Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

[FreoGirl]

One of the challenges I faced as a 'new' expat in Indonesia was what I was going to do with my time. Life in Indonesia certainly has a slower pace, and one can fill it with the mundane - everything takes longer, from shopping to paying a bill. However, I believe it is much more satisfying to use my time to make a difference to my community.

We are getting closer now to the day that we will return to live full time in Indonesia, and this time I hope to be able to commit myself to taking more on - with my stay being more of a long term prospect.

So I was wondering what other expats are up to in terms of getting involved with their local community? If anyone wants to share I would be really interested to hear what you do.

[Jimbo]

This could develope into an interesting thread.

[BaliLife]

Yes it could jimbo..

Ok, well I'll start with my confession - I've done nothing.. Had I planned to? Yes.. Do I still plan to? Yes.. BUT, planning to do so and not doing it mean nothing..

Every day, I supress my guilt by going into the supermarket at Galaxy Mall and buying treats for the kids who sit out in front of the mall selling newspapers.. Unfortunately, this has no positive effect for the community, or probably even for those kids - it just serves to nourish my own self-conscious..

So, yes I do have a plan.. I am going to do this in Surabaya even though we'll end up in Bali - the world seems more blind to the problems outside of the tourist areas, plus my wife's family has more contacts here.. My loosely sketched plan is to warehouse necessities, rice, flour, sugar, basic sauces, etc.. I'll buy non-perishable items in bulk and store them.. -'ll then find kids that are not going to school, but instead working and put them up against a certain criteria. Assuming they qualify, their parents will be visited and told that provided they keep their child enrolled (we'll pay school and associated fees) in a designated school and maintain an acceptable attendance record, they'll be provisioned with a food-pack every 3 days. The food pack will have all the necessities for their family. If the child doesn't attend school for a unacceptable period, they'll be counselled, but if the issue is not resolved, the family will be removed from the plan. Also, somebody will be responsible that the children are not working after school hours - or if they are, that such is not more than a reasonable amount (e.g. 10 hours per week, etc) - but that would only apply to kids over the age of 13 (for example).

Challenges - control, supervision and ensuring resources aren't being 'skimmed' by those involved. I already have a number of schools in mind - an agreement needs to be made (and it can) to ensure we're provided with an accurate attendance record. Once it's up and running, there are a lot of business owners here I can approach to put their name to it - they're family friends, and I'm sure they'll be willing.

Well that's my plan, but at the same time I acknowledge that a plan without action is as good as nothing.. Hopefully I can re-post here someday soon when I have some of the operations going..

Ct

[milan]

Very noble plan, Balilife. Thumb up for that, even though it's still an intention but that counts in my book.

As for my lady friend, an American expat in Jkt who was the Financial Director of an International Bank. She did get involved and marry an Indonesian Chinese ex-Hawaii , settled down and produced three wonderful children between the ages of 13 and 9 now; changed her job to an International Art Co., (can't specify too much), and runs her own gallery of her European painting collections.

It's still a marvelous and wonderful contribution to me.

[O]

It is indeed one of the most interesting thread in a long time. Maybe Bert's shock therapy has worked. Or maybe because it is close to my hart. I have been working for the past ten years for NGOs (non governmental organizations) in various countries in Africa and in Asia. I just feel it is simply a normal way to acknowledge that I have been lucky enough to be born in a western country where one doesn't have to worry about its basic human rights. I didn't have to walk 5km to go to school. I didn't have to sit on the school ground and look at the water dripping from its roof. For one there was a school. I didn't have to worry about fetching water or burning my mat with a kerosene lantern. And if I did get sick, all my parents had to do was to phone a doctor. Humans are definitely not born equal.

Having some of you on this forum finally asking the right questions instead of quarreling over a maid's armpit odor or the fact that things don't work as well in Bali as they do in your country of origin, well it is a relief, there is hope.
What I've learned in my years of working with communities is that getting involved is not without risks. There is a standard charter in the humanitarian world that's called "do no harm" principle. It is quite simple but too often ignored. The basic concept is that whatever action you are engaged in, even with the best intention, can have negative consequences far superior to the initial benefits that were intended. So whatever action you are planning, please take the time of reflection and think a few steps ahead as to how this all going to affect the intended beneficiaries in the short, medium and long term.
Some of you might be racking their brain, trying to find the best project there is to help a community in the most efficient way. More often than not the idea is at your door step. All you have to do is ASK the people that you are intending to assist -assuming you know who your target community/organization/group is- what THEY are most in need of. They will likely give you a list an arm's length but once you've asked enough people and recoup the answers, a few priorities will emerge that you then have to sort in term of relevance and weight against your own capacity, budget and skills. The key is to keep it simple and small at first, don't try to save the whole world at once and solve all the problems there are, it can't be done.
I specialized in water and sanitation issues, having worked on other programs such as micro credits and school reconstruction, I feel that this is a field I know fairly well and since water related diseases are responsible for over half of the mortality rate for indonesian children, it's a no brainer. There are however dozen of other relevant issues that each of us can work on. Don't reinvent the wheel -although creativity is required- there are thousands of research papers, books written on the subject and projects out there, some excellent local NGOs in Bali are already doing great stuff so it could be just a matter of joining them -volunteering or funding- so do your homework and act.
Sorry if for the lecture but I would hate to have some of you go out there with the best intention and end up screwing up.
Good luck!

[BaliLife]

instead of quarreling over a maid's armpit odor

yeah, that was a classic thread, and an equally important topic

You'll notice it got more views and replies than most other threads..

Ct

[bolli]

I can't quite work you out Balilife?? You often make statements that make me cringe and even your post professing a desire to 'help' because you have some guilt is kind of spoiled for me with remarks from you like this

...Assuming they qualify,

It just seems to me you are quite happy to live with all your wealthy mod cons and fancy blackberries, but will only help the Balinese you deem poor as long as they abide by your rules.

[BaliLife]

...Assuming they qualify

Yes, assuming they qualify, based on age, parent's available income, etc. I don't quite understand what you don't get? Surely you're not suggesting you can run such a program without a qualification criteria? You could, but how would you ensure help is going to those who need it the most?

Don't worry, I won't lose any sleep over you not being able to "work me out".

Ct

PS, my "mod cons" (which I can assure you are not extraordinary) contribute to the Indonesian economy, providing income for Indonesian service providers who employ local Indonesians - so, you may want to look at the colour of the saddle when you get up on your high horse..

[Roy]

What I've learned in my years of working with communities is that getting involved is not without risks. There is a standard charter in the humanitarian world that's called "do no harm" principle. It is quite simple but too often ignored. The basic concept is that whatever action you are engaged in, even with the best intention, can have negative consequences far superior to the initial benefits that were intended. So whatever action you are planning, please take the time of reflection and think a few steps ahead as to how this all going to affect the intended beneficiaries in the short, medium and long term.

I could NOT agree with that more. Your advice is excellent “O” and so very true.

One NGO that we help...or I should say, my wife Eri helps is The Helen Flavel Foundation. Eri was the first Balinese to sponsor a Balinese child in that organization way back when Helen first started the foundation. She is now on to her third child as others have already graduated. This foundation is superb and has been written about often in years past on this forum:

http://www.helenflavelfoundation.org/

In addition, we do a number of various things in our village, but these specific things are really the result of our intimacy with, and as citizens of, our village. My personal favorite here is our pre-natal vitamin program for pregnant women, and calcium supplements for the older women.

[O]

I'll grant you that Balilife, your maid's choice of perfume was the most popular thread. That's the scary part. So is the fact that way more people read the Daily mirror or the Sun than the Guardian or the Times.

[chickchili]

I absolutely agree with O's comments and would also like to add that its imperative that projects be community requested and directed. Imposing your ideas and projects (as well meaning as they may be) becomes just another form of colonising and disempowers the community. As disadvantaged communities rarely have any power or say over their own lives it is important to support and facilitate self-determination. As an example, while a wealthy expat may see an academic education as the most important, a community may value the retention and rebuilding of their traditional culture more. One may not always support the other and, its not the business of an expat with good intentions to argue with that.
Also, its not always the grand project with which you cn contribute the most. As maybe the only speakers of English that people interact with, you can make a great contribution by being an accurate model of an English speaking person. Your conversation and modelling alone can be a great resource for people trying to improve their English speaking language skills.

[BaliLife]

Hi chickchilli,

its not the business of an expat with good intentions to argue with that.

Mmm, if it's my money, it may not be my right to argue with it, but it's definitely within my right not to fund it. I would never fund anything that in any way shape or form promoted religion, or benefited the practising of religion. I think it's well within the rights of a contributor to expect his funds to be used in a specific manner and in your example of education, you highlighted the problem with your arguement of 'self-determination'.. If a community feels that using resources to promote religion is more important than educating their children - that's a real problem, and unfortunately that's why most of the developing world live below the poverty line. There's a blurred line that intermingles culture and religion - I'm for the promotion of culture, but against the promotion of religion - but that's ok, that's my right - I don't have any right to push my belief of atheism upon them, but I definitely don't need to sit back and watch funds that I contribute be used for religious purposes..

Ct

[chickchili]

Hi chickchilli,

its not the business of an expat with good intentions to argue with that.

Mmm, if it's my money, it may not be my right to argue with it, but it's definitely within my right not to fund it. I would never fund anything that in any way shape or form promoted religion, or benefited the practising of religion. I think it's well within the rights of a contributor to expect his funds to be used in a specific manner and in your example of education, you highlighted the problem with your arguement of 'self-determination'.. If a community feels that using resources to promote religion is more important than educating their children - that's a real problem, and unfortunately that's why most of the developing world live below the poverty line. There's a blurred line that intermingles culture and religion - I'm for the promotion of culture, but against the promotion of religion - but that's ok, that's my right - I don't have any right to push my belief of atheism upon them, but I definitely don't need to sit back and watch funds that I contribute be used for religious purposes..

Ct

Well, all I can say is the strings attached form of assistance usually ends, as O posted, in long term outcomes which are not always predictable and often not welcomed. An example of this is medical aid donated by Australia which has the rule attached, due to the negotiations of a now gone but catholic independent parliamentarian, which stated that the money could not be used by clinics or medical services that promotes (and by this the rule is applied to mean supply information about) or offers services which include management of contraception and termination under any circumstances. The effect of this has been catastrophic on many very poor women around the developing world when the original aim of the donation was to appease their suffering.
Also, to try and separate culture and religion and to pass judgement on either is to do exactly what the colonialists have done over time and has resulted in the death of many cultures and languages throughout the world. Many of those decimated communities are now trying to restore their cultures in order to restore their people's self esteem and sense of belonging in the world. Nobody's money should be considered more important than that.

[Roy]

I'm for the promotion of culture, but against the promotion of religion

Good luck figuring out that difference here in Bali, because the fact is, there is no distinction. For the Balinese, their culture is their religion.

[BaliLife]

Chickchilli,

The 'catholic' strings attached were in the name of religion - yet again, another crime perpetuated in the name of god. Colonialists judged others religions and arrived at the conclusion that their own was more superior - as opposed to my view, which dismisses all religions collectively. That said, I would want to promote education, education, education - not fund anti-religion programs, but to expect me to fund religious programs, when religion is the source of 85% of indonesia's problems is an insane expectation.. just because that might be the will of the recipients.. Sorry - anybody who funds religious programs in developing regions is in my view a violator of human rights, an exploiter of the uneducated and a whole lot more.. The last thing a 7 year old on the streets needs is another dose of god..

Roy - I don't disagree, that's why I said I'd only fund education.. Culture & religion can be funded by whoever wants to fund it.. But not by me..

Ct

[Roy]

that's why I said I'd only fund education.

If you do that in Bali, you'll also be funding religion, unless of course you only fund those top international schools.