Colleen and Allan Elton were presented with life membership of the Bega Valley Advocates for Timor Leste at a barbecue at the Mogareeka Lions Club Park on Sunday, April 10.
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The Eltons were foundation members of the Advocates. Colleen said she went to the first meeting because her uncle, Jim Collins, had encouraged her to do so.
“I also felt that I wanted to do something for the Timorese because of what they did for Australian soldiers during the Second World War and also because I think they received a bad deal from Australia over their oil,” she said.
The Bega Valley Shire Council signed a friendship agreement with the sub-district of Natarbora in 2004 and while there, the Advocates were appalled at the destruction done by Indonesians to the Natarbora Agricultural College and decided to help restore the building.
As the Advocates hadn't the funds, Colleen and Allan decided the project to restore the college could be a Rotary one and, having the backing of the four local clubs – Pambula, Merimbula, Bega and Eden – they went further afield and spoke to Rotary Clubs throughout the district.
The work in Natarbora became a Rotary Australia World Community Service project and Allan, a builder, led teams to start work.
Malaria was a huge problem and the Bega Valley community enabled the Advocates to buy $2000 worth of mosquito nets, which Colleen organised to be sent to Natarbora before the wet season.
The first Rotary teams worked on the college's dormitories, windows stripped, repaired and glazed, louvres painted and restored, flyscreens made and fitted. Bedroom doors were repaired and locks installed. Missing walls were bricked up. Septic tanks were dug and ceilings restored.
In 2006, because of civil unrest in Timor Leste, the Rotary teams had to be cancelled and Colleen had a huge job cancelling fares and so on.
When the building teams returned, work began on flats in Natarbora and Colleen started sewing classes for the district women after earlier appealing for manual sewing machines from the Bega Valley.
The Rotary project spent nearly $200,000 in Natarbora. Of that $59,000 was donated by Rotarians, $98,000 was spent by the volunteers who paid for their own fares, food and accommodation and $41,000 from other donors.
During the years they were involved, Colleen and Allan's property at Pambula was the collecting point for the tools, the mosquito nets, sewing machines, the bicycles, building supplies and other materials packed into containers and sent to Natarbora.
Colleen said despite all the hard work it was terrific working for the people of Natarbora and it was wonderful to see them acquiring skills so now they would be able to do much of the work themselves.