PROJECT ‘Maucale East Timor’
23 July 2011
Mongol Rally – They are off!
Julian and Viv head out of Paris today on day 1 of their Mongol Rally odyssey. Both they and the beautifully branded “Spend it Well” car are looking great – hope they look as good after 10,000 miles! They have raised $9,557 for Maucale School so far and are hoping for more contributions from supporters as they embark on their long journey east.
 
project: Lequeracabu'u East Timor, Macalaco East Timor, Maucale East Timor, OSTICO EAST TIMOR
22 July 2011
Maucale school building looking great
Simon did the long drive out to Maucale school last weekend to check on progress. There was no work being done, or classes being held, as it was the weekend but as always, a crowd of local kids gathered to see what was going on.
  
project: Maucale East Timor
21 July 2011
10,000 mile drive for Maucale School
Spend it Well’s intrepid fundraisers, Julian and Viv are 2 days away from starting the Mongol Rally. The Rally is a 10,000 mile journey from Paris to Mongolia – the catch (if one is needed on such a journey) is that the car’s engine may not be bigger than 1,200cc. Which means they are driving a car most of us wouldn’t drive to the shops stuffed with tents, sleeping bags and all the spare parts they can fit. Julian and Viv plan to raise the money Spend it Well needs to complete the work on Maucale school which is currently under construction. Their trip will take about a month and you can follow their progress on https://www.spenditwell.com/rally/ as they travel across 3 deserts, 5 mountain ranges and a large part of the earth’s surface. Have a look at the interactive map to get a feel for how ridiculously far they are going!
 
project: Lequeracabu'u East Timor, Macalaco East Timor, Maucale East Timor, OSTICO EAST TIMOR
15 June 2011
Road trip to Baucau with Kirsty Sword Gusmao and Max Stahl
Travelling around East Timor with Kirsty Sword Gusmao and Max Stahl makes you feel like you’re hanging out with royalty. Kirsty is instantly recognised by everyone, but her attention is rivalled when people realise the man in the jeans and cap is Max Stahl, the journalist who filmed the Santa Cruz graveyard massacre, hid the tape in a hole next to a gravestone and after being interrogated by the Indonesians, went back in the dead of night to retrieve it and with the film maker Peter Gordon and Kirsty, distributed it around the world.
Max and Peter accompanied Kirsty and her and Xanana’s 3 boys to Maucale school where Spend it Well is constructing a new school building. They filmed a ceremony at the school and in various settings around Baucau, retracing the steps they all trod in the 1990s when they were clandestinely working to obtain independence for East Timor.
There was a wonderful ceremony at the school and it was fabulous to see the new building coming along so well.
       
project: Lequeracabu'u East Timor, Macalaco East Timor, Maucale East Timor, OSTICO EAST TIMOR
12 June 2011
Back in Dili
I flew into Dili yesterday to be part of an extraordinary documentary making trip next week. The film maker and producer who, together with Kirsty Sword Gusmao, obtained the footage of the Santa Cruz Cementry massacre, smuggled it out of the country and distributed it world wide, are back in Timor. They are working together again to make a documentary following up on the leaders of the Timorese independence movement and are filming Kirsty on a road trip to Baucau to visit Maucale school where Spend it Well has a new school building under construction.
Walking along Dili’s seafront it is hard to believe we are only an hour from Darwin. Men push trolleys bearing corn cobs, babies balance precariously on the front of motorbikes and bamboo stalls sell hundreds of glorious looking (unrefridgerated) fish. The fruit stalls are stacked in displays that are more beautiful than anything in high end fruit shops in Australia and the children run around playing with empty water bottles on strings.
It’s always good to be here in such a beautiful place and to be reminded how hard it is to get things done, but also just by seeing the groups of young men standing around with no-where to go, how great the need for education is.
  
project: Lequeracabu'u East Timor, Macalaco East Timor, Maucale East Timor, OSTICO EAST TIMOR
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