The 6 April Cyclone and resultant major floods that hit mainly the central and northern side of Timor-Leste caused catastrophic damage to roads, buildings and livelihoods of many in one of the poorest nations.

This came on top of the recent COVID 19 outbreak which had already caused much dislocation in the community, particularly for Dili where the virus is spreading more quickly than in the more remote communities. The good news is that most of Klibur Domin’s staff have now had their first COVID vaccine ‘jab’.

It took a few days before Klibur Domin’s Managing Director, Joaquim Soares, could travel from Dili out to Klibur Domin, and provide us with an assessment. Joaquim reported that although there was some relatively minor damage to buildings at KD,  he reported that ‘all patients and residents are well’. However, he said that the ‘The Tibar community and other organisations surrounding KD are affected very badly by the floods. We are going to provide some food support to KD staff who are affected by the flood.’

On hearing this Ryder-Cheshire Australia immediately launched an appeal to all our Friends and Supporters on our various data bases to provide much needed funds to support Klibur Domin and  the surrounding community. We are VERY PLEASED to report that as at end of May approximately AUD $32,130.00 has been donated, from all over the country and Ryder-Cheshire New Zealand promptly sent NZD $10,000 to Klibur Domin.

Apart from replacing a partly collapsed concrete fence on one side of KD the other priorities are to assist several local families in Tibar village to replace disability infrastructure at their homes. Some dozen of KD’s staff have suffered damage to their own homes and an initial assessment has identified another 12-15 local families on the poverty line that require assistance for an extended period. There will no doubt be more families who have family members with disabilities up in the mountains behind Klibur Domin who are also requiring assistance. This will be ascertained once a further assessment of the damage has been undertaken.

On behalf of Ryder-Cheshire Australia and the Klibur Domin Foundation, THANK YOU to all our generous donors. I know many people would like to be able to donate their time and skills as well in person, but alas, not for the time being.

While the Appeal has now formally closed, you can still donate towards the general running cost of Klibur Domin, which relies on quarterly funding from Ryder-Cheshire and our regular donors and sponsors. All donations are directed through the Ryder-Cheshire Overseas Aid Fund and these are tax deductible.

John Kirby

Klibur Domin Liaison Officer.