renamed Ballarat was previously known as ‘Terminal’ due to its close proximity to the bus terminal.
A large number of residents who live in the area have visited Ballarat for a variety of reasons, mostly for education and because of the support they have received decided to rename the area in honor of the city.
“No one really knows yet that there is a town in East Timor called Ballarat,” she said.
“A lot of students come to Ballarat to study agriculture at Federation University and there has been a lot of back and forward.
“There has also been a lot of involvement via the (Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee). A large concentration of people living around that area have that connection to the Australian Ballarat.”
Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee member Rob Gray said he only found about the new name for the area during the past weekend. “Ballarat has sponsored many students here or in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and they happen to live in this area and they named the soccer team Ballarat and then (they named their) choir Ballarat and now they have named the region in the city as Ballarat well,” he said.
While Ms Pereira is unable to speak English, Mr Gray said he had spoken to her about the reasoning behind the name change.
“We are quite proud that they are recognising Ballarat as an important place for them,” he said. Anyone wanting more information on the East Timor Hearts Fund or to make a donation can do so by visiting easttimorheartsfund.org.
