First of all, I would like thank you for bringing us all together today to celebrate the pink October and to recognize the importance of women’s health in Timor-Leste.

Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the work that HALIKU does to support women with breast cancer and to encourage early detection. 

The women’s cancer support program known as HALIKU (I choose to get better) was established in 2014 by Kirsty Sword Gusmão together with two other survivors of breast cancer, Sra Lita Gomes and Isabel de Lima.

Upon returning to Timor-Leste in 2014 after her successful treatment for breast cancer in Melbourne, Australia, Kirsty became aware that many East Timorese women were dying unnecessarily as a result of lack of access to education and treatment facilities. She was inspired to establish HALIKU in order to increase awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer and other women’s cancers, particularly amongst our most vulnerable women.

HALIKU worked in the beginning from the offices of the Timor-Leste Medical Association located opposite Dili National Hospital. It was later integrated in 2016 into the work of the Maternal and Child Health program of Fundasaun Alola.

The objective of HALIKU is to educate people for raising awareness on the imprtance of early detection, support referral and biposy for vulnerable patients. 

Traditional cultural values mean that Timorese women are often fearful and ashamed to talk about and reveal private parts of their bodies to medical professionals. HALIKU’s work focuses on breaking down these taboos and educating women about the role that early detection and timely treatment can play in saving their lives.

HALIKU had undertaken several activities including education and socialization at municipality and village level. The same activity for raising awareness had also been undertaken for several junior and senior high schools and universities. HALIKU has reached 13 municipalities of the country for raising awareness through exhibition hold by SEFOPE. In addition a half day workshop on breast cancer has been introduced into several private and government institutions including SEFOPE, Focupers, F-FDTL Naval, Faith based organizations, church and for youth groups. As a result, HALIKU has gained the total beneficiaries of seventheen thousand six hundreed and fourthy eight (17,648) people accorss the country.  

Apart from that, HALIKU had also targetted local media including community radio, Televisions and newspapers to educate people on the importance of early detection and treatment. Hence it is not enough to ensure that all people are getting the information thus HALIKU has to reach the rural areas for making sure that people who are lack of acess to media are coverred by the program. 

HALIKU being as a member of the National Breast Cancer Comitte based at HNGV and we often assisted the first lady ms. Cidalia nobre to socialize the information on the importance of early detection for breast cancer in Dili municipality.  We hope this will continue for the benefit for the Timorese women.

In addition to education campaigns, HALIKU has also identified and referred 115 cancer patients to the national hospital. Of these, 13 have received support to get a biopsy, 18 have been assisted with transport to receive treatment and 2 have received support to acquire the medicines prescribed by their doctors. In addition, we are distributing wigs, mastectomy bras and breast prostheses to patients who have undergone chemotherapy and mastectomy surgery.

We are committed to continue the work of HALIKU in educating Timorese women in order to save lives through early detection and support for breast cancer patients in the future.

We are hoping that you will support us by caring this messages forward to your families, communities and colleagues.

 “Thank you”

 

Tibar, October 4, 2019

Mrs. Maria Imaculada Guterres, Acting CEO – ALOLA Foundation

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