Blood, sweat and tears for a worthy cause
28 September 2011
Australian returned volunteer Tim Stats and his team, The Herb Feith All Stars, have recently completed the gruelling cycling event – The Tour de Timor.
At left The Herb Feith All Stars with President Jose Ramos Horta, Timor-Leste
Beginning on 11 September and finishing 6 days later, the circuit saw participants snake their way through 607 km of jungle, rugged coastal and mountain regions.
Spurred on by the chance to support community-based development projects in remote regions of Timor-Leste, and the daily support they received from local residents in the towns and remote villages they cycled through, the Herb Feith All Stars finished their inspirational journey having raised well over their target of $5000 for the Lospalos Sustainability Centre.
For Tim Stats there were many memorable moments.
“The awesome receptions we'd receive each time we'd ride through a village were hard to top. With the kids lining the streets for high-fives and running after us screaming and yelling we felt like world champions, even though in most cases it was still many hours since the tour leaders had passed through.”
“At Lospalos we received probably the biggest reception of all. I think we surprised the locals by stopping and getting off our bikes mid-race to say g'day to a couple of old Red Cross colleagues of mine in the crowd. Much to everyone's amusement Mike and I casually pushed our bikes through the crowd to the Red Cross building and then later to the site of the ETWA project, enjoying a couple of bananas as we went. We declined offers to sit down for coffee, but never the less enjoyed the break.”
“Their weren’t many lowlights, but we did suffer from various ailments after sitting in the saddle for long periods each day, namely blisters and painful muscles.”
The Herb Feith All Stars
The team name, The Herb Feith All Stars, was in honour of Australian Volunteers International’s (AVI) 60th anniversary and to pay tribute to Australia’s and AVI’s first official volunteer, Herb Feith, and his pioneering journey to Indonesia in 1951 and his work as a volunteer observer as part the 1999 ballot in Timor-Leste.
The team consisted of returned Australian volunteer Tim Stats, Michael Laing and two Australian Medical Service Officers, David Natoli and Julie Souness currently working on AVI assignments in Timor.
Since 1995 AVI have deployed over 450 volunteers to Timor Leste to help reduce poverty and build the capacity of local organisations.
Donate to the Herb Feith All Stars
Learn more about Los Palos Sustainability Project