The famous American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead had once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." The quote perfectly encapsulates the invaluable contribution of countless volunteers across the Marist world who go beyond the call of duty to help those
in unimaginably difficult situations. Like Mick Heelan.
A REMAR (now Game Changers), Marist Youth Ministry Program alumnus, Mick first became aware of the enormous gaps in healthcare in small towns and rural Australia when working in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The inability of many people to access basic health facilities strengthened his resolve to volunteer with an organisation dedicated to bridging these gaps. While exploring opportunities, he discovered the Bridge Builders Program and reached out to Br Chris Wills, the Director of the initiative, who informed him about a school in Timor-Leste that caters to children with severe disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, and has ties with the Marist Brothers. In January, Mick left for the Southeast Asian country.
The Star Post caught up with the 25-year-old to learn more about his work, the challenges he faced and how the experience has impacted him.
As a young student who participated in the REMAR program (now Game Changers), can you tell us more about that experience and how it influenced you?
I think the most important learning I took from the REMAR Program was the initiative and empowerment it sought to instill in us. I feel it taught us not to shy away from all the injustice in the world, but rather to step up and have the belief that we can all do something about it. To this day I still remember so clearly one of the quotes from our very first REMAR presentation: "1% of people make things happen, 2% of people watch things happen, 97% of people wonder what just happened." The overarching focus of REMAR was to give us the formation to be capable of making things happen; to put our faith into action.
"I think the most important learning I took from the REMAR was that it taught us not to shy away from all the injustice in the world, but rather to step up and have the belief that we can all do something about it."
Importantly, I feel the program gave us the opportunity to explore our faith in an experimental, open and no-pressure environment, which was a wonderful compliment to the more rigid way faith is usually taught in schools through classrooms and Masses.
Tell us about your first job as a physio at Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital. How did that experience strengthen your commitment to improving access to physiotherapy services in underserved areas?
I took my first job as a physio at Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital, which is a major regional town in Western Australia. I was placed in the paediatric team and worked with many Aboriginal families in the detection and diagnosis of disabilities. I think the most eye-opening experiences were in witnessing the ongoing carnage of colonisation and inter-generational trauma that these people have had inflicted on them, which continues to manifest in the form of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and crime.
Assessing babies for signs of disability who were exposed to alcohol, nicotine, drugs and violence in pregnancy was by far the hardest part of this job. We have a long way to go in undoing and reconciling the wrongs of the past and this job inspired me to devote my career to working towards this. We must listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people rather than the other way round of them listening to us, which hasn't worked for 230 years and is unlikely to succeed in the future.
What motivated you to volunteer in Timor-Leste, and how did you learn about this opportunity?
I always knew that at some stage in my 20s I wanted to take a year off, spending six months travelling and six months volunteering. I have a strong sense of Marist identity through my formation at school and early adult life, so I got in contact with the Marist Bridge Builders Program who coordinate volunteers in Marist missions around the world. Br Chris who heads the program went through my resume and thought that this position in Timor-Leste would be a good fit for me.
Can you tell us about the school you are currently volunteering in as a physio?
The organisation I currently volunteer at is called the Katilosa Foundation, a Timorese-run NGO which is partially funded by Australian Marist Solidarity (the NGO wing of Star of the Sea Province), and is dedicated to the education, healthcare, social inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities in the Baucau region of Timor-Leste. Katilosa runs a primary school with three qualified teachers trained at the Bacau Marist Teacher's College (ICFP), an on-site and outreach physiotherapy service and vocational training, advocacy services and temporary accommodation for young adults with disabilities.
Katilosa Foundation, a Timorese-run NGO which is partially funded by Australian Marist Solidarity (the NGO wing of Star of the Sea Province), is dedicated to the education, healthcare, social inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities in the Baucau region of Timor-Leste.
Sadly, physiotherapy training is unavailable in Timor-Leste and Katilosa hadn't had a physiotherapist in the ten years prior to my arrival. However, their physio service is staffed by some incredible people who have some basic knowledge and skills in physiotherapy.
To my knowledge Katilosa are the only disability-focused NGO in Baucau, which is the second largest region in the country after Dili. It frequently shares news and updates on their Facebook page.
How do you assist the kids in their physical well-being and what are some of the activities you do there?
The overarching mission of a physiotherapist is to facilitate people to be able to live their lives with as much independence and as little pain as possible. Modern physio practice is all about goals; we try to find out what the client wants to be able to achieve, make a judgement of whether it's a realistic goal, and then we break that goal down into achievable bits and work through them little by little. So, if a child with cerebral palsy wants to be able to walk, we might start with lots of play in standing at a table to work on balance, then progress to reaching outside their base of support for toys, progress that to reaching and rotating their spine, and taking a step to another table that's just behind them. Depending on how well they can control their legs, we might decide to give them some help with the use of an ankle brace or mobility aid too. We always try to have the mentality of upskilling families so that they can be the ones delivering therapy with the child every day at home.
"In my time here, we have also managed to construct a playground and a small soccer pitch, thanks to some donations from Australia."
In my time here, we have also managed to construct a playground and a small soccer pitch, thanks to some donations from Australia. This has been great for the kids who may not necessarily need one-on-one physiotherapy but still need to develop their gross motor skills, which they can do together in a fun and social environment.
What feedback have you received from the kids' parents?
We have received quite positive feedback from parents here who are happy their children have access to a service such as physiotherapy, which in a more developed country would be received as a basic right. I get the impression that families of a child with a disability in Timor-Leste are used to going at it alone, and so tailored disability healthcare is a very foreign but welcomed concept.
"I get the impression that families of a child with a disability in Timor are used to going at it alone, and so tailored disability healthcare is a very foreign but welcomed concept."
What does your typical day with the kids in the school look like?
I live in a community with three Marist Brothers and one other Marist volunteer. Every evening, we have prayer and share a meal and a few wines together. It's my first time living in a religious community, and it has been a wonderful, joyful and enriching experience. Our community is like a family, and we share in each other's joys, pains and laughs.
It's my first time living in a religious community, and it has been a wonderful, joyful and enriching experience. Our community is like a family, and we share in each other's joys, pains and laughs.
Three days a week at Katilosa are dedicated to conducting home visits to the villages of the western Baucau area, to clients whose disability may prevent them from attending school or who live too far away. We devote one day a week to running a clinic at the school, for the students and anyone from the surrounding area wanting to seek medical attention. On Fridays, we do maintenance work at the Centre's permaculture projects. Vegetables are grown on-site for the students to eat at school, and we are nurturing about 300 young trees which we hope will one day provide enough produce for the school to sell.
During your time here, has there been a particular experience or incident that deeply moved you and reinforced your decision to come here?
During one of our home visits, we went to the house of a lady who had a stroke four years ago. She and her husband lived in a basic timber house with a dirt floor and unsealed roof. Having lost function in her leg, she was unable to walk and spent most of her time lying in bed while her husband attended to their subsistence farming. We taught her some basic activities like how to pull herself off the bed and sit on the wheelchair so she can self-propel herself outside and maybe sit in the sun for some time.
She broke down crying, saying how we were the first ones in four years to come and help her out. This incident was quite overwhelming for me because I realised just how scarce support services are for people with disabilities here, but I was also comforted by the fact that I was working alongside local people who are motivated to change this narrative.
"I realised how scarce support services are for people with disabilities here, but I was also comforted by the fact that I was working alongside local people who are motivated to change this narrative."
What are some of the unique challenges you've faced working in this environment, and how have you adapted?
The isolation of where I am living has been difficult at times, and I miss my friends back home. At the same time, though, I am finding the work I'm doing here to be extremely fulfilling. I think missing home is a universal experience in missionary work, and it's a relatively small and temporary sacrifice to make to be able to contribute to the greater good. I also think I will have an enriched appreciation for several little things when I return home, which I previously didn't derive much meaning from.
How did you manage to overcome the language and cultural barriers to effectively support the children?
There’s only been one way to overcome the language barrier, and that's been attempting to learn the language. It's taken a fair amount of effort, and I’m still a long way from fluency, but I am now at the stage where I can communicate most things I want to say to clients and families in basic Tetun. I find listening and understanding a lot harder, but my colleagues speak enough English to translate and help me get through.
I have found that cultural differences are often a mixed bag. Some differences are definitely challenging, such as loyalty to traditional medicine with an aversion to the western variety, and beliefs that people get sick as a consequence of their or their family's actions. Other differences are facilitators as opposed to barriers, such as the importance of mutual respect, listening and a willingness to do things independently. I am a big believer that cultural differences are a universal opportunity for learning, and that a diverse team is a stronger one because of its breadth of personal and professional experiences.
"I am a big believer that cultural differences are a universal opportunity for learning, and that a diverse team is a stronger one because of its breadth of personal and professional experiences."
How would you describe the emotional impact this work has had on you, and what key lessons or insights have you gained from this experience?
Some things I have seen have been quite confronting, particularly meeting children with disabilities who have been neglected and have no one to take care of their basic needs like personal hygiene and feeding, let alone providing love and affection. These experiences, though, challenging as they are, are far outnumbered by the little wins we have every day like helping someone improve their quality of life, empowering them to take their first steps independently or use their hands to achieve a new task.
I think there's wisdom in acknowledging that I won't be able to help everyone, and that some situations require major systemic change far beyond my capacity to effect. The importance of debriefing confronting experiences with a trusted colleague has long been drilled into me as a health professional and gives me the chance to air out any emotional reactions and sometimes hear a different perspective.
"I think there's wisdom in acknowledging that I won't be able to help everyone, and that some situations require major systemic change far beyond my capacity to effect."
I draw a great deal of inspiration from the old parable about a monk walking along a beach after a storm, with hundreds of starfish washed up on the shore. When he bends down to pick one up and throws it back into the ocean, his student wonders aloud what difference it makes when there's hundreds of others stranded on the shore. The monk replies "it makes a difference to this one."
How would you describe your experience with Bridge Builders, and what aspects of it stood out to you?
As someone with a strong sense of Marist identity, being able to contribute to a Marist mission in a developing country has been an incredible experience which will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am so proud of the Marist approach to mission. Their approach is not about imposing solutions but rather empowering the community to develop their own capacities, like encouraging the young Timorese teachers and Brothers to champion the change they want to see in their society.
"The people of Timor-Leste will leave a significant impression on me. I am continually humbled by the joy and generosity they show each other and myself, and particularly their grit and resilience."
The people of Timor-Leste will leave a significant impression on me. I am continually humbled by the joy and generosity they show each other and myself, and particularly their grit and resilience after experiencing so much violence and devastation. Being able to live alongside them and experience the nuances of their daily lives and traditions has been a privilege I will never forget.
On the whole, volunteering with Bridge Builders has been grounding and enriching. I have learnt much about the wider world and my place within it.
What are your future plans like?
I’m actually in the middle of a career change - I was 1.5 years into medical school before I decided to take a year off. I return to medical school in Darwin in July, and next year I will be moving to Alice Springs to undertake a year of clinical training at the hospital there. I will complete university in 2026 which will see me based mainly in Darwin again, with two months in Arnhem Land and a two-month elective, for which I hope to come back to Timor Leste. After graduation we owe our first two years of doctoring to the Northern Territory, in return for them paying our course fees.
After that I suspect it will be time for another adventure... perhaps a big trip around South America!
"Volunteering with Bridge Builders has been grounding and enriching. I have learnt much about the wider world and my place within it."
The Marist Bridge Builders Program offers a unique opportunity for individuals over 18 years to contribute their skills and energy to a variety of ministries focused on children and young people. Whether your expertise lies in education, health, social work, trades, or music, your presence, knowledge, and abilities can be invaluable in assisting our international Marist projects and communities. For more information, read more or contact Br Chris Wills, Director of Bridge Builders at chris.wills@marists.org.au.
Pic credit - Mick Heelan
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