Lance Corporal James Mabin (Santa Claus) visits a mother and child at the Dili Hospital on Christmas Eve.(WN09-0025-01)
by Lieutenant Matt Cross, in Timor Leste
We’ve been in theatre six weeks now, and one of the most enjoyable parts of the tour to date has been interacting with local children. Wherever we go there’s a bunch of kids ready with a wave and a smile jumping up and down shouting “mister, mister!” or “kiwi, kiwi!”
So when Major Chris Kelly tasked me to organize a Christmas Eve event for Dili’s under-privileged children, I was quite excited.
Timor Leste is 98% Catholic and Christmas is a very important time for the Timorese. From a planning perspective, it was important to have as small a footprint on the ground as possible. With that in mind, my grandiose plans for a parade through Dili streets with trumpets, acrobats, and elephants were quickly discarded. It was replaced with a more discreet convoy of no more than three vehicles visiting four locations with the main effort being on Captain Brett “The Trumpet” Grieve’s Christmas Carols Group and, of course, Santa Claus!
If you were to think about under-privileged children from a New Zealand perspective, then almost all of the children in Dili would fall into this category. Firstly, we wished to visit children who would be spending the Christmas period in Dili National Hospital. Next were the Bakhita Orphanage and The Dominican Sisters Orphanage. Also on our list was the Ahisaun Foundation, a small school for children with disabilities; this last one was not strictly in our area of operations, but the Aussies can be quite accommodating.
As it came closer to “D-Day”, everything appeared to be falling into place nicely. The Carols Group rehearsed for hours and had achieved what Captain Grieves termed a “satisfactory” standard. Our vehicles; two “Mogs” and a “Pinny” were decorated in an appropriately festive manner and the gifts from Santa were collected. (Here a special mention to the staff of the Palmerston North Post Office should be made. They very kindly donated numerous gifts for the children of Dili, gifts perfect for such an occasion as this. So, thank you all at the post office back in ‘Palmy)’
We found out that the Australians were also planning a similar Christmas activity at Dili Hospital. After some liaison with the Australian Defence Force, it was decided, in true ANZAC spirit, to join forces.
The morning of Christmas Eve dawned bright and warm, with the tranquility of Kiwi Lines disturbed only by the dull rumble of an Australian APC decked out in full Christmas regalia. Our once small convoy headed for Dili hospital where Dr Dan McKenzie, our guide around the hospital, met us. Dan is a Kiwi Doctor originally from Dannevirke now working in Dili Hospital, and he is quite a character. The success of our first stop must be put down to his energy and unwavering Christmas cheer. The Carols Group performed in the wards and received a great response and the Aussies and Kiwis giving out gifts brought smiles to young faces. However, the star of the show was Santa Claus, who for most of the year, is known as Lance Corporal James Mabin.
After visiting the Hospital, the convoy then headed to Bakhita Orphanage where the Carols Group again performed for the kids. At this stage a few of the Aussies joined our Carols Group and got into the swing of it. Everyone was blown away when the kids of the Orphanage sang us Pokarekare Ana in Tetum. It was a great moment.
Our next stop was the Dominican Sisters Orphanage where again, Santa was the star. The kids again performed a few Christmas Carols in Tetum in return for the Carol Groups performances. The last stop for the day was the Ahisaun Foundation for Young People with Disabilities. Here the Carol Group was ably assisted by Chris, Josh and Imogen McIvor, the children of the recently arrived New Zealand Ambassador to Timor Leste.
Overall, the day was a great success. GYRO 6’s intent of bringing Christmas cheer to the under-privileged children of Dili was met thanks to the hard work of Dr. Dan McKenzie, Captain Grieve and his Carols Group, and Lance Corporal Mabin who did a fantastic job as Santa, wearing the suit for six hours in 40 degree heat! Here a special mention must also be made to Lieutenant James Colthart, the Australian APC Commander, who was a great addition to the parade. His lads did themselves proud jumping in with our Carols Group, and all of them enjoyed themselves. It was a great day thoroughly enjoyed by all, and most importantly by the under-privileged children of Dili.
Ends