Bringing medical relief to Timor-Leste

Manuela, a resilient mother of two, lives in the heart of a small rural community in Timor-Leste.

Thanks to your generosity, the mobile medical clinic comes directly to her doorstep, saving her family the hardship of travelling great distances for medical assistance.

Perhaps the most significant relief is that the consultations and medicine provided by the roaming doctors and nurses, are entirely free of charge.

In contrast, other clinics require families like Manuela’s to pay for medicine, at significant costs, which brings great financial pressure to vulnerable families.

“I am very grateful for this mobile medical clinic program as we cannot afford to go far. At other clinics a bottle of medicine can be $4, $5 or $6 which is a lot for us," said Manuela.

Many people living in rural Timor-Leste cannot even afford the transportation cost to the nearest medical clinic.

Our partner on the ground, Jesuit Social Services (JSS) Timor-Leste, identified this need when they established Centro de Saúde Daniel Ornelas (CSDO) medical clinic in Kasait.

The clinic is located opposite the Jesuit-run secondary school CSIL and teacher training college ISJB. The clinic provides critical healthcare to adults and children connected to these two education institutions, as well as to people in the broader community.

The mobile clinic offers free medical consultations and treatment to twelve communities on a twice-monthly basis. This service can reach over 7,000 patients per year, and is preventing the outbreak of diseases among the remote populations it supports.

All services provided are free of charge, which includes the distribution of basic medicines as required.

“My eldest child is six years old and the other is three years old. My dreams for my two children - for my daughter I want her to become a doctor. For my son I want him to study well so that he can go abroad," said Manuela.