A FORMER soldier who served in East Timor 20 years ago has told how a recent return to that country on a spirituality-inspired rehabilitation program has helped ease decades of suffering from trauma. “I feel like a weight has been lifted, and I can now look at things in a different way,” Townsville veteran Murray Sutherland said. “A lot of the anger I’ve had, both for myself and towards others, has been released.” In 1999, Mr Sutherland was amongst the first Australian troops dispatched to East Timor’s capital Dili, after an independence vote that descended into violence as Indonesian militia […]

Dear friends, May peace and contentment be with you all. We’ve just completed an incredible Timor Awakening program and are preparing for our next one, Timor Awakening 10 (14 to 25 September), during which we will commemorate the 20th anniversary of INTERFET. During Timor Awakening 10 we will be opening and dedicating ‘Hampel house’ and ‘ANZAC house’ English Language School at our Veterans’ precinct at SAME. At our VCA Gathering on 10 Aug, we will be reflecting on the goodness that’s coming from all this activity and more detailed briefing on the September programme by Michael Stone who has been […]

We hope you all had a happy Easter and are positively counting all your blessings. We are pleased to present the Comprehensive Report on TA8. Click here to download. Thanks to Michael Stone and Candice Carroll for putting this together. It was a life-changing experience for many and further consolidated our evidence base demonstrating that peer support, reflected experiences, and holistic health education can make significant improvements in the lives of veterans and their families. Of course, our involvement and positive interaction with the Timorese takes this all to a higher level, where we realise that loving our neighbours and going […]

A Catholic veteran has found a renewed joy for life, after returning to a Timorese village where he was caught in a gun battle with enemy militia 19 years ago. It has taken former Corporal Greg Murty many years to come to grips with the incident, and which has caused him great distress and trauma. He lives with his family in the Brisbane south-side suburb of Parkinson. “Being a young and proud soldier… I went to their country thinking I was making a difference, but returned to Australia with the feeling of a heavy heart and feeling defeated,” Mr Murty […]

Dear Friends Here at the VCA office we are following-up a  most successful TA8 program, have completed Selection Boards for TA9 and 10 and undergoing preparations for those programs, and most immediately are preparing to host 9 Timorese veterans who will join us from 21- 28 April. TA8 was fantastic. The evaluation report showed significant health and well being improvement in all participants. We had the most amazing celebratory reception in the remote village of Aidabasalala, where in June 2000, veteran Greg Murty’s section was surprised in a massive attack at 0200hrs and Greg,  alone on sentry, miraculously survived. Greg was […]

1. I am very appreciative of the professional and personal warmth of the leadership team. 2. You showed there’s always Hope. Every now and then God gives us a flower. We received several. 3. Now I know I’m not alone. Take this trip and you find yourself.

This last 12 months has seen the work of VCA develop a deep sense of maturity and stability. We have finely tuned the services provided to veterans and their families. We have developed a robust management framework with strong governance and financial accountability. We have a competent and collaborative staff team. The Timor Awakening Program, developed and delivered by Michael Stone has been our flagship activity . Significant funding support has come from our major sponsor Bolton Clark, as well as RSL Qld and Knights of the Southern Cross, and other donors. Generous volunteers have given the gifts of their […]

Saturday 17 November 2018 10am-1pm Mates4Mates, Douglas Street, Milton We will conduct our Annual General Meeting on Saturday 17 November 2018, to be followed by our Christmas Party. This will be a great opportunity to re-connect with other veterans, supporters and VCAI staff. An update on TA7, which was conducted in September; and preliminary briefings on TA8 planned for February 2019 will be included. Photos and Videos will be shown of Timor Awakening and other VCAI activities. Also, we will show some of the latest professional videos commissioned by Bolton Clarke which stars some of our members. Morning tea and a light […]