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Canberra Today 14°/17° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Helping Nusa Tenggara Timur pass beyond the Crossroads

NUSA Tenggara Timur, in the far east of Indonesia, is a part of the country that tugs at the heartstrings, partly because of its sheer beauty and partly because of its poverty, as a fundraising dinner in The Hellenic Club tomorrow will prove.

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I have personally travelled there several times with journalist observer groups and found the kindness of the people extraordinary and the local craft-arts, notably the weaving art of ikat, flourishing.

With the famous Komodo Dragon (giant monitor lizard) at large in Komodo and Flores and the even more famous “Hobbit” archaeological discoveries in eastern Flores, the area is full of fascination.

The province consists of more than 500 islands, the three largest of which are Flores, Sumba, and West Timor (the eastern part is Timor Leste) and, thanks to its former Portuguese colonial masters, it is the only province in Indonesia where Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion.

The Nusa Tenggara Association: East Indonesia Aid is holding a dinner tomorrow at the Hellenic Club of Canberra in Woden. All funds raised at the dinner will go towards 2015 projects to alleviate poverty and vulnerability and promote food security for rural households in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

It’s an Australian not-for-profit NGO committed to improving livelihoods in Nusa Tenggara Timur and involves a two course meal and an address, “Nusa Tenggara Timur – Beyond the Crossroads,” by PhD candidate at the ANU, Andrey Damaledo, a regional development specialist from Kupang, West Timor, with experience working with AusAID and the UN.

Nusa Tenggara Timur dinner, at The Hellenic Club of Canberra, Matilda Street, Woden, 6:30pm – 9:00pm Friday, March 20. Tickets: $50 pp (includes two course meal). RSVP to http://www.nta.org.au/nta_2015_fundraising_dinner or email enquiries@nta.org.au

 

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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