DILI: 9 August 2005 -- The first fortnight of August
has seen a flurry of volunteer groups from around the region working in
Timor Lorosae. A group of four Japanese volunteers with a
long-standing specific project led by Fr Julian Sleuyter, a Korean
group of thirty four young missionary volunteers working and animating
parish life in the Oecussi enclave, a small separate section of East
Timor about 8 hours away by boat. This group has been led by Fr
Joseph Chong and Bro. Bosco Park. And a dozen youths from Fr
Chris Riley's Youth Off the Streets programme from Sydney, led by Fr
Riley and three of his staff.
The first-named group stems from Fr Sleuyter's 25
year long involvement in East Timor, each year bringing a group for a
fishing boat project in the Fuiloro district. This group formerly
came from what was the Tokyo-Ikuei Polytechnic. This latter
institution has now moved to a new location.
It would seem that Timorese youth are particularly
inspired by these acts of solidarity from within the region, while at
the same time giving the volunteers, all three groups from very
different backgrounds and cultures, a valuable experience of a
lifestyle where happiness does not depend on material
possessions. Timor Lorosae and particularly the Salesian
communities there, has become one place in our region that the Salesian
provinces have developed a special relationship with, to everyone's
benefit.
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