East Timor Fund

Friday, 8 October 2010

An East Timorese teenager, Flavia Lucilda Guterres, 19, has had her lifesaving medical procedure in Australia and today thanked her medical team and the Australian public for their help in giving her a second chance at life.

St John of God Hospital Warrnambool paid the airfares of Flavia - and a second teenage girl soon to receive the same procedure - so she could fly to Melbourne to have her surgery at Southern Health's Monash Heart, which has pledged to operate on two young East Timorese patients each year.

Warrnambool cardiologist, Dr Noel Bayley, who also treats patients at St John of God Hospital Warrnambool, was instrumental in Flavia's treatment. He has assisted East Timorese patients for many years.

Dr Bayley is pictured, far right, with Flavia and Professor Richard Harper from Southern Health's Monash Heart, following Flavia's surgery this week.

Flavia said after her surgery: "I cannot express how happy I am to have this opportunity. Before this operation I was so weak I could not walk more than a few steps....now I am looking forward to getting back to East Timor and finishing my high school certificate so that I can fulfil my ambition of becoming a nurse."

The Chief Executive Officer of St John of God Hospital Warrnambool, Glyn Palmer, said that the public's generosity towards Flavia and the general cause of helping East Timorese people receive lifesaving treatment in Australia, had been overwhelming.

St John of God Health Care East Timor Fund

"We have already received $17,000 in donations from across Australia to help pay the travel and accommodation costs of Flavia and other East Timorese requiring medical treatment in Australia into the future," Glyn said.

"As a result we have set up the St John of God Health Care East Timor Fund, which enables Australians to make a tax deductable donation to help people receive the medical treatment that can transform their lives."

Tax deductible donations can be made by cheque to:

Attention: Glyn Palmer, Chief Executive Officer
St John of God Health Care East Timor Fund
St John of God Hospital Warrnambool
136 Botanic Road
Warrnamboool, Victoria 3280

The hospital will post out a tax deductible receipt for each donation over $2.

Glyn is also happy to take calls from anyone who would like to discuss their donation, the Fund or ongoing assistance for East Timorese patients. He can be contacted on (03) 5564 0605 or 0404 013 880.

St John of God Health Care's long history in East Timor

St John of God Health Care has a long standing relationship with the East Timorese people, providing pathology, primary health care and nursing services in East Timor through its Social Outreach and Advocacy program, which reaches out to people experiencing disadvantage. As a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare provider, St John of God Health Care returns all profits to the communities it serves by updating, expanding or acquiring new services, and by funding its Social Outreach and Advocacy program, which operates services in Australia, New Zealand, East Timor, Tonga and Papua New  Guinea.