Fi’s story
Fi Oakes is a Progressio development worker in Timor-Leste. She is pictured above left with Ines Lopez from the HIV support group Estrela+ running a workshop at Venilale village in Baucua district.
“The impact of this work on my outlook on life has been enormous. I realise how little I actually need materially, to be happy. I no longer long for gadgets and things, I look at a T-Shirt on discount in a UK store and think about how little the person who stitched it is paid. I have reached the age (Fi is in her early 50s) where I shout at the TV if they are not covering a development issue well. I am more interested in global politics and the impact this has on the lives of the ordinary people. Even in sectors outside my own I am more aware of the interconnection between politics, economy, environment, education as well as health and peoples lives.
Standards of living
“I live quite modestly, although usually by the standards of my neighbours here in Timor-Leste I am quite wealthy. But I do not have a lifestyle like I had in the UK. I walk through the river to get to the main road and live in a small village, I do not have a car, and when the power is out I have to endure the heat, just like my neighbours. Surprisingly I get a lot of encouragement and support from my kids, who tell me they are really proud of the work I do!
“I now realise that the things I used to moan about in the UK are trivial compared to what my neighbours have to deal with. In the UK if my washing machine would break down it would upset me, and I would be grumpy, but here there is no water in the village opposite. The families have to scratch a hole in the river bed (which is also where most of the sewage and other rubbish goes), collect drinking water and wash their kids and laundry in the water that seeps into that hole, and during heavy rain they cannot access this source as the river is too full and dangerous. But they cheerily greet me as I walk past.
Inspirational people
“Everyone I meet is happy and cheerful even though their life is tough and in many cases they have suffered terribly under previous regimes, witnessing atrocities that would have me running for the psychiatrist’s couch.
“I am not a practitioner of any religion, but I have met some amazing people who are inspired by their faith and working hard to improve the situation for people. I appreciate that faith plays an important role in the life of many of my colleagues, friends and local counterparts and I respect that. I just do my best, I am committed to support the people I work with to achieve the changes they see as important to the improvement of their lives and the lives of their communities.
Challenges and achievements
“Challenges in this sort of work are many. They come from language misunderstandings, the environment, the systems, the culture and the infrastructure. Day to day life can be a roller coaster of ups and downs. We have to realise we cannot change the world, but maybe help someone make a tiny change to their world, so it improves conditions for them.
“The inspiration comes from little things, like the local cool dude youth, sitting on the bridge trying to look intimidating, calling out to me on my way home ‘Good night Mrs Fi, watch the road’; or the vegetable seller saying ‘Good morning sister’; or when I see someone transform from a shy person at the back of the room, then a few months later leading a group discussion on an issue. When I compliment them on their skill they say, ‘Thank you, I learned that from you.’ That means a lot. But also when I hear ‘No, I disagree with you, I think we should do something different’, I know they have learned to stand up for their rights. Or when the groups I work with introduce me to another vulnerable person and tell that person they can trust me. Or when a person I had worked with for two years introduced me as ‘Fi, not Fi madam, not Fi boss, just Fi our friend from UK who has come to help us. You do not have to stand up when she comes in the room because she does not expect that – she is not that kind of foreigner’.”
Read more about Fi’s work with Estrela+ on HIV in her World AIDS Day blog
