The first of two posts to mark the end of my year volunteering in Timor-Leste through Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA). This focuses on what I did, the other post is a reflection on the year. I volunteered through VSA with local NGO HAMNASA and the Timor-Leste Ministry of Tourism, and did a few other things while here…

The year in numbers…

2.5 million views on my Exploring Timor-Leste TikTok channel

5 books published (travel guide, hiking guide, and three photography books)

750+ places in Timor-Leste added to or updated on Google Maps

All 13 municipalities visited – Aileu (5 times), Ainaro (3), Atauro Island (9), Baucau (3), Bobonaro (3), Covalima (1), Dili (home), Ermera (4), Lautém (1), Liquiçá (7), Manatuto (5), Manufahi (2), Oe-cusse (3), and Viqueque (1)

114 videos published on YouTube

138 blogs written about Timor-Leste (most scheduled to be published over the next year)

4 tropical diseases caught plus multiple viral infections and other illnesses

30 multi day trips out of Dili

90 hikes done, including five multiday hikes of between 3 and 8 days

1 night spent in hospital on a drip

38 morning walks around Dili covering over 250km

5,000km driven on my motorbike through 10 municipalities

49 weeks spent in Timor-Leste, 1 week in Australia and 2 weeks in Indonesia

1 time I’ve felt physically cold (on top of Mt Ramelau, the highest point in the country)

12 new walks developed for Dili Saturday Walkers, expanding their options by 50%

HAMNASA

HAMNASA Hamutuk Nasaun Saudavel is a local NGO that provides health and education support to communities across Timor-Leste. Through VSA I’ve helped them with…

– Facilitating and developing their Strategic Plan for 2025-2028, including organising a 3 day all staff offsite in Oe-cusse

– Mentoring and supporting their Communications Officer

– Securing a $1,000 camera lens via a grant from VSA

– Running ten training sessions with AP staff on productivity, photography, PowerPoint, video editing, Excel, and risk management

– Developing a staff satisfaction survey and business development assessment criteria

– Reviewing and updating with SLT their risk register

– Trips to Ermera, Bobonaro and Covalima, to photograph their communities engagement activities

Tourism

Promoting Timor-Leste as a tourist destination wasn’t really an idea until I got here and found such a shortage of information that I decided to do something about it, including…

– Developing posters, booklets and postcards for the Tourism Information Centre, and Facebook training for their staff

– Updating timorleste.tl, the official Timor-Leste tourism website

– Supporting the Osaka World Expo team with video content

– Publishing five books on Timor-Leste, a comprehensive travel guide, the first hiking guide, and three photography books

– Developing www.exploringtimor.com as to go website for travel information on Timor-Leste

– Running popular TikTok, Instagram and YouTube channels, and contributing to various Facebook groups, with Timor-Leste travel content

– Appearing in print, and on the radio and podcasts, to promote Timor-Leste as a travel destination, including Stuff, Radio New Zealand, Great Walks magazine, Amateur Traveler, Zero to Travel, Australian Hiker, Tararua Tramper (March, May, September and November 2024 issues), and HVTC Hills & Valleys (June, September and December 2024 issues)

– Updating over 750 sites on Google Maps, adding ones missing, making corrections, and uploading many reviews and photos

– Promoting Jhoky’s homestay in the remote hamlet of Atecru, on Atauro Island

– Promoting locally owned tour operator Eco Discovery through social media, rebuilding their website, and developing trip itineraries based on the hikes we’ve done together

– Publishing articles monthly in Guide Post, a local magazine, primarily on hiking

– Developing a guide in the local language Tetun, explaining how Timorese businesses can promote themselves on Google Maps

Other things

I like to keep myself busy and there was no shortage of things to help with in Dili, including…

– Building tools and processes for the Dili Saturday Walkers group, including comprehensive tracker, attending 18 walks, and leading 13 of them

– Talking to 60 young Timorese from around the country training to be tour guides. I covered what is important to malae (foreigners), and what tourists can do in Timor-Leste

– Developing proposals to develop hiking trails in Dili, which unfortunately I couldn’t secure funding for

– Helping VSA by updating their Pre-Departure and In-Country Induction booklets, managing the VSA Timor-Leste Facebook page, drafting assignment descriptions, interviewing other VSA volunteers, helping to create a communications toolkit, and making a video on life in Dili

– Developing a proposal for the NZ Embassy to support Atecru, a remote hamlet on Atauro Island, with water and solar infrastructure

– Providing 90 photos for the Timor-Leste Ministry of Education for use in their new curriculum for years 7 to 9

– Presenting to 50+ teachers at Dili International School on what they can do in Timor-Leste