As the holiday season approaches, Defence News shares stories of ADF members spreading goodwill on exercises, operations and deployments throughout the year. 

Outside the presidential palace in Dili, Timor-Leste, streams of skipping, smiling children sat down to eat.

Smiles and cheer were on the menu at Kantina Matak.

It was an average day for the charity kitchen, which feeds more than 500 meals to vulnerable community members daily.

The Australian soldiers from the 10th Force Support Battalion were pleased to roll up their sleeves as part of Exercise Hari’i Hamutuk, an annual multinational exercise focusing on exchanging trade skills with their Timor-Leste Defence Force partners. 

It was the first deployment for catering and logistics officer Lieutenant Keegan Quinn, who was reminded that food could be a simple and powerful gesture.

“I got emotional and shed a few tears as I was serving up their meals,” Lieutenant Quinn said.

“It was worth every late night we did prepping leading up to this.

“Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces and the enjoyment between families – nothing could replace that.” 

'He was very enthusiastic to have Australian cooks come down and feed as many kids as possible in the future.'

Kantina Matak was started by Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta in 2022 as part of his mission to combat malnutrition in the country.

The charity is coordinated by the head of Women and Economic Empowerment in the Office of the President of Timor-Leste, Bella Galhos.

“It’s a place where people can access healthy food from Monday to Friday, and a place where we can bring the people to their president,” she said.

“The kids got a chance to try Australian food. Even the president tried it – he joked about Aussie cooking being better than mine.” 

Dr Ramos-Horta spoke with children, families and Defence members when he visited the kitchen, something he does as often as his schedule allows.

Lieutenant Quinn said he was honoured to chat to Dr Ramos-Horta and hear how happy the president was that the Australian soldiers continue to visit Timor-Leste and take the time to help his kitchen.

They also spoke about Exercise Hari’i Hamutuk, its focus on humanitarian and disaster response and construction projects, and Lieutenant Quinn said it was encouraging to hear that the president wants Exercise Hari’i Hamutuk in place for future years because of the impact it has on the local community.

“He was very enthusiastic to have Australian cooks come down and feed as many kids as possible in the future,” Lieutenant Quinn said.

The exercise brings together personnel from Australia, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, the United States and Japan to enhance military skills, capability and interoperability, with a focus on engineering and construction.