Overflowing institute
In 2008 Sacred Childhoods came across an orphanage in Bali with some 200 children packed into every corner of a sprawling and precarious building. The children were not orphans, but instead were mostly from migrant families. Because of it's booming tourist industry Bali attracts many thousands of Indonesians each year who come in search of work. Unfortunately when they get to Bali they discover that there are actually few jobs available. Many of these families had used all the money they had to get to Bali and can't afford to return home. They usually end up living in the slums of Denpasar and can find themselves in even greater poverty than that which they experienced on their original island. With between 1 and 5 children to feed and no income life gets desperate quite quickly and it is then that some of the families decide to give their child away to an orphanage, such as this one.
Because the children have migrated from other islands which tend to be Islamic, and because Bali is predominantly Hindu, there can be problems in sending their children to a normal orphanage. Therefore this one, run by Muslim members from Java, has become one of the main places that the children are sent to.
The children arrive with no money, few cloths, and existing health problems. They then find it very difficult to be separated from their families and to live amongst so many other children in cramped conditions (about 20 children per room).
Life at the orphanage is not easy for the staff or the children. Funds are limited, the Government subsidises the children's food at a cost of 3,000 IDR per child per day (which is about 35 cents USD or 25 pence). For the maintenance of the building, clothing, and supplies they rely on donations.
For the children one of the major problems is that it is very difficult to stay clean, there is no budget for soap, washing powder or anti-bacterial fluids for the kitchen. The mattresses become infested with mites, ticks, nits and worms so the children suffer from skin allergies such as scabies which spreads rapidly amongst the children.
When they get sick there is no budget for medicines or a trip to the doctor. There is also no money to employ a member of staff who is responsible for looking after them, the older ones are expected to look after the younger ones.
In 2008 Sacred Childhoods decided to help the orphanage in any way that we could and since then our team and volunteers have helped with some renovations and building work, painting, buying matresses and cooking equipment, providing cloths, taking the children out on regular trips, taking them to the doctor and hospital and delivering regular supplies of cleaning fluids. Our volunteers continue to arrange movie nights, art workshops, and activity days to help stem the boredom and frustration.
Over the last three years the orphanage has really developed thanks not only to Sacred Childhoods' contributions but many other donors and NGOs. Now it has garden area, new bedrooms, a new kitchen, and although it's still crowded it's much more comfortable than before. The numbers have also decreased steadily to 150 children.
We don't want the orphanage to become dependant on Sacred Childhoods or for there to be any room for corruption so we are always careful not to give money and instead hand deliver items to the children personally.
A supply of soap, shampoo, washing powder, sanitary pads, and kitching cleaning fluids usually costs 1.000,000 ($100 USD or around £75) and keeps all 150 children going for around 6 weeks.
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