Sr Joan Westblade has been working with Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission since 1997. She provides health education for the poorest and most isolated communities in East Timor and has witnessed and supported their fight for independence. Overcoming hurdles like illiteracy and innumeracy found in remote communities, Sr Westblade helped develop and implement basic hygiene and sanitation campaigns as well as tackling malnutrition. The MMETM developed a nutritional powder using the Marungi tree which can grow in the poorest soils and supplementing it with iodized salt, peanuts and soya bean powder. This product is sprinkled over a meager meal of rice to make a highly nutritious food supplement.
Forty percent of people in East Timor live in poverty, with less than $0.55 per person per day. The inspiring work and experience of Sr Joan Westblade will be invaluable for attendees of the GHSC. Despite being 80, she hopes to continue her work and to implement a palliative care service for the East Timorese. They will be able to hear about the experiences of the East Timor people and their struggle for independence and survival as well as be inspired Sr Westblade’s struggles and successes. She will help people realize that everyone can do something to help- at whatever age and in whatever capacity.
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