Mission Completion

When you think about it…who decides to just go and start an orphanage? It’s probably a good thing I didn’t get how crazy that was until I was sitting on the floor of a Balinese house listening to chickens, emersed in a flatpacked furniture nightmare – by myself – the day before I was about to come home. As the Little Einsteins would say “Mission Completion”. Am I satisfied? Not even close.

Before I start this post let me make three things incredibly clear:

1. I understand that just by getting on the plane and going to Indonesia and taking the time to visit all the ugly places that tourists just don’t go with the view to trying to make a difference means that I’ve already done more than most people will ever do. I’ve been told that a million times, and I get it…I really do.
2. In a perfect world this last trip would have been solely a fact-finding mission so I could go over there with the luxury of knowing that all I needed to do was learn. I wouldn’t have been pressured by keeping a budget in two currencies in my head, and trying to race against the clock to get things done. I would have come back with a clear picture, planned everything out and then gone back fully armed at a later date to get things done.

And…

3. I accept that I cannot save everyone, but that will not stop me from wanting to, or even trying to.

But with that said, it’s not a perfect world and I have neither the luxury of time or finances to do things the way they would be done in a perfect world, so I’m disappointed with the results, but accept that the plan was overly ambitious to start with.

The good news is that I did achieve the basics of what I set out to do, which was set up and orphanage :) We have a very lovely building in a quiet and safe location which has plenty of room and, in time can accommodate up to 16 children which is in excess of the goal of 10 which we originally set. The building also came in within our budget, so I’m very pleased with that.

Our orphanage is also almost completely furnished with a few things still being made for us when I left. Our children will be sleeping on brand new beds, with clean sheets and bedding. Each room will have 2 sets of double bunks – these are being handcrafted by Balinese workers and we’re very happy to be putting that money back into the community.

Study Room - More computers on the way!

The orphanage is also complete with a study room, currently with one desk and computer, thanks to TrendyKidz, and 2 more computers on the way. Our study room will also be stocked full of educational books in both English & Indonesian and will assist in ensuring the children in our care receive the best education possible.

We also have a loungeroom, which will be stocked with leisure activities. It currently has a TV, DVD and CD player, plus a few books and soft toys. I will be asking for your assistance to help me stock this better. Unfortunately I had to stick to the basics this visit for fear of over-spending, and I know that Project 18’s supporters will do their best to send soft toys etc over time.

Kitchen - Bigger table being made soon!

Our kitchen has the basics of Balinese life. It is simple but does have a fridge/freezer which is a luxury most Indonesians live without. It also has a table for meal times – most children don’t experience family meal times or learn table manners for the basic fact that there is no space in their home for a table. While this seems like a mundane thing to get excited about, I can tell you that one of our job applicants actually listed on her CV where she learned table manners – so it’s a big deal!

That actually brings me to another thing I realised about Bali. Often the things that you think will be the easiest are sometimes the hardest, and the things you assume will be the cheapest are the most expensive. It seems from my observations that the things that most people have/use in Indo are relatively cheap, but things like kitchen tables are expensive by comparison.

Similarly, in a country where there are millions of people who are struggling to feed their children and unemployment is rife you would think applications for jobs would come thick and fast. It’s not so and the reasons are far too complex to try to explain in this post, but needless to say what I thought would be one of the easiest tasks turned out to be the hardest.

So what’s the problem? We have a fully functioning and furnished orphanage. It’s a huge accomplishment given I had 2 weeks to achieve it, granted. What we also have is empty beds.

I introduced you to Kadek Ayu in a previous blog post and I’m happy to be able to tell you a bit more about her now. Kadek’s birthday is February 26^th, she’s the second of two children. Her favourite colour is pink and she loves dogs. When she can watch TV she likes to watch cartoons, Disney movies and Spongebob Squarepants. She has learnt karate at her previous school and when she grows up she would like to be a teacher. Her father died when she was 7 and her mother is remarried and, as per tradition, the children were not welcome in the new marriage. Kadek will start Junior High School sponsored by Project 18 next week. We are very proud to have been able to help her.

You can now sponsor Kadek at $30/AU per month. Payment will be made automatically by credit card each month.

This is a good opportunity for those of you who haven’t sponsored a child in the past because you were concerned about the percentage of funding that would actually reach the target. Project 18 is a small organisation which is run a volunteer management committee; we pay for our own travel costs and don’t rent expensive office space. When you sponsor a child through Project 18 you can be assured that the money will go to where it is needed the most.

We are also expecting the arrival of twin 12 year old girls from Kerangasem. This is the area where the notorious Bali street kids come from. Villages like Munti have been sending their children to Kuta to sell bracelets on the streets for years. This is a systemic problem which we might never be able to solve, but I have a place in my heart for these children that is so huge it may well explode.

I’m disappointed that these girls didn’t arrive before I left as they were supposed to, but unfortunately I’ve had to accept that it is out of my control for the time being. I will have to write a whole new post to talk about the Munti kids because I’ve taken up far too much time here already.

Possibly my greatest frustration in Indonesia was the discovery of so many people who have small scale issues (by Australian standards) which have condemned them to a life of poverty. I spent the entire time I was in Bali conflicted by the desire to use the money I had to help these people with the responsibility to do what I promised I would do.

I have barely slept since I returned from Indonesia for a number of reasons. I’d like to say that it’s not an obsession but anyone who knows me will know that’s just not true. I don’t see the challenge in Indonesia as insurmountable any more. I see hundreds of tiny little hurdles which I know are all within my ability to overcome.

I will need to work harder, smarter and reach a wider audience of people to help me, but I intend to help everyone who I have met who genuinely needs assistance and who is prepared to help themselves.
I’m going to start introducing you to these people soon so I can get over the feeling that I’ve failed in achieving all that I was capable of doing in Indonesia. I have no question that our orphanage beds will be full by the end of the year…but I fear the orphanage will have been the easy part.

So next time you have a crazy idea and someone says “You can’t do that” or “why don’t you stick to what you know” quote my old friend from Lost John Locke -

 ”Don’t tell me what I can’t do”.

Yours in insanely ridiculous and completely achievable dreams,

Cate