JBR - 27th & 28th August 2005
Sunday 28th was our last day and apart from frantic last minute shopping it passed An 8.30 am start bound for the 'Annual Distribution Day' jointly arranged by Rotary Swan River and Rotary Denpasar and held at the sports field (Lapangan) Sobongan. This was to be a really special day.
Under the Rotary scheme each sponsored child receives not only school fees but 2 uniforms, a scout uniform, shoes, socks, sports attire, writing books, pens, pencils, a ruler and a rubber annually. On this day all of the schools participating in the program meet at a central location and receive their box of goods.
We were met at the entrance by Asih, a delightful young lady who works at Bali Hai Resort, who we had known for the 6 years she had worked there. By lucky coincidence Asih is a local living in Sobongan and only a couple of hundred metres from the sports field. Later that morning she took us to her home where we met most of her family.
The morning had started early (7.00 am) with a 'Village walk' which we were too late to participate in however, we were able to watch as the kids came into the arena from their walks, smartly dressed, excited. bubbling with energy and yes, always smiling. The sports field, normally bare but for soccer goals each end was now encircled by various stalls, Maccas, Free drinks, assorted food outlets etc, some Marquees and at the top by a stage from where music poured forth and upon which stood a number of brand new bicycles given for prizes. Everything that day had been donated, a tribute to the generosity of Bali businesses and the organisational skills of Rotary.
Noel and Geraldine soon arrived having been on the village walk and with them were a number of their friends and Rotarians. We were all shown to the seats in the marquee from where we had a great view of everything going on around us. The day was overcast, threatened rain on many occasions but which never really eventuated. It became quite humid and was very hot. These conditions did nothing tho, to deter the festivities and as the day wore on we witnessed sack races, a tug of war competition, songs from a group of teeny (and I mean teeny) boppers belting out covers from the 60's & 70's. Near the entrance there were a number of 'greasy poles' up which some of the kids attempted to climb to pluck prize vouchers which hung tantalisingly from cross bars at the top. Benny and I wandered around the area much of the time watching the goings on, taking pictures and answering the many 'Goood moornings' from the kids.
Mid morning and Asih took us through the village of Sobongan to her home where we met Mum, an uncle, brother, some chooks and the most delightfully frail Nanek - Grandma. Cold tea, some Kue kue (Cake) were served and we were feted like very special guests. It all made us feel quite humble. When the time came to return to the sports field Grandma, together with Asih escorted us all the way. Benny and Grandma became instant friends and Grandma held Benny's hand for at least an hour as they walked round the sports field. Soon after returning Asih had to leave because she was on the afternoon shift at Bali Hai, she had given up her rest time to be with us and show us around, we were very grateful - Thankyou Asih.
The sports evebts were well underway by the time we returned. The tug of war was indeed a duel to the end and I think SD 7 Sembung, where Komang and Made (our kids) study came out as the eventual winner. The kids were so excited and so happy; it was truly a carnival atmosphere.
The only downside to the day concerned the amount of rubbish on the ground as the kids and the adults disposed of their cups, wrappers etc by simply dropping them on the ground. The field was awash when we left. Noel will try to organise rubbish bins for next year with a few signs asking for rubbish to be disposed of properly.
Noel had mentioned the presence of a mobile field hospital which was carrying out cataract operations just behind the marquees so we went to have a peek. The hospital displayed a sign 'A gift from the Government of Australia'. It made us feel very proud to be an Aussie. As we 'peeked' at it, the door opened and an old lady with a bandaged eye emerged, so we started to have a closer look, when the surgeon beckoned us in for a quick look around - or so we thought. As we took it all in, the door suddenly closed, a middle aged man lay on the table so we made to leave but the surgeon just said 'don't go, stay and watch' and so it was that Benny and I stood spell bound as he prodded, poked, inserted, sewed and did all manner of things to that mans eye. All the time outside, the tug of war went on, kids raced and climbed poles totally oblivious to the miracles taking place inside. Moreover, at the same time, a team of nurses roamed the field, testing eyes, and looking for another person to test the surgeon's skill. In all there were 6 or 7 operations for the day I was told. It really was an eye opener (no pun intended)
What a morning!!! We eventually found Komang and had a little chat with him. Others from SD 7 Sembung came forward and spoke to us as they had recognised Benny & I from our visit 3 weeks earlier. A nicer, more polite, well spoken, bunch of kids that you could ever hope to meet were present that day and it bodes well for Bali, that the future of the island will eventually be in the hands of such children.
Reluctantly, it was soon time to depart and make our way to Pacung Indah for lunch and to say farewell to the staff there that had looked after us so well earlier that month. David Wedd had returned from Perth and we were blessed with his company over lunch. Hopefully it won't be the last time we cross paths and we aim to spend some time at Pacung on our next trip to Bali.
uneventfully, that is except for the final dinner at Green Garden. Earlier that month we had booked 30 places for dinner and expected forumites such as Gordon, Ratna, Shelda, Mal, Gazzamacs entourage, Bluey's entourage, Waxy & Luna and many others. They all arrived except Waxy and Luna as Waxy had had an unfortunate encounter with some glue and came to a sticky end. Regretfully we had to leave by 8.15pm having only just said hello to Shelda and Mal who had arrived in Bali a mere 2 hours before. By all accounts the party went on for some time (dammit) while we sat in the lounge for 2.5 hours at Ngurah Rai Airport on our return to Australia. The end!!!!!!!!
Clive M