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Racing for peace, Australian volunteers prepare for Tour de Timor

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01 September 2011
Racing for peace, Australian volunteers prepare for Tour de Timor

Excitement is building for cyclist Tim Stats and his team The Herb Feith All Stars, as they prepare for a gruelling six-day cycling adventure around Timor-Leste, 11-16 September, 2011.

Now in its third year, the aptly named Tour de Timor, has become an important event in the cycling calendar, gaining international recognition from mountain bike enthusiasts, as they snake their way around 607 kilometres of jungle, rugged coastal and mountain tracks.

Tim, an Architect, returns to Timor-Leste for the event after volunteering as a Rehabilitation Adviser with Cruz Vermelha Timor-Leste through Australian Volunteers International (AVI) in 2009. He will be joined on his mission by Melbourne-based Property Developer Michael Laing and two Australian volunteer Medical Service Officers, David Natoli and Julie Souness currently working on AVI assignments in Timor.

As they 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 will also celebrate AVI’s 60th year by raising money for the Lospalos Sustainability Centre, in the Timor-Leste district of Lautem.  The centre will provide a much needed facility for the Los Palos organisations, Cooperative for Tais, Culture and Sustainable Development to establish a sustainable weaving industry to benefit the community.

For Tim, the chance to further support community-based development projects in remote regions of Timor-Leste has been an inspiration for his journey.

“I‘ve previously worked as a volunteer in Lautem, and spent a couple of days in the remote neighbouring district of Iliomar with the Lospalos community in 2010 contributing towards a similar project. I was very humbled by the reception we received from the villagers. At first we were treated like royalty, but by the end we were like family,” he said.

“It’s great to see photos of the first completed community centre. It was built by the community itself with assistance from a number of Australian-based groups including the Victorian-based organisation, East Timor Women’s Australia (ETWA), and by all accounts has been a great success. When we found out there was another community-based project planned, we were keen to help in any way we could.

“Through ETWA we are aiming to raise $5000 for the Centre and hope that it will contribute in some way towards reducing poverty, increasing environmental protection and improving cultural maintenance for the Lospalos community.

“The Tour this year will take us through the town, so we are looking forward to seeing the site, meeting the people involved and hopefully having a little extra time out to catch our breath.”

Since 1995 AVI have deployed over 450 volunteers to Timor Leste to help reduce poverty and build the capacity of local organisations.

To donate click here.

Watch the video:

Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World from CTKDS on Vimeo.

 

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For more information or to organise and interview with Tim Stats contact:
Fran Noonan
Australian Volunteers International
Phone: + 61 (0) 3 9279 1805
Email: fnoonan@australianvolunteers.com