Australian Goodwill Bicycles Abroad

Leandro Gauteres aged 25

Leandro lived in Liquica all his life with his parents and sisters. He has a wife and three children. This is where we set up the distribution centre. When the Indonesian army and the militia unleashed their forces after the September 1999 vote for independence, his town being directly on the road between East and West Timor(Indonesia), Liquica was 80% levelled and any surviving occupants were taken over the border to be resettled in West Timor. They were held in camps for around 6 months - some for years. When Leandro and his family returned to Liquica they found their homes Leandro in centre, standing destroyed. Leandro approached us when the bicycles arrived at our distribution centre and asked if he could be involved. He spoke a little English and we spoke a little Tetum and Indonesian which made communication possible and became a liaison for East Timorese with proposals. Leandro had good mechanical knowledge and was well known and respected by the local people. He became our number one man in organising bike repairs, distribution and worker recruitment. With our help he set up an ongoing bicycle repair business with tyre and tube repairs and a system of bicycle hire for people with produce to move to and from the local markets. He also started a secondary business turning bike parts into trolleys and wheel barrows for use by the locals. When we visited him and his family in 2003 they had an average of 5 people working with him on a casual basis. He rebuilt his home and also facilitated others rebuilding by supplying trolleys to move building materials.