Don't Look Back: The David Bussau Story: How an Abandoned Child Became a Champion of the Poor

315 Pages·2005·0.87 MB·English

by  Philippa Tyndale

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Philippa Tyndale is a former personal finance journalist with
Fairfax publications in Sydney. While on holiday in Bali in 1996,
she met a few of Opportunity International’s small business clients.
Since that time she has work as a volunteer for the organisation,
in the areas of communications, fundraising and documentary
making. She has also travelled with David Bussau to a number of
the locations where Opportunity International has programs.
Philippa believes passionately in the small loans provided by
the organisation to its clients, as she has seen first-hand the posi-
tive effects they have on the quality of people’s lives. She lives
in Sydney with her husband Andrew, a banker, and their three
children Tim, Liam and Imogen.
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All author royalties from this book have been donated to:
Opportunity International Australia
Level 6, 163 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: [phone]
email: [email protected]
website: http://www.opportunity.org.au
First published in Australia in 2004 by Allen & Unwin
Copyright © Philippa Tyndale 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publisher. TheAustralian Copyright Act 1968(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter
orten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational
institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body
that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL)
under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Tyndale, Philippa, 1960– .
Don’t look back: the David Bussau story: how an abandoned
child became a champion of the poor.
ISBN 1 74114 395 0.
1. Bussau, David. 2. Opportunity International (Australia).
3. Philanthropists – Australia – Biography.
4. Non-governmental organizations – Australia – Biography.
I. Opportunity International (Australia). II. Title.
361.740-92
Set in Sabon 11.5/14 by Midland Typesetters
Printed by Griffin Press, South Australia
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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For the unsung heroes: the thousands of committed field
workers, fundraisers, boards, supporters and volunteers
who make up Opportunity International.
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Acknowledgements
In working through David Bussau’s passports since 1967 my list
of customs’ stamps—far from complete—reached 900. Each of
these entries represents a plane trip, a project, a series of meetings
and a bunch of close friends. The cast of players in David’s life
story is overwhelming. I would like to acknowledge the contribu-
tion of those who count David as a dear friend yet could not be
included in this book due to the limitation of its size.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Bussau family—David and
Carol, Tasha and Rachel—for sharing with me the joyful and
painful, even embarrassing, moments that add so much humanity
to the story of their lives. In particular, I’d like to thank David for
his generous and open contribution. He made time for interviews
when he clearly had none to spare. As a forward-looking individ-
ual, retrieving parts of a lost childhood from his memory came
with a personal cost.
Thanks to my whole family for enduring a distracted or
absent wife, mother, daughter and sister throughout this process.
Special thanks to Andrew, Tim, Liam and Imogen, whose support
in terms of encouragement, love and patience is immeasurable.
I appreciate those who stood by me with advice, research and
support as I struggled to rein in a story that sprawled to every
continent. This includes the Opportunity International Australia
team—Emma Dale, Julie Taylor, Renee Christiansen and Belinda
Sullivan—and my friends Peter Downey and Merilyn Buckley.
Gareth Winter from the Wairarapa Archives and Wendy Page from
vi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
‘Australian Story’ at the ABC also provided helpful background
material. Thanks to Bob and Heather Neilson for the initial means
to travel, to Susy Cheston for lending her wisdom and experience,
and to Leigh Coleman for his humorous storytelling and memory
for detail. My gratitude goes to Nyoman IriantoWibawa (Alit) at
Dinari in Bali, James Solomon from India, Alexis Beggs and Larry
Reed in the US, Roweena Mendoza and the CTRC team in
Manila, Ruth Callanta from Manila, Denis Perry in Australia and
to the scores of other people around the world who agreed to be
interviewed or helped with research material.
My thanks also to Jo Paul and Joanne Holliman and the tal-
ented editorial and creative team at Allen and Unwin for easing
me through the publishing process.
Most of all, I’d like to applaud the true heroes of this book:
the poor entrepreneurs of the developing world, who work hard
each day to build a hopeful future for their children. David
Bussau agreed to tell his tale so readers could hear the stories
of Opportunity clients and be inspired. His successes are their
successes.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Prologue xiii
1 Abandoned 1
2 Sedgley 14
3 Conquering Hills 30
4 Building Foundations 47
5 The Economics of Enough 62
6 Buried in the Jungle 77
7 Stretching Out 98
8 The Road Out of Poverty 116
9 The Bigger Picture 131
10 Slaves and Scavengers 151
11 The Walls Came Down 168
12 A Force for the Poor 189
13 Nature’s Fury 207
14 The Poorest Among Poor 219
15 The Social Entrepreneur 237
16 New Season 262
Epilogue 279
Postscript 287
Index 289
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