Dear FNAME, It’s been a big start to the year!
We have already had our first patient for 2019 successfully undergo successful life-saving surgery in Australia, with more to follow over the coming months.
Our volunteer medical team has also hit the ground running, with our first screening trip to Timor-Leste in February. Our team screened patients in Dili and made their first visit to mountainous Maubisse.
We will be doing more work in the remote districts of Timor-Leste, including heart screening and practitioner education, thanks to the success of our pre-Christmas Every Heart Everywhere campaign. Thanks to generous donors, we exceeded our $25,000 fundraising target. We raised $28,000, which was matched by our extraordinary supporter, philanthropist Peter McMullin.
Some of our other supporters who have been going above and beyond include our volunteer (and best-selling author) Heather Morris, who teamed with the Rotary Clubs of Knox and Boronia on a successful literary fundraiser; and our ambassador Lin Jong and his family, who staged a fantastic fundraising dinner dance in February.
Finally, we are excited to welcome Timorese athlete Anche Cabral as an ambassador. You can find out more about Anche and her passion for heart health below.
Our volunteers and supporters are at the heart of what we do. Thank you so much! Stuart Thomson, CEO
Our new champion
We are very proud to announce our newest ambassador, Olympian and champion cyclist Anche Cabral. Here Anche explains why she is supporting better heart health in Timor-Leste.
Too many young Timorese, especially young women and girls, suffer from heart disease. I want to contribute to help them, because I knew how hard it is to be them and how hard it is for their families.
My sister Juliana had rheumatic fever, and it damaged her heart. She was so sick and weak. She couldn’t eat and struggled to walk to school.
My sister was lucky. She got to have surgery in Australia. After the operation, it was like magic. My parents could not believe the change. She finished high school and studied finance in America.
Now she works for DFAT as a business adviser and lives a normal, healthy life.
I want more young people to have that opportunity. I want to use my profile as a sportswoman to tell people about avoiding rheumatic heart disease, and how organisations like East Timor
Hearts Fund can help.
Sport is so important to me. I was the first Timorese female to do the Tour de Timor cycle race, and the first Timorese to win International Category in 2013. I was the first Timorese cyclist to compete in the Olympics and was honoured to bear the Timorese flag at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Being fit and strong lets me live my life positively, think positively and perform at my best. Everyone deserves a healthy heart, and a healthy life.
Patient news Boni's renewed heart Teenage basketball fan Boni left Melbourne in February after his life-saving heart surgery at Royal Melbourne Hospital with a very special memento. Our friends from Melbourne United basketball club learned of Boni’s mission to get back onto the court, and sent him a fantastic gift, a 2017-18 championship jersey, signed by all the club greats.
Boni and his mum Terezinha also left behind a very touching present, a beautiful hand-made tais with a beautiful message from our patient. Mother of six Terezinha dyed the yarn and
wove this traditional tais herself; her young daughter translated the message into English.
It reads: “Boni from East Timor and Boni says Boni has not something to [give] to all of doctor so only Boni shawl as present and thanks full from the bottom [of] his wonderful renewed heart.”
We’re thrilled to announce the first ever One Heart Trek, a new way to support East Timor Hearts Fund.
Help mend broken hearts, and celebrate Timor-Leste and Australia’s shared history and friendship.
Participants will have the chance to see our work up close, meeting our patients and viewing our preventative health program. Trekkers will hike to base camp below the summit of Timor-Leste’s highest mountain, before experiencing a dawn like no other.
We’ve launched the trek as Timor-Leste and Australia commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Australian-led InterFET peacekeeping mission, which supported the transition to independence in 1999-2000. Former peacekeeper Daniel Ball will lead the trek, which will visit villages and districts where he served 12 years ago.
Spots for the inaugural One Heart Trek on 10-18 August are limited and filling fast. Download an info pack at www.earthtrails.com.au/onehearttrek
'Busiest ever' Medical roundup with Dr Noel Bayley Since our last newsletter in December, patient Bonifacio has had an open-heart procedure at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Boni had complex congenital heart disease and had undergone corrective surgery in childhood. While the result had been generally excellent, he’d outgrown one of the parts of his complex plumbing and was becoming progressively disabled by symptoms.
Fortunately, our friends at RMH were able to refashion the offending conduit. It was an uncomplicated procedure with an excellent short-term result. We now anticipate that Boni will have the opportunity for a long, healthy and active life.
Our last round of screening clinics in February were a great success, and among the busiest ever. As always, we saw a mix of old friends, almost all doing well post-procedure, and a significant number of new patients needing life-saving treatment. We’re looking forward to getting on with arranging their care.
Thank you for your support.
– Dr Noel Bayley, honorary medical adviser
Three minutes with…
Katrina Thurston Board member
How did you become involved?
I wanted to combine my passion for anything around health or children and work on a board which helped both. Of course, volunteering in a finance space was very important to me as I feel it is in this area that I can add the most value to the organisation.
I have also been inspired by my eldest daughter, who recently spent two weeks volunteering in the Philippines, where she taught children at local and Indigenous schools. Her passion for social justice has made me want to follow in her footsteps. What does your role entail?
As well as being a director, I chair the finance and audit committee, which is a space where I feel that I can add value. I hope to flourish in my role and expand it as East Timor Hearts Fund too progresses and evolves. What do you do in your spare time?
My spare time is most usually spent with my husband and two daughters, often racing around to various sporting commitments on the weekend. Between exercising with my dogs or relaxing with coffee and a good book, I try to find time for socialising with friends. Read Katrina's full profile on our website.
We are a proud recipient of the Australian Charities and Not-for-
profits Commission Charity Tick. The tick tells donors that we are registered by the ACNC, and that our accounts and other information that donors want to know about is publicly available via the online Charity Register.
ack onto the court, and sent him a fantastic gift, a 2017-18 championship jersey, signed by all the club greats.
re a proud recipient of the Australian Charities and Not-for-