The Australian Bite
Eyesight, truffles and a school in East Timor
9 September 2010
Listen and download: MP3
This week on the Australian Bite, Jennifer Gersbeck, the CEO of Vision 2020 Australia tells us about the importance of eye health, and what Australian organisations are doing to help reduce avoidable blindness in the region. We take a trip to a remote mountain village in East Timor, where a team of Brisbane high school boys have been helping build a primary school. And truffles – they’re an expensive delicacy that’s highly valued in international cuisine, but did you know they’re being grown in Western Australia?
Australia helps bring 2020 vision
Vision 2020 Australia is a national body working in partnership, in Australia and the region, to prevent avoidable blindness, and improve the care of people’s eyes and vision. . I spoke with Jennifer Gersbeck, the CEO of Vision 2020 Australia, at a recent United Nations NGO conference in Melbourne, and asked her about the organisation’s work – particularly in the Asia Pacific region.
Brisbane students help build East Timor school
When village leaders in the Samalate district recently told the Catholic mission organisation, Communidado Edmund Rice, that a local school was their greatest need, locally based Brother Bill Tynan sprang into action, contacting an old friend Brendan Lawler, principal at St Edmund’s College in Ipswich, Queensland. To cut a long story short, it was not long before a team of fifteen volunteers, including nine Brisbane high school students – along with some professional tradesmen and trade teachers – turned up in Samalate to work alongside the local people building a two-room school. The ABC’s Phil Smith was invited to view their handiwork.
More on this story at the ABC Brisbane website
Digging for truffles in Manjimup
Truffles are also a type of edible funghi or mushroom, which are found underground, have many different varieties, and are a highly prized, and very expensive ingredient, in French, Spanish and basically top class international cooking. Now you may know that truffles are grown in Europe and the United States, but they’re also grown here in Australia. Reporter Lucy Martin went truffle hunting with the crew from Manjumup Truffles in Western Australia, which this season will have supplied around 450 kilos of premium truffles to domestic and overseas markets including Singapore.
Manjimup, Western Australia on Google maps
More on this story at the ABC Rural website
Music (not in podcast)
Boy & Bear are a five piece outfit from Sydney, who are inspired by the sounds of 1970′s folk rock. This is their third single from their debut e.p. With Emperor Antarctica.
Artist: Boy & Bear
Track: Blood and Gold
Album: With Emperor Antarctica (e.p.) 2010
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