It’s OK, the Earthquake Wasn’t Near Us!!

Wow. What a day. My first day in Indonesia was spent mostly trying to get my head around the culture. I don’t think until you leave Australia and go to less fortunate countries you can possibly understand how the change in culture will affect you. I think because I’ve seen it on TV or I’ve read a book and imagined it in my own mind (which I have, quite extensively) that it wouldn’t be so overwhelming, but it really is.

Yesterday we did the rounds of some orphanages. Its school holidays here so many of the children were away, visiting family but we met some beautiful children. Every orphanage that you go to here in Bali the children are herded out and lined up to sing for you. I find it a little distressing, I have to admit. I didn’t come to have these children perform for me.

Many of the children were very sweet and endearing and when they see someone arriving they are keen to meet them. The older children I think understand it’s their duty to do so, but I don’t think they really wish to.

We went to learn from the orphanages find out how they operate, how they’re funded, where their children come from. Every one of them is happy to show us what they do and how, but many things don’t sit well with me. It comes back to cultural differences again and if I’m going to be successful in changing any lives in this country then I must fully understand that culture and why it is the way it is.

As we hurtled through the traffic, which can really only be described as INSANE, Bev explained “casts” to me. This is the concept that if you are born into, for example, the 5^th cast – your lot in life is purely to perhaps collect garbage – or something of that nature. If you’re fortunate enough to be born into the 1^st cast, you are more likely to be a government work or achieve something of more social standing (and money). Apparently, it is accepted that if you’re born into the 5^th cast, no amount of hard work or clever investment will ever get you out of it – so don’t both trying – it will take everything you have to just survive.

It’s all good and well for white-faced me to say “that’s ridiculous, they need to stand up for their rights” – we’re not in Australia any more. You see, for all the whingeing and whining we do in Australia, of all the things that we take for granted, I think the thing that we take the most for granted is our ability to be whatever we dare to dream we can be.

We are so very fortunate in Australia to have so many opportunities, which is why so many migrant families do so well. They bring their humility and their work ethics from a country where they can never be anything – just because that’s the way it is – and apply them here in Australia, and suddenly they can be someone. This is why I always get annoyed when I hear people slagging off migrants who are wealthy. People who have come from hellish backgrounds and arrived in Australia with NOTHING and through hard work and determination they make something of themselves, and the next thing you know 4^th generation Australians are criticising them for their wealth.

We spoke extensively with one of our Taxi drivers, he was 25 years old, married with 2 children, aged three and one – a boy and a girl. He loves his job as a taxi driver; he says he’s very happy. He earns 1,000,000RP per month. That’s about $125AU – this is good money, for Indonesia. His father is deceased but when he was alive he sold shirts. Originally our taxi friend sold shirts too, now he’s a taxi driver and he doesn’t imagine ever doing anything else. This man drove us from place to place, sat patiently and waited outside for us while we did what we needed to do, without complaint.

At one stage while trying to back out of a parking space in a very narrow alleyway, he backed his car into a wall. There was damage to the car, it wasn’t huge, but it was damage. I asked him if he would get in trouble. “Oh yes!” he said and nodded deeply “very big touble”. I wanted to cry. He didn’t stop smiling. I wondered how an Australian taxi driver would react in those circumstances.

The last stop off on our journey was the Hope Children’s Home Orphanage. With the emphasis heavily on the “hope”. The leader there was so happy to sit and talk to us with the help of one of the other staff who spoke better English. The orphanage is home to 80 children, the youngest 6 and the eldest 22. This surprised me but later found that “child” is about to complete medical school and become a doctor. This is a place where “casts” are slowly being shirked. I liked it.

“How do you make money?” I asked them. I couldn’t believe their answer “just through guests”. Eventually we established that they receive some government assistance – 2,000,000RP per year/per child. That sounds like a lot, but equates to about $250AU. The rest of their income relies squarely on westerners, on holiday, coming to visit, hearing the children sing and making a cash donation. Call me cynical, but my guess is that when most Australians are planning their holiday to Bali, there’s no circle on the calendar for the day they plan to visit Hope Children’s Home. Most wouldn’t want their holiday “bought down” by having the less fortunate rubbed in their faces.

They left us with a copy of all their running costs which was incredibly helpful, and last night, instead of sleeping I sat comparing their figures with mine – fortunately my calculations seemed to be fairly correct.

Currently their biggest concern is the cost of education. It costs Hope Children’s Home 14,000,000RP to send the children to school each MONTH. On top of that, once per year, when the children move from say elementary to Junior High School there is a another fee. Currently they require 52,000,000RP on top of their monthly school fees. This is money they just don’t have.

I pulled out my very western iPhone with currency conversion app to work out how much that was in Australia. Just over $6,500 – it’s more than I have to spare, but in the scheme of things in Australia that’s not HUGE money to secure the education of 80 children (including one nearly-doctor).

Of course, I wanted to help them. Bev and I handed them the equivalent of maybe $60 from our own pockets (half a million rupiah). I asked them “what will you do to find the money”. They told me they would pray.

One thing that struck me though, having raised all of our funds online was that Hope Children’s Home didn’t have a website or paypal or anything like that. They are completely reliant on people walking through their door. I haven’t asked them whether or not they would like a website, but if there is someone out there willing to build them one then I will provide free hosting and a domain name. It wouldn’t need to be anything flash, in fact if I had more time myself it could probably be done on WordPress – but if they can at least have an online presence for people to make a donation. Then surely that would be a good thing.

And if there is any Australian organisation reading this that would like to help 80 children by paying their school fees, or part of it, then please contact Hope Children’s Home by email hope_children_home@hotmail.com

In other news – it turns out my phone is locked despite testing it back home with other sim cards. I can’t use it to Tweet so I’m limited to maybe 30 minutes of internet access per day *sulk* Will it kill me? Yes, it might. LOL

After spending many hours speaking to different people yesterday, I’ve worked out that what we had planned to do in Indonesia may not necessarily be the best way to do things. As I said from the start, we can have a plan, but I’m completely open to being wrong, which on many levels I think I probably am. Now that I’m starting to understand the bigger issue, it’s part of my nature to not want to come over with a band-aid, so I’ve scribbled down some notes on how I think the plan would be better executed, and I’m going to take those and my interpreter & driver who start work with me today into some poorer villages and see if I’m closer to the mark.

I’ll admit that at one stage yesterday I threw my hands up in the air and said “this is way too hard, I want to go home” – today, I’m excited again. Hopefully I’ve got a better idea and the locals can help tell me if it could be good for them.

Time to start the day, that’s all for now.

Yours in tiredness,

Cate….xxx

PS Sorry I left yesterday’s photos at the hotel, no pictures this time