Volunteering is about showing our commitment to our Timorese partners at Klibur Domin (KD) by contributing our most valuable commodities, our time and presence. Time spent volunteering raises our awareness and helps bring us closer together through real world experience, strengthening our commitment to support KD’s work. Part of Ryder-Cheshire Australia’s function is to support […]
Ryder-Cheshire
Raphael, as Magical as Ever
My first visit to Raphael was in 1992, as a nineteen year old gap year student and the experience was so impactful for me I vowed that one day I would return. Maybe it was the shock of eating Indian food for the first time or perhaps it was simply that Raphael and the people […]
Joanne Sunnex many times Raphael volunteer
‘We make a living by what we do, but make a life by what we give.’ Winston Churchill. Volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one’s ideals, work with people, solve problems, see benefits and know one had a hand in them. The moral test […]
First Klibur Domin Volunteers
Joao Martire, a Timorese, was the first Klibur Domin volunteer and was closely followed by Aida de Jesus with Robert Clancy all in September 2000, very early days of the home. Joao had lived in Australia since the mid 1970’s. He expressed an interest in volunteering at Klibur Domin for four weeks. Aida de […]
Pamela Harrison (nee Breslin) First Australian Ryder-Cheshire Volunteer
My mum, Pamela Breslin volunteered as a teacher for two years at Raphael when Raphael first opened. She volunteered after hearing Sue Ryder and Leonard Cheshire talk while they were in Sydney in the late 1950s about the new home they were wanted to set up in India. She signed up to volunteer. Mum had […]
How to Contact the Ryder-Cheshire Australia Volunteers’ Co-ordinator
To volunteer in either Raphael in India or Klibur Domin in Timor-Leste, I would suggest you start by doing a walk through video. You will find these videos on the RCA website’s home page on RHS called Latest News. Viewing these will give you an idea of what is happening in each of the homes […]
The Relief of Suffering in Timor-Leste
By Siobhan Reeves From my office window, it is hard to believe that I was shivering in Canberra just a week ago. Here in the village of Tibar in Timor-Leste, palm wine is for sale under little palm thatched shelters across the road; pigs, goats and water buffalo stroll into the compound, and the road […]
Volunteering with Ryder-Cheshire Australia
The past 10+ years have been deeply personally rewarding. While time spent in Timor-Leste at Klibur Domin over five visits totaling nearly 18 months has been a highlight, I have also greatly enjoyed and learnt a lot from other roles such as assisting with parish and school fundraising activities in Melbourne and being part of […]
Motivation was not hard to find
In 2013 I left my job as a public servant and went as a volunteer at Klibur Domin (KD) where my assignment was to conduct an organisational capacity assessment. I saw the important work of the staff in the in-patient, TB and CBR teams every day and the difference that they made to some of […]
Helping Children at Raphael
Going to Raphael was a decision made easy due to the endless praise it receives from anyone who is lucky enough to visit. As a physiotherapist I had been working in a hospital setting for two years and Raphael was the perfect opportunity to help grow my skills as well as use what I had […]