I know that this has been discussed before, but it hasen't happened to us before, so I guess takes on a different emphasis.
It is "normal" for us to establish fairly close friendships with indonesian peoples when we are in Bali, and most of us do it to a greater or lesser degree.
Over the past few years we have established a friendship with a young Timorese couple, and this friendship has grown with the arrival of a little boy, who is now around 1 yr old.
Over time, we have given a few gifts, meals and at one stage a new adults bike for the girl, and I guess that we portray as "rich" people, as are most bules in Indonesian eyes.
This morning we have received a text (from the mobile that we gave) telling us that when the child was born, the couple borrowed some money from "a woman", who now wanted repaying, and could we give or lend? (have not seen text myself but I guess that give/lend is the same thing) 1 million rupe to help out.
This presents us with something of a dilema.
To start with, in the cultural sense, this is not something that we would normally expect to be confronted with by a non family member.
Secondly, we want to continue with our friendship, but feel that this is going to impact no matter which way we go.
Thirdly, if we were to go with the request, how long would would it be to "request #2"!!
We will want to handle this with some sensitivity, and perhaps some sort of compromise is the go.
I would appreciate constructive comment from people understanding, and perhaps some experience, of Balinese / Indonesian culture, and maybe how YOU would handle this.