In Reply to: rangatira posted by helenb on Sunday, 14. December 2008 at 12:38 Bali Time:
really don't have much.
If you know Lipah Beach ( Coral View, Bayu, Vienna beach hotels ) you drive past the Japanese Wreck ( about 3kms) and you find the road to Tukabase to the right.
The families near the sea are fishermen and make reasonable money but as you go higher the families get poorer.
It's a beautiful valley and at this time of year, green.
The children are special and if you ask the headmaster the older ones may still remember how to sing Waltzing Matilda, which they sang and acted out the story so beautifully for members of the Rotary Club, Mt Martha, Melbourne 3 years ago, who paid for toilets and and fresh water for the school.
Nengah Tara at Sails restaurant is probably the most successful old pupil and he and his wife Anik are passionate about assisting the children to break out of the poverty trap.
We arrange eye testing at these schools and at the first one at Tukabase a member of Seminyak Rotary donated all the old clothes his 5 year old son had ever had- his wife was in Singapore at the time, for distribution!
As a child left the eye testing room the good Wahine and Anik presented each one with a freshly laundered and ironed item of clothing - the eyes shone.
They folded the clothes and put them in their desks.
My eyes had a problem with wetness as they left for their homes with the folded items on their heads.
Very special little kids with almost nothing.