1166 Long-time missionary in East Timor gains Masters in Theology
austra L asia 1166
Long-time missionary in East Timor gains Masters in
Theology
DILI: 15th June 2005 -- Fr Jose Vattaparambil was, last
month, awarded his Masters in Theology from the Dominican School at
Berkeley USA. His thesis was "Restoration and Reconciliation in
the context of East Timor". Fr Jose had in fact defended his
thesis at the end of last year, and has now returned to East
Timor.
Fr Jose was for many years the Rector at Fuiloro,
and was responsible for masterminding a scheme to drill down to artesian water supplies. He is a
water-diviner, almost by 'trade', and has little difficulty in divining
not only where water can be found, but at what depth and in what
quantity. These skills, combined with the practical backing of
the Australian province which funded a project to provide mobile
drilling equipment and pumps, gave many thousands of villagers access
to drinking water and basic irrigation needs denied by the situation of
conflict the nation was then in.
On his recent return to East Timor, in much calmer
times, he now finds himself on the formation team at Venilale.
VOCABULARY
artesian: refers to a geological structure
whereby water is held under pressure below ground over perhaps millions
of years. This area, including Timor and Australia, holds vast
reserves of such water.
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