A few years ago now I (Leanne) had the opportunity to go to Timor-Leste to visit lots of women’s organisations and meet politicians, along with diplomats and all the big NGOs … it was amazing all round and particularly wonderful to meet local people working in their communities trying to improve lives and living standards and make a difference.

The trip was organised by Friends of Baucau, which is a long-standing organisation based in Darebin and Yarra Council areas (that works officially with Council ) to support both the community groups and administration of Baucau in Timor-Leste.

Anyway … they do wonderful things and build super partnerships … and I have been actively involved with them ever since.

And after a hiatus due to Covid the are hosting their first fundraising concert for a couple of years - that you might be interested in attending. The concert will happen in Kew (just over the river) on Sunday 4 December from 3.30pm. Tickets cost $50.

Timor-Leste is the poorest country in our region, and people live on less than $1 per day. This fundraiser will support the Friends of Baucau scholarship fund - enabling young women to undertake a Bachelor of Education at the local Teachers College and become a teacher.

Here are the details …

---

GABRIEL VARGAS

Guitarist Gabriel Vargas has headed up bands such as Gasoline Inc. and Veludo, which saw him supporting acts such as rock icons INXS, and his song Superstar was picked up by the AFL in 2010. As a solo musician he has supported and toured with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party), Jon Toogood (Shihad), and James Reid (The Feelers). As a songwriter, he aims to use music as a means to inspire, heal and connect.

DATE

Sunday 4 December 2022 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

LOCATION

Get directions

4 Redmond Street
Kew Victoria 3101

Tickets

Buy them here.

Friends of Baucau Inc (FoB) is an incorporated community organisation based in the municipalities of Darebin and Yarra in Victoria, Australia. Our aim is to promote friendship links between the people in these cities and the communities of the Baucau municipality in Timor-Leste, and in particular, to work closely with 11 villages in the Baucau Villa sub-district. Friends of Baucau is endorsed and supported by the Councils of Darebin and Yarra, the national government of Timor-Leste and the municipality of Baucau.

The Salustiano Freitas Scholarship Fund supports quality education in Timor-Leste by providing scholarships to young Timorese to undertake the Bachelor of Teaching at the Marist Brothers’ Teacher Training College in Baucau (ICFP). Each scholarship, for US$1000 per student per year, pays the tuition and living costs, and we continue this arrangement for the duration of their training.

Hi Leanne here. In March (along with what always seems like half of our suburb) I went once again to Port Fairy Folk Festival - where Archie Roach has regularly performed over the years. He was looking very frail. He’d been in a wheelchair last time I’d seen him, but this year he really couldn’t walk at all and had an oxygen tube.

I have seen him in concert for half my life, since going to Folk Rhythm and Life Festivals around the late 1990s and through the 2000s where he and his partner Ruby Hunter were often the feature act.

As you know if you’ve seen him live, he generously shares his story throughout his performances, and his recounting of reconnecting with his family here in our neck if the woods - Fitzroy - is mind bogglingly eye-opening and deeply sad. The stolen generations experience is such a tragedy for whole families and communities and it’s not a distant thing - the trauma sits here now today, close to the surface. It happened to our neighbours and friends, it is their lived experience. Archie Roach was only 66 after all.

It’s very sad that he died so young. Amazing that he was so willing to share his life so openly.

You can get a taste of his connection to Fitzroy and his family story in this great episode of Kutcha Edwards’ show Kutcha’s Carpool Koorioke that is also jam packed with understated kindhearted love, respect, caring, gratefulness and joy in community and connection.

Alphingtones Choir has been going for many years now and is full of lovely (tuneful) locals! They used to meet at ACC but now meet at St Andrew’s Church just behind Grill’d off Station Street so they have more room to spread out in these Covid times …

And they need some more members - in particular bass and tenor singers (but everyone is welcome!).

If you are interested in being part of this group that meets weekly on a Thursday night just email or call (details below).

Don’t forget to come along to the Alphington Bowls Club at 7pm on the 19th of December to enjoy some Christmas Carols with your neighbours.

Well it’s nearly December and the season is suddenly upon us. So … do you fancy a round of Jingle Bells or have a hankering to belt out Good King Wenceslas alongside your fellow neighbours?

Join us for Community Carols on Sunday 19th December at 7pm at the Alphington Bowls Club.

The Alphingtones Choir might be a little rusty after two years of mostly Covid zooming … and will probably be part of the audience rather than up the front this year. But it will still be very nice to get together for a sing-a-long … and I am 100% sure Santa will pop past!

A date for your diary. Bring the whole family along to this long-standing and low-key cross-generational community activity. Always on the last Sunday before Christmas 🎄.