In Reply to: Orphanages posted by Gamma on Wednesday, 21. July 2004 at 11:53 Bali Time:
I have only been to one and it was one of the only two hindu orphanages in Bali. It was in Bakas which is about 1hour 20min from Kuta and I'll be happy we went for the rest of my life.
If you want to visit you can contact our driver Ketut Suparta as the orphanage is in his village and this is how we know about it.
As for what to take, well we bought up big over there at Mackro and tried to stock them up on foods and medical needs and spoil them with some fun stuff. We also carried over 25 bags of kids clothes that I had been collecting for some time. This could be done all over again and be OK. Ages 6 - 15
I was thinking that a totem tennis set would be a good thing; maybe a couple of them. Any type of balls would be good and more frisbees and those little super bouncy balls. I'd buy some cheap little games from the $2 shops over here like connect 4 and things that transcend language barriers.
Next time I go I will take every spare pillow case and sheet I can find. They mostly sleep 2 to a bed and the beds are not quite as big as a double. Some sleep in bunks also. Definitely take sheeting. Aslo I noticed that only a few had doonas which had obviously been donated. It does get quite cool up there so even those celluar blankets would be good.
Something that someone suggested was those little bottles of bubble like they have at weddings now. Just a bit of fun for them. Also hair scrunches for the girls are very popular.
Hope this gets you started and good on you. You can get extra baggae allowance from Garuda if you tell them what it's for.
Ketut's e-mail is ketutsuparta@hotmail.com Of course he is also an exceellent driver and contact for all your needs. If you read my JBR's you'll see that.
Happy Travels