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Looking for help to build a library in Bungaya, Bali

18/7/2015

A Bali teenager named Tyas and I need help to raise money to build a library in one of Bali’s poorest villages.

If you love books, love your local library, love Bali or just like to help people then we need you!!!

I'm working with 13 year old Tyas, who is a student leader at her school in Bali to help raise $5000 so her village of 4000 people can have a library.

My library on the Sunshine Coast has already offered to donate some books so if you are travelling to Bali or know anyone who's coming here please contact the library and bring some with you. I can organise to pick them up from you in Bali.

My school on the Sunshine Coast, Mathew Flinders Anglican College, is also looking at how they can help and if you're reading this and think you could do something to help too, then please contact me.

Below I've copied a letter that I have started to send to all schools, Rotary clubs and library's based on the Sunshine Coast, that tells the full story of this project and why I wanted to help.

If you would like to help then you can email me (sammiwelbourne@gmail.com).

Life in my gang

9/7/2015

Today was a typical day for me here in Bali. Very different to my old life in Australia.

I woke up this morning to a request from mum that I help our house keeper Nyoman who is like a 2nd mum, with a trip to the fruit and meat market in Sanur.

So we flagged down a local taxi, a bemo, which are the green old vans that go up and down the road, and went to the local markets (Pasar Sindu). We only took a few dollars with us because it is very cheap to buy your fruit, vegetables, meat & fish from the local markets and came back with a truck load of the freshest foods.

The markets can be quite confronting at first but I’ve gotten used to them now. You see all sorts of things, from chicken having their necks broken then being plucked and chopped and stall owners cooking fresh pancakes topped with traditional Balinese sauces.

The markets are in a massive shelter and as soon as you walk in you can smell all the mixed smells like sweets and the flesh of animals. There’s hundreds of little shops set up row by row all selling their own specialities. And of course, it is packed with people. At night time it becomes one of my favourite places to eat freshly cooked Bali street food (blog…..)

After we bemo’d home we saw a ceremony in our gang ( a gang is a laneway). Since an old uncle died (blog entry……) our gang has become a construction site and our old house keeper, a new property owner. She is now knocking down some old houses and building new ones. But the houses aren’t like houses in Australia. They are very small, just a few small rooms, usually no windows, no bathrooms or laundries and maybe no running water. And they are built by hand with no equipment used. They do look very flimsy but Bali has 4 earthquakes a day and none have fallen down. The builders have built a little room that will soon be a warung (small shop). However before they start to sell any goods, it must be blessed. So everyone in our gang dressed up in their kabias, gathered around the little shop, the priest was called in, offerings set out & prayers sung.

The next thing I did made me feel quite sad. As I’ve talked about in my blog before, I feed a street dog called Ronnie. Even though he doesn't belong to me I still love him very much and I am the only one he lets pat him. Unfortunately Ronnie is getting old so when I went to feed him today I put the food down in front of him but he didn’t want to eat. BAWA, the Bali equivalent to RSPCA, recently took him for a few days to recover from being so skinny and unwell. However he was dropped back to my gang and was still not very well. Now he has been hit by a car and his front leg broken. This happened 3 days ago and the pain is getting worse for him. He was yelping when I saw him so mum has phoned the BAWA ambulance again and said he needs immediate help. I think they may put him to sleep. I just wish he would have come and lived with us so we could have given him a lot of love for the last part of his life, but he didn’t want to. When our gate closed and he was in our yard he got really scared so we had to let him out.

It’s school holidays here in Bali so while I wait for BAWA to come to help Ronnie I am planning a trip to the Gilli Islands for next week. I have been told the Gilli Islands are very beautiful and unspoilt so stay tuned for the post in the future.

Looking for help to build a library in Bungaya, Bali

Life in my gang

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