Blackheath resident and a former NSW police officer who worked in the Mountains/Lithgow and Bathurst areas for 10 years is tackling a new challenge next month.
Libby Bleakley, now a member of the Australian Federal Police, is walking to Canberra to raise funds for a community and youth centre in East Timor.
Bleakley and her colleague, Teresa Beck, are going off duty for the 10 days they hope it will take them to walk 357 kilometres from Martin Place to Parliament House. They set off on March 3.
The pair, both Rotarians, spent three years deployed in Timor-Leste. While there they researched the needs of the community at a grass roots level and have now developed the concept of the centre, based on the Australian Police Citizen Youth Club model, as a crime reduction initiative.
The centre is a labour of love for the two women who have already spent a great deal of their own money “to give something back to a deserving community”, Ms Bleakley said.
“We’ve already got land and built a little house with two Timorese managers. We’re building two classrooms – one will be designated a women’s centre,” Ms Bleakley said.
They also plan to build a gym and a community meeting area.
“We’ve built a lot of strong relationships there and we know the issues in the country. We need close to $300,000 – so far, with our own money and friends’ money we’ve raised nearly $100,000,” Ms Bleakley said.
The centre, called Sentru Formasaun Ba Juventude, is the first of its kind in Timor-Leste.
The project has been registered under Rotary Australia World Community Services and the Rotary Club of Blackheath is the managing body, overseeing the project and assisting in raising funds.
The Timor-Leste Consular General in Sydney, Armandina Gusmao, will join the pair as they depart from Martin Place. In Canberra they will be met by the Timorese Ambassador, Abel Gutterres.
Tax-free donations to the centre can be made through the Rotary Club of Blackheath’s webpage www.rotaryclubofblackheath.com.au by clicking the emblem on the right, or alternatively on the Sentru Formasaun Ba Juventude Facebook page, by clicking the hyperlink on the left hand side under “About”.