In Reply to: BRAS FOR BALI (PROJECT JUGS UU) posted by cballans on Saturday, 11. October 2014 at 11:57 Bali Time:
..and this is why.
1) Yes, you can buy bras in Bali, but the quality is not as good, and they are expensive (for Balinese women).
2) For a woman in the village a bra costs the equivalent of two or three days wages - and given the choice she will often prefer to buy food for her family and make do with an old bra, make one from scraps or just not wear one.
3) Many of us have friends or family with a few bras in the back of the dresser drawer that are in new or near perfect condition (the ones that never really fit when we get them home). Better they find a good home than end up in the rubbish or off to an opp shop. Actually that is where I find most of my smaller cup bras - for $2 or $3 I can get a brand new/near new elle mcperson bra at the op shop. I also buy trainer bras/camis for the younger girls and some that have no underwire for the women who don't like underwire. Balinese bras are usually lightly padded and the women seem to prefer a little bit of padding rather than gauzy fabrics.
4) They are lightweight and can add a smile to so many faces for relatively little space in the suitcase. I take 50-80 each year with me. I only take new or near-new - nothing worn or tatty.
5) Even if they are too big the enterprising women can reconstruct them into something that fits - nothing is wasted!
And why do I know that they are genuinely appreciated?
When I re-book our hotel on the east coast the staff ask me if I will be bringing bras again this year please.
One woman made a point of giggling and lifting her blouse the next day to show me she was wearing one of the bras I had brought, and another brought me a pineapple to my room to say thank you. She was delighted when I told her how lovely her gift was because pineapples cost 40,000 to 50,000 in my country.
When I offer a bag of clothing and bras to the massage ladies there is a flurry of hands gathering the bras ahead of the other clothing.
One of the women showed me a bra she was already wearing - handmade out of denim fabric - and her obvious delight at having something new was rather moving. (When I was a girl my family had little money for nice clothes, and most of my clothes were second-hand or hand-made so I knew the thrill of something new from a shop, so I understood.
And finally, just some things I have worked out...
Ask all your friends and use your work network too...become known as 'the bra lady' and donations will come your way. Let your local opp shop know what you are doing as some do not re-sell bras that are donated but are happy to give them to someone who can pass them on to where they are useful.
When you hand them over do it discreetly. Balinese have the same sense of pride as we do and no-one wants to feel like they are a charity case. I usually say in Indonesian that they are gifts from my women friends in my country to my women friends in Bali.
We usually give them to the staff at the hotel as we know they take them back to the village, to family and friends, and every bra will find a home. Often staff working in hotels are supporting a whole family back in the village so seeing them as 'lucky because they have a job' does not mean they necessarily have the funds to buy nice bras too.
Don't just take bras. Many of the people in the smaller villages never get to the city, let alone the towns, to buy anything. Fill your near-empty case with clothes. I find that the guys like trendy t-shirts and board shorts, and cotton shirts. The girls like t shirts and blouses and lightweight cardigans and tight leg jeans etc. I try to bring cotton rather than synthetics. Clothes for children and babies are always appreciated. Singlets and gowns and tops are better for babies as they don't wear 'onesies'. Basically, anything will find a home, but please only take things that look new or near-new eg what you would put on yourself or your own family.