I have been back in Oz for a month and it important to write
one final blog signing off on what has been an enormous life changing event for
me.
I entered into the assignment knowing that I had the
potential of making a difference and I know I did but not in the way that I
expected. I believe that the difference
I have made has been in training my East Timorese counterparts in the use of
the surveying equipment and be able to anticipate any problems in setting up
the equipment for a survey. Surveying is
one of the many steps in the construction of a water supply system, and without
it, the community may not receive the best possible water system.
There are still many people who do not have access to
reliable water supplies in the country and I know the skills that I imparted to
my East Timorese counterparts allows them to take more control in their design
and ultimately their delivery.
On a more personal level, I made many and what I hope
lasting friendships with a number of expats and East Timorese. If I might say, these friendships are what
kept me “sane” in an environment that is certainly not like that of home. And there are many other changes in how I
view life in general, I know that I am more relaxed (some could say comatosed)
to life and the challenges it throws my way.
There are many others but this is not the forum for them….
Soon after returning to Oz, I caught up a fellow volunteer
who was part of the same intake as me and was posted to another country and it
was good to be able to swap stories. We
spent a lot of the time talking about the respective hardships and how much we
had changed as a result, I have been mulling over this particular conversation
a lot since. I think that we both still
coming to grips with our tour of development, however one important lesson for
was; life gives us what we need rather than what we want and sometimes we don't
see that what we need until long after the experience. In short it has been a humbling experience...
Many people have asked whether I would do this type of work again. I would do it again and I would certainly do
some things differently so it is not such a tough gig next time…
So I am now about to start a new job, this time in Mackay,
Queensland back in the areas of water and sewerage planning and delivery. And oh yeah, it is somewhat warmer than
Victoria, in fact that is one thing that I really liked about East Timor…
