Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Conversation with Kirsty Sword Gusmao

It was no doubt a cold winter's evening in the Blue Mountains, however, the atmosphere in the Carrington Hotel was nothing but warm when former Timorese First Lady and wife of Timorese PM Xanana Gusmao, Kirsty Sword Gusmao,  visited during the the evening of the 13th July.

At an event hosted by the Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters, ABC journalist Gregg Borschmann interviewed Kirsty Sword Gusmao, UN Goodwill Ambassador for Education in East Timor. They discussed a broad range of topics including politics, living conditions, literacy programs and language. The program will later be broadcast on ABC Radio National's "Big Ideas" program.

This was Kirsty's second visit to the Mountains and nearly 100 people attended the event, most from the Blue Mountains. Following her visit in 2008, Kirsty was deeply moved by the generosity of the Blue Mountains community in supporting her work and that of the Alola Foundation for women and children. Coming to the Mountains as a special guest of the Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters was Kirsty's initiative and speaks to the high esteem in which she holds the group and the Blue Mountains community.

On the evening we raised over $4,500 towards Kirsty's projects including the Mother Tongue Literacy Project. Again our success is only possible with the generosity of our supporters.

A very big thank you to Gregg Borschmann and his Radio National crew, the musicians Gary Daley, Brett Hirst and Osama Mustafa), the Cariington Hotel, especially Mark Jarvis and Michael Brushetta, Josh and KFM Media and the students from UWS School of Film and Media.


Above Photo: Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters enjoy a moment with Kirsty.

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