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What started as a simple idea from a small group of ConocoPhillips employees has resulted in a huge fundraising effort, providing essential items and infrastructure to schools and orphanages across Timor-Leste.

In 15 months, the Bayu-Undan Infill Wells (BUIW) team carried out five fundraising activities to assist Timor-Leste institutions and, with the help of ConocoPhillips staff, have raised thousands of dollars in funds.

The idea was born from a 2017 trip to Timor-Leste and a BUIW Timor-Leste Charity Drive Committee was soon formed. The team worked closely with employees from the ConocoPhillips Dili office to select organisations that were in most need of support, those with no other regular financial assistance and which were in more remote regions of the country. 

Since then the team have held donation drives, sausage sizzles and chocolate sales, from which they have been able to provide Christmas packs, school supplies, sporting equipment, toys, food and other essential items, including a motorised hand tractor and seeds for the the Fundação Orfonato Kiak Servi Kiak Orphanage.

Due to its remoteness, the orphanage is also a vocational school for agriculture and livestock training, and on top of cultivating food for the three surrounding villages, the hand tractor is also being used to build local skills and increase food production. Since the donation of the hand tractor a further two activities were held to raise funds for the purchase of bunk beds and bedding for children at the Orfonato ISMAIK Loes Orphanage.

The Texan style BBQs raised almost $4,000 and sales of donated computers raised a further $3,000 with the help of the IT department. The beds were recently purchased and installed, and employees visited the orphanage to meet the children and provide a delivery of rice and other food items. Sister Jacinta, who single handedly runs the orphanage of 45 children, was overcome by the generosity of the team.

Dave Fillman, Charity Drive Committee member, said with each activity, support from employees had continued to grow. The team was also supported by the company’s Employee Volunteering Grant scheme, with around $6,000 in grant funding going towards the charity drive’s beneficiaries in 2018.

 “Things have definitely escalated since our first sausage sizzle event. It has generated desire from others to keep it going which is a really neat thing,” Dave said. “Since then we’ve been approached by other departments where people have been inspired to contribute the funds they’ve raised through other activities to our efforts.” 

Not only did employees chip in with fundraising, but also with the sourcing, packing and delivery of the goods, and contributing to activities like the World Cup sweepstake, 100 Club and chocolate sales.

The BUIW team couldn’t be more grateful for the support they have received throughout the year – especially to the committee members, those who assisted in fundraising activities and all who donated items and/or funds. Dave said it was this support that had allowed the team to deliver the items to those in need and personally see the difference this made to the kids and the staff at each of the institutions.  

“The fact that I’m fortunate enough to be part of a team that gets to go up there each quarter and actually visit the institutes, see the kids, see the smiles - there’s a lot of happiness,” he said.  

“We thank everyone for the part they played in making those smiles happen.”

Angariasaun fundus hosi funsionáriu nian konsege halibur osan rihun ba rihun ba labarik sira iha Timor-Leste  

Buat ida-ne’ebé hahú hanesan ideia simples ida ne’ebé inisia hosi grupu ki’ik ida hosi funsionárius ConocoPhillips nian daudaun ne’e rezulta ona iha esforsu boot ida ba angariasaun fundus, hodi fornese matéria esensiál no infraestrutura ba eskola no orfanatu sira iha Timor-Leste laran tomak.

Iha fulan 15 nia laran, ekipa Posu Enximentu Bayu-Undan (BUIW) hala’o ona atividades lima ba angariasaun fundus nian hodi ajuda instituisaun sira iha Timor-Leste no, ho tulun hosi funsionáriu ConocoPhillips nian, konsege halibur ona osan dólar rihun ba rihun iha fundus.

Ideia ne’e mosu hosi viajen ida mai Timor-Leste iha tinan 2017 no la kleur deit estabelese tiha Komité Paseiu ba Karidade BUIW Timor-Leste (BUIW Timor-Leste Charity Drive Committee). Ekipa ne’e serbisu hamutuk ho funsionáriu sira hosi gabinete ConocoPhillips iha Dili hodi hili organizasaun sira ne’ebé mak presiza liuliu apiou, hirak ne’ebé mak laiha asisténsia finanseira regulár seluk no mós lokalizadu iha rejiaun remota sira ne’ebé iha rai-laran. 

Hori ne’ebá kedas, ekipa ne’e realiza ona kampaña paseiu ba doasaun, fa’an salsisa/xourisu no xokolate, hosi ne’e mak sira bele konsege fornese pakotes Natál, materiál eskola ian, ekipamentus ba desportu, brinkedus, hahán no mós sasán esensiál sira seluk, inklui tratór-liman motorizada no fini ba Fundação Orfonato Kiak Servi Kiak.

Tanba deit ninia kondisaun ne’ebé iha kedas área remota, orfanatu ne’e mós nu’udár eskola vokasionál/profisionál ba formasaun agrikultura no pekuária, no alende kuda ai-han ba Suco tolu ne’ebé nu’udár viziñu, tratór-liman ne’e mós uza ona hodi dezenvolve kapasidades lokál nian no hasa’e produsaun ba ai-han.

Dezde halo tiha doasaun ba tratór-liman nian ne’e, tuirmai realiza tan atividades rua atu buka-fundus hodi sosa kama-andár no kolxa ba labarik sira iha Orfonato ISMAIK Loes. BBQ ho estilu Texanu nian konsege halibur osan besik $4,000 no fa’an komputadór sira ne’ebé hetan doasaun ne’e konsege halibur tan osan $3,000 ho ajuda hosi departamentu TI nian.

Kama sira-ne’e resentemente sosa no instala tiha ona, no funsionáriu sira vizita ba orfanatu ne’e hodi hasoru labarik sira no lori foos no mós ai-han seluk hodi ba entrega. Madre/Irmã Jacinta, ne’ebé tau-matan mesamesak ba orfanatu ho labarik nain 45, impresionada tebes ho laran-luak/jenerosidade hosi ekipa ne’e.

Dave Fillman, membru Komité Paseiu ba Karidade (Charity Drive Committee) nian, hateten katak ho atividade ida-idak, apoiu hosi funsionáriu sira sai aumenta ba beibeik.

Ekipa ne’e mós suporta hosi kompañia nia eskema Subsídiu Voluntáriu Funsionáriu Employee Volunteering Grant) nian, maizumenus ho folin $6,000 iha subsídius ne’ebé mak destinadu ba benefisiárius hosi kampaña karidade nian iha tinan 2018.

 “Buat hotu aumenta definitivamente ona dezde ami-nia eventu fa’an xourisu/salsisa nian. Ne’e hamosu ona dezeju hosi ema sira seluk atu mantein ida-ne’e la’o nafatin, realmente ida-ne’e interesante,” Dave haktuir.

“Hori ne’ebá kedas departamentu sira seluk mai hakbesik ona ami, iha-ne’ebé ema sira iha inspirasaun atu kontribui fundus ne’ebé mak sira halibur tiha ona liuhosi atividades seluk ba iha ami-nia esforsu.” 

Funsionáriu sira la’ós deit kolabora hodi buka-osan, maibé mós iha obtensaun, embalajen no lori sasán sira ba entrega, no mós kontribui ba atividades hanesan halo sorteiu ba Kopa Mundiál nian, Klube 100 no fa’an xokolate. Aproximadamente konsege halibur osan USD $1,300 iha períodu fulan tolu nia laran iha deit kompañia ne’e nia gabinete West Perth!

Ekipa BUIW nian agradese tebes ba apoiu ne’ebé mak sira simu durante tinan tomak – liuliu ba membru komité sira, pesoál hirak ne’ebé mak ajuda ona iha atividades buka-osan nian no mós ema ba hotu ne’ebé halo ona doasaun ba sasán no/ka fundus.

Dave hateten katak ho apoiu ida-ne’e mak fasilita ona ekipa ne’e hodi lori sasán sira ba entrega iha ema hirak ne’ebé mak presiza tebetebes no pesoalmente haree diferensa ne’ebé mak kontribuisaun sira-ne’e hamosu ona ba labarik no mós funsionáriu sira iha instituisaun sira-ne’e ida-idak. 

“Faktu katak hau sorte tebes atu hola parte iha ekipa ida ne’ebé konsege ba to’o iha ne’ebá kada trimester no atualmente vizita instituisaun sira-ne’e, haree labarik sira, haree oin-hamnasa – nakonu tebes ho felisidades, nia haktuir.  

“Ami agradese ba ema ne’ebé hola parte ho sentidu ida atu haburas felisidades hirak-ne’e.”