“The first time I was there I hadn’t seen much joy at all,” says Bath, who lives in Sydney. “This time to see joy on the faces of the young and old is an amazing experience. Real joy for just one tap. It was a lesson in how to be grateful for small things.”
Bath, who is now looking to return to a media role (“I want it to be the right thing for me,” she says), reveals that children outnumber adults in East Timor.
“Which tells you how many adults were killed in 1999,” says Bath, who has a teenage son. “The kids are irresistible, running around with nothing. Because there are so many kids and so few schools the kids go to school in shifts—either morning or afternoon.”
After earning a good income for many years, Bath felt it was "incumbent” on her to "give back”: "It’s great to go overseas and see all these projects, but there are Australian projects, too. There are things we need to do in our own backyard, particularly in Aboriginal communities. You can’t underestimate poverty in Australia. Kids go to school without having breakfast. We can do better."
For more, pick up a copy of WHO, on sale now.
To make a tax deductible donation to Red Cross before 30 June visit redcross.org.au/DoingItTough.