SOLAR SMILES DENTAL CHARITY

Benvindu! Welcome to Dili, Timor Leste

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Your adventure begins early 4.20am Darwin airport, where the team will meet and check in to the Air North flight together.  After a 1hr flight time we arrive in Dili & drop our bags off to our hotel & grab some famous Timorese coffee from Cafe Letefoho to kick start our day.

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Today we relax and take in our surroundings of this fascinating and beautiful country.  Although being the 5th newest country in the world, it is steeped in history and pristine natural beauty.

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1. Timor Plaza

Here is a chance to pick up a local sim for your mobile for the week with unlimited data, you don't want to miss the chance to Whatsapp friends and family from the most remote locations with spectacular scenery.  You might also like to pick up some western snacks or even some beer for the week.

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2. Resistance Museum

A visit to the museum established in 2005, gives us an understanding of the struggles that Timor Leste has faced in the past 24 years against the Indonesian occupation.  The story is brought to life through a timeline, photo's and video recordings showing how the East Timorese fought for their Independence.

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3.Tais Market

Timorese are very creative with their unique style and workmanship.  Their most famous workmanship are tais (traditional hand woven fabrics).  They are produced in different colours and designs depending on the community where they are made.

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4.Cristo Rei 

7 km east of Dili lies the Cristro Rei, a 27m high statue of Jesus located atop a globe, a gift from the Indonesian government in 1996.  The statue and globe which it rests, are situated at the end of Fatucama peninsula, facing out to the ocean and overlooks the mountainous terrain and the beautiful Aturo island.  The statue  can be reached by climbing the 500 ish steps. 

5. Cristo Rei Beach

If climbing the 500ish stairs isn't for you why not wait for everyone on the pristine Cristo Rei beach that has a spectacular view of the Cristo Rei statue anyway.  This is where we will spend a few hours just relaxing and enjoying the sun and the sand.  Just 10m off shore you will find a shallow coral reef to explore (we can arrange to hire masks and snorkels at a very small fee).

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After the beach we head back to the hotel for some R&R before heading out to Legendario's Bar and Restaurant on the esplanade where we take in a couple of cocktails have dinner and watch the sun go down. 

This venue is also the unique place for our informal basic Tetum classes to begin.  Although English is spoken widely in Dili, out in the sub district of Maubisse, Tetum is spoken as the predominant language.  This basic Tetum class will teach you how to greet others and some basic words to use whilst in the dental clinics.  We found by knowing a few Tetum words it enhanced Kim and Dr Phil's experience of being in Timor Leste and we'd like that for you as well.  Although our accents and pronunciation isn't great the locals really appreciate the fact we try and will keep teaching you little bits throughout your trip.

Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruise and transit to Maubisse

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Today is another early start with us joining the MV Atauro run by an Aussie Kev and his Timorese crew for a Whale and Dolphin watching cruise for 4-5 hrs (Seasonal).  The cruise allows you to take in the spectacular scenery of the East Timor coastline and if you are lucky catch glimpse of the many variety of whales that migrate along the coast line or the pod of dolphins that call the area home.  The cruise finishes with a snorkel just off the coastline on the opposite side of the Cristo Rei.

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If sitting on a boat for 4hrs isn't for you, the morning is free to take in the sights of Dili at your own pace.  Maybe enjoy a relaxing morning tea at the Timor Plaza Hotel balcony bar with views of most of Dili or spend your time browsing the many shops within the plaza.

This afternoon we head in convoy to Maubisse, this trip take approx 2 1/2 -3 1/2 hrs as we head high into the mountains of Timor Leste.  The views are breathtaking and along the way we will stop at a waterfall for some pictures and paddle.  

Dinners are at Sara's Guest House made especially for the team by our local host.

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Food in Maubisse is quite simple and consists of boiled or fried rice/noodles, eggs, fish, portuguese chicken, beef, local greens & some root vegetables like carrot or sweet potato varieties.  It would be quite difficult to accommodate specific dietary requirements other than vegetarian (english is very limited).  We are able to shop at the local supermarket in Dili before going to Maubisse where most food can be found very easily (think Coles or Woolworths) we have limited access to a fridge at the guesthouse.

Clinical Days at the Schools

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This begins what we all came here to do, get hands on and help some people by removing pain and educating them on how to have better dental health!

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The days start reasonably early with breakfast between 7am and 7.30am served at Sara’s Guesthouse.  Then we hit the road for around 45mins to 60mins ish (you’ll get used to ish in Timor Leste! LOL) to reach a school high in the mountains.

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Once the teams arrive at their locations around 8.30am they will go to work setting up the dental clinic for the day, setting up dental chairs, instrument tables, sterilisation area and admin area.  When this is done the real work begins seeing patients for the day.  All General Non-Clinical Experienced Volunteers will be given hands on training and I promise with how repetitive it is, you’ll be an expert by the end of the first day!

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Morning Tea and Lunch will be had at the schools and it will be a very simple meal usually of some kind of bread baked by the local community, we tend to share this time with the teachers before going back to the dental clinic.

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At the end of the day around 3.30 - 4pm, the clinic is packed down and stored at the school overnight.  Then we head back into Maubisse before dark for dinner at Sara’s Guesthouse.  

Half Day Clinic and transit back to Dili

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Today we do a small dental clinic finishing around 12pm and then transit back to Dili. 

Along the way we will stop at Projecto Montanha for lunch or afternoon tea.  The project is a local NGO set up in Aileu district that enriches the lives of young locals by sponsoring scholarships for vocational training, having an arts and craft studio where students can create and then their work is sold at the onsite gift shop.  They also have an Australian standard fixed dental clinic we can view that provides treatment to the community, especially working in the prevention of oral problems in children and youth.

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Or if the team prefers we can spend the afternoon back at Cristo Rei Beach reflecting on the week that has just been whilst enjoying the beautiful coral and fish.

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Tonight, it's back to our hotel in Dili and our team farewell dinner & drinks at a local resturant.

Back to Australia

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Today the team departs for Australia approx 8.00am or if you prefer, you can back up with Team Two and do it all over again for another week (costs will be Approx $235 for the second week).

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