In Reply to: Next time you are in Bali, contact me posted by CharlieBaliBear on Sunday, 1. February 2009 at 14:40 Bali Time:
While i understand many people struggle to raise the money for a hoilday to bali only to be besieged by persons asking for money, i think it is improtatn to put it all into perspective:
1 if you have a car you are in the top 2% of wealthy persons in the world
2 if you have a house you are in the top 1%
Many of those who try to seel to you around the tourist areas, while poor by our standards are not poor by theirs (one of my favorite songs is one written by a baslinese local - mr dolphin in lovina - called the lovina hustle - that goes through all the ways the hustlers try to get money from you) they are just dooing their job like australian salespeople but a different slant.
The real ppor in Bali are found in the slums and villages - old folks who are too sick to work and have no family to support them etc. if you are really interested i can send you pics or direct you people who can introduce you to the poor bali! Far some of these people a couple of hundred dollars in the right organisations hands can support them for a year!
I think that amongst our struggles to pay the mortgage, we forget how well off we are sometimes - for this reason i not only give but also take my children to meet these people so they can see just how lucky they are!
If you really want to do something to help i amongst many others can tell you where to give your money to get maximum benifit - At no charge!!!:) - $100 can make a huge difference!
-End of rant!!:)