We headed off to Singarajah to visit our sponsor children with my dad in charge of the maps and husband at the wheel of the Kijang!! Pelting down with rain and getting lost a couple of times made for a long but interesting trip. We visited the Helen Flavel learning centre in the afternoon where the boarders played their instruments and sang us a beautiful Balinese song. The kids all spoke with us with beautiful english and showed us around the centre. The work done by the centre goes far beyond education. They are helping to built homes for the poorest of families and funding surgeries for children with ailments and disfigurements.
The following day John accompanied us to the school to visit our little girl Ami. Ami lives in a very poor village , but we were pleased to hear that of the 130 students some 30% are sponsored so that they may become educated. Without this sponsorship, these children would not go to school.
We then went to Ami's home to meet her parents . They made us feel very welcome and were very humble. After looking at their modest house (swept to within an inch ) I felt very lucky to live in a country like Australia where education is free and housing and welfare are provided. Our 12 year old son who wants for nothing has seen another world that I hope will make him a more humble human being.
We then visited my parents sponsor child, who is in secondary school. After a visit at the school we went to her family home. My parents had been there before and were welcomed like old friends.
The families we visited reminded me that there is so much more to Bali than the usual, where to eat, how much to pay for a hat etc..
The other side of Bali came roaring home to me the week later while we were watching the sunset on the beach, when one of the little wrist band sellers gave me a kick in the leg and told me to F**k off when I didnt buy one. :( What a little charmer !!