GIG Immersion 2011 Slideshow

The participants of 2011's GIG Immersion trip have come back with some terrific photos and memories! For your chance to participate in 2012 GIG Immersion Trips click here.

Getting involved Globally, A Real Life Story

By Luke Keighery, Timor Leste, September/October 2011

"I did not know what to expect, but I thought that participating in an Australian Catholic Mission (ACM) GIG would allow me to experience another culture - one where peoples' needs are great - and to help the disadvantaged in some way.

So in September 2010 I set off for Timor Leste, along with 6 people I had never met before, and our ACM leader. What I experienced was beyond belief; a life-changing experience and one that has inspired me to do more to rid the world of social injustices.

In Timor Leste I was exposed to the hardship and struggles of a poor country - with its health issues, lack of education and opportunity, lack of infrastructure, low standards of hygiene, unemployment and despair.

However I was also exposed to living "saints" such as Sister Marylou, a Dominican sister running an orphanage in Dili, and Dr Dan Murphy, an American doctor who has dedicated his life to helping the Timorese people. This is just to mention a few; there were many more. But the most striking aspects of East Timorese include their happiness in spite of their plight, their faith and their music.

I returned home, determined to support these wonderful people by spreading the message of their struggle, to bring their stories to life back home in Australia, and hopefully to enlist others to join together to make the world a better and more equitable place for all to share.

Australian Catholic Mission are to be congratulated for organising the Getting Involved Globally program. Our leader had an excellent understanding of the culture, knew the people and the land, and was warmly greeted wherever we went.

I am very pleased that I took up the opportunity be a part of this experience and encourage others to strongly consider such a journey."