Dili, Timor-Leste

22nd June 2015

I have finally made it to Dili after much anticipation and preparation for the last 9 months since I received the Hobart Eye Surgeons/RANZCO eye foundation scholarship.  I have spent the first week living in a hotel in central Dili which thankfully is within walking distance of the hospital.  As with any major move I am feeling a little overwhelmed, particularly as I am still apart from family.    Much of the week has been consumed with administrative matters such as getting a sim card and internet access, finding suitable long term accommodation, thinking about what sort of vehicle I will need and of course finding out the best places to shop for food.   The supermarkets are amazingly well stocked with Australian and New Zealand products and the local fruit and vegetable vendors have a good supply of local products.  The papayas and pineapples thus far have been delicious.  There are multiple different varieties of local bananas as well although I need to find someone to share them all with me.

Accommodation can be tricky to find in Dili, especially if you need a few rooms for a family and are on a scholarship wage, which I obviously am.  The two and three bedroom houses that 

I have seen thus far have not really been suitable for my children so I hope that something comes up soon.  Obviously there are no real estate agents so trying to find accommodation is through word of mouth, assistance from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the online social media sites of Dili expats and Dili expat face books sites.

I am working at the National Eye Centre (NEC) which is a collaboration between Fred Hollows New Zealand and the Australian ATLASS II program, which is coordinated through RACS. It is on the site of the National Hospital or Guido Valadares National Hospital (GVNH), in Dili.  It has 4 individual consulting rooms and one large consulting room with 4-5 slit lamps in it for the registrars, myself and the international consultant.  We also have a diagnostic room with an A-scan and Keratometer (for measurements for cataract surgery), a field machine for screening for glaucoma and an IOL master for when we do phacoemulsification (mostly with visiting faculty).  We have two laser machines, an Argon for pan retinal photocoagulation for conditions such as diabetes and retinal vein occlusions and a ‘YAG’ for treating posterior capsular opacification.   All in all it is an amazing resource and service  for a relatively ‘new’ country like Timor-Leste. 

The NEC also has its own operating theatres for local anaesthetic cases, of which the main theatre has capacity for two tables to be utilised at once.  Unfortunately at the moment the theatres are out of commission as there is reportedly a problem with rising damp and the tiles underfoot are all ripped up.  We therefore have to use the main theatre block in the hospital if we wish to do any emergency cases.  We have a regular general anaesthetic list booked on Mondays if we require as well.

As with all my travels, finding some good running routes is always a priority.  During the week I have driven out to the Christo Rei statue and run up and down the  ~ 750m of stairs 3-4 times.  On the weekend I make the trek from town to Christo Rei and back which is a good 12km run. Getting an early start is crucial to avoid the worst of the heat and traffic.   The hills behind Dili look very inviting from a trail running point of view but I have been told not to run them on my own, even during the day.  Mountain biking is very big in Dili and I can certainly see why - there must be kilometres of serious trail in and around Dili.

Christ Rei Statue, Dili Timor-Leste

Looking East from Dili, towards Christo Rei

Our busy consulting room at the National Eye Centre