MYRTLEFORD resident Barbara Broz has just returned from her most recent trip to visit friends in the Lacluta district of Timor Leste, a region she has been supporting for 15 years.

Barbara is a member of Wangaratta's Friends of Lacluta, a group formed following the signing of a friendship agreement between the rural city and Lacluta back in 2005.

She spent four weeks in the country in 2023 - her first visit since the COVID pandemic halted international travel - visiting again earlier this year, saying it was great to finally get back.

Barbara says she has visited Timor Leste at least 14 times since her very first trip with fellow Friends of Lacluta member Elizabeth Walpole back in 2009, and she was pleased to see a number of areas have improved in Lacluta over that time.

A sub-district of Viqueque, located about 250 kilometres south east of Dili - the capital of the developing nation - villages in Lacluta are notoriously isolated, living conditions are rudimentary and resources are scarce.

"Many houses are now built using cement bricks rather than the bamboo and palm leaf huts of the past," Barbara said.

"For people with nowhere to live, there are a few small houses being built with support from the government.

"I was very happy to see a lot of work being done to install underground water pipes to all houses, which, as you can imagine, is a big job.

"When I first visited, women would walk to the river and carry buckets of water back home on their heads.

"This meant they had beautiful posture, but how they managed it day after day, I could not imagine."

During this year's trip, Barbara spent four weeks visiting communities, delivering much-needed items including menstrual kits for girls, sewn for them by a group of women from Myrtleford since 2014.

Barbara said each year girls wait with anticipation to receive their bags - the reusable kits giving them the opportunity to spend more days at school, instead of having to stay home for days each month.

"Some use the kits for many years," said Barbara.

"I once met a university student who was still using her kit six years after receiving it.

"I talk to the girls about saving money and making a lot less waste (because while some with more finances now have access to pads or tampons, Lacluta has no waste collection)."

As a former maths/science teacher in Myrtleford for many years, Barbara also makes a beeline for Lacluta's classrooms, because many are without teachers.

She says this has become a big problem in many areas as Timor Leste moves from teaching in Indonesian to Portuguese.

"Our local Myrtleford schools provide me with pencils, exercise books and other items which the Lacluta teachers are very happy to distribute," she said.

"It's great to see that the Timor Leste government is now providing more for their schools too."

Generous Myrtleford dentists also supply Barbara with children's toothbrushes which she distributes through the schools, along with a funny, instructive story about the benefits of keeping your teeth clean.

Friends of Lacluta have also been supporting the many families and children in the region living with disabilities, who are unable to access assistance locally.

Barbara's sister - who arrived in Lacluta from Melbourne while Barbara was there – managed to arrange by long distance correspondence with her husband in Melbourne, to get ramps built at a house where an elderly mother has had to carry her almost adult daughter Amaia about the house yard.

"She can now wheel Amaia up and down the ramps in her wheelchair without heavy lifting," said Barbara.

"This was a great achievement at both ends, Melbourne and Lacluta.

"We were also able to help with the repair of a small girl's double cleft palate, which happened just last week at the National Hospital.

"We have been able to help a number of children get to the National Hospital where a team led by Adelaide specialist Mr Mark Moore, comes regularly to help children with this problem."

Barbara said the group's English-speaking liaison officer in Lacluta, Ebron, who is sponsored by the Uniting Church in Wangaratta, is now becoming more accustomed to the role and is very happy to have the opportunity to help his own people.

She said although they see some improvements in housing, clothing and medical facilities, there are still many families who are subsistence living and in need of lots of help.

"Wangaratta Friends of Lacluta will continue to provide whatever little we can to help the folk of Lacluta," she said.

"We know them well now and they certainly welcome us back with open arms."

Anyone able to assist with sewing menstrual kits is welcome to join the Myrtleford team by contacting Barbara on 0460 854 896.

To find out more about Wangaratta Friends of Lacluta, become a member, a volunteer or make a donation, visit their website or Facebook page.