Most veteran BTF forumites know of Helen from her numerous posts here. As wonderful a lady as she is on this forum, it is only a hint of the joy and pleasure of knowing her personally and spending time with her. This is equally true of her husband Ron, who incidentally, just earned his doctorate degree in business.
It was my wife and my pleasure to get together again with Helen and Ron at Naughty Nuris yesterday for lunch. After many years of Helen's devotion to help the Balinese...hundreds of wheel chairs, thousands of eye glasses and etc., Helen and Ron have recently launched the Helen Flavel Foundation. A link to their website is provided below. The primary focus of this foundation is child sponsorship. Needy children are provided with clothing, food and education for a mere AU $120 per annum. But, what strikes me as the most unique aspect of her foundation, is that every single cent donated to sponsor a child is directed to their needs, and through parties other than the parents. In other words, Helen and Ron "foot the bill" of running the foundation, and the child's dad will not, and cannot, squander the money on a cock fight!
My Balinese wife, Eri, was so moved by all of this, that she has decided to sponsor a girl. We already have three boys, so in her mind, this is like having a girl too! Her generosity moved me as well. Fortunate Balinese sharing their good fortune with others that are less fortunate is not commonplace here, by any means.
Many BTF folks are looking for ways to give back to Bali a little of what Bali has given them. If you are one of them, than have a look at this site. I can only imagine the deep sense of fulfillment and joy a sponsor would experience on visiting their sponsored child on future trips to Bali.