Giving Back ...

“I always saw my involvement with Social Welfare as a chance for me to give something back to the Indonesian people. I loved my years in Indonesia and gained so much from my many experiences during our time there.”

Many expats enjoy a prosperous lifestyle while residing in Indonesia. Their companies take care of paying for their housing, transportation, utilities, medical insurance, and even household staff. In addition many receive incentive pay for living overseas and tax reduction benefits. Yet all around us, many Indonesians live in utter poverty, due to the lack of opportunities to improve their lives. We expats are where we are today because of the opportunities we have had access to and been able to take advantage of in our lives.

Recognizing this disparity ... many expats, and their multinational employers, are heavily involved, either personally or financially, in many projects around Indonesia to provide life-changing opportunities to those in need. Time and time again we hear of expats who are “Giving back” ... sharing some of the bounty that is the result of the many opportunities they were giving in life in order to give back to those Indonesians in need.

Below we feature some of the projects that would welcome your support. Contact the projects direct for more information.

YayasanCIMD is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with an educational and social purpose and helps the poor families and orphans in Bali. Educational: CIMD not only focuses for children but also gives the young adults and adults the opportunity for education. Supporting children with sponsorship to continue their education, follow up on each sponsor child personally, opportunities for children with learning problems and organizing an extra program available for all the children from the community. Social: CIMD gives a chance for decent medical treatment. Medical programs based on the actual needs; efficient and adequate. Nutrition deficiency with baby's and children asks for our special attention. Reorientation and rehabilitation for persons with special needs becomes a very important aspect for CIMD. (8/09

Yayasan Goodwill International is a registered Indonesian charity which gives multi-year scholarships to 100+ of the brightest and most needy future leaders. Students are selected from Indonesia's top two public universities, the Bandung Institute of Techology (ITB) and the University of Indonesia (UI). Our mission is to provide financial assistance, training, care, resources and advice to young Indonesians and in doing so give them a chance to lead and serve their communities and their country. As of June 2009, the scholarship program has given some 455 disadvantaged, bright and motivated students the means to graduate, and 356 of them have already graduated with a degree. Almost all graduates find good jobs due to their high degree of motivation, networking shills, job hunting advice, and interview training. It costs about Rp 6 million to sponsor one student for one year. Please contact us to see who still needs a sponsor today! 6/09

Wisma Cheshire provides life altering opportunities for the handicapped to obtain job skills in Indonesia. Through their training facilities paraplegics are trained to build beautiful doll houses and other crafts, which are sold in The Red Feather Shop. Visit soon and find out more about these remarkable efforts to give hope to those in need. 4/09

The Learning Farm / Karang Widya Foundation provides non-formal education, life skills, organic farming and entrepreneurial training to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds ages 16-24 who want to change their lives for the better. We accept approximately 30 youth at a time for a five-month residential training program in Maleber, Cipanas, West Java. Youth learn discipline, teamwork, critical thinking, hygiene and health. We work with alumni to open their own organic enterprises. Other youth go back to school, find work or are reunited with their families. The Learning Farm markets its organic produce direct to the customer with provide door to door delivery service to Jakarta, Bogor, and Sentul. All proceeds go to support program activities. 4/09

Yayasan Gunungan Orphanage and Relief Center - The principal focus of Yayasan Gunungan is the relief of suffering for destitute, abandoned and abused children in Indonesia, through the provision of orphanage and related facilities. The Organisation runs a children’s home and undertakes varied social projects in and around the city of Solo. Plans are underway to build and operate a Relief Complex in the countryside just outside the city. The main buildings at the complex will be orphanage ‘family houses’, while additional buildings will act as support to the orphanage’s activities, including a school, farm, and work training facilities. Contact us and find out how you can help. 4/09

Rahmania Foundation Noted for its scholarship work with underprivileged children in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Jogjakarta, and Aceh, the foundation assists in providing funds for abandoned, orphaned and needy children so that they may attend school. 4/09

Children Of Bali is a charity based in the United Kingdom that helps children in Bali with their education all the way from junior to senior school, and beyond and maybe university education too. We sponsor them all through their schooling giving them a good start in their lives. This is surely what every child is entitled to have? We will support them with pens, books and other essentials. We will be looking specifically at schools with the greatest needs and concentrate mainly on children who have lost one or both parents. Anybody travelling to Bali on holiday from the UK could get involved with a school that needs help and support. Please contact the Team at Children Of Bali for more information. 5/09

Barong Dance in Bali Bali is known for its talented craftspeople. Yet many in Bali haven't had to opportunity to learn skills which will allow them create products that will sell well. The Barong Dance project is an artisans cooperative that assists villagers in obtaining skills to make handicrafts. Donations to Barong Dance fund development work in the artisans communities, rice paddy acquisition, small loans, medical care, cow husbandry and more. The efforts of Barong Dance are helping the impoverished people of Bali to earn a living so that they can provide for their families and contribute to their village. 6/09

Foundation for Noble Work – (Yayasan Usaha Mulia - YUM) has been working for over 33 years to provide Indonesia’s poor and destitute with access to opportunities and services otherwise beyond their reach. Through the delivery of a range of projects in the fields of health, education and community development across Indonesia, YUM is helping people in need throughout the country to create a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities. YUM is a registered Indonesian charity that is an associate member of Susila Dharma International, an organisation that has 501c3 status in USA. For US tax benefits, donations can be made to YUM via Susila Dharma USA. YUM is currently seeking sponsors and partners to assist in the future development of the organization and its projects. 7/09

YKIP (Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi or the Humanitarian Foundation for Mother Earth) was founded six days after the 2002 Bali bomb blasts. The immediate mission at that time was emergency relief, but since that time, a number of projects in the fields of health and education have been implemented. YKIP has committed itself to paying for the education of the children of the direct bomb victims through university. Our KEMBALI scholarship program now funds children from kindergarten to university and in 2009-2010 we are sponsoring over 550 students. Hearing impaired children are assisted by providing them with used hearing aids and batteries. We have installed the first ever Universal Infant Screening program at three hospitals in Bali and have a playgroup and kindergarten for the Hearing Impaired in Denpasar. YKIP acts as a donor agency for other local foundations in Bali, such as YAKEBA, YPK, YRS, YAKKUM and EBPP. 6/09

ANZA Social Welfare Activities The Australian and New Zealand Association (ANZA) is a non-profit organization committed to welcoming and assisting expatriates living in Indonesia. As goodwill ambassadors for Australia and New Zealand, ANZA members show compassion toward and contribute practical assistance to disadvantaged people in the Indonesian community through the work of the ANZA Social Welfare committee.

Yayasan Balita Sehat Formed to assist the children in a Kemang kampung, Yayasan Bali Sehat has expanded its worthy work to other neighborhoods, providing education, feeding programs and medical care for children, and job training for mothers. See how you can help ... a little goes a long way!

Encompass Trust - Daniel Braden from Brighton, was one of 202 people killed when terrorists detonated three bombs in Bali on the night of October 12, 2002. He loved life with a passion and was in the Sari nightclub celebrating with his rugby team, the Taipei Baboons the night that he was killed. Determined that something positive should come from such a senseless act, his family and long-term partner, Jun Hirst, established Encompass Trust. Encompass - the Daniel Braden Reconciliation Trust, brings young people together from conflict zones around the world to explore issues of cultural understanding and peaceful coexistence. Encompass works extensivly in Indonesia (as well as Israel, the Palestinian Territories, the UK and the USA), having developed a network of contacts in the Islamic State Boarding School and University system. 7/09

XS Project Foundation activities involve large scale design efforts and through recycling, find new ways of using non recyclable waste to create fresh products, reduce trash and provide livelihoods for the poor. XSProject Foundation works across sectors, developing community-specific recycling and environmental awareness programs and innovative product design. All of our programs help raise the quality of life for Jakarta’s trash pickers who live in extreme poverty as well as teaching people life skills at NGOs. The simple pilot projects developed by XSProject Foundation are intended for replication across Indonesia, providing new income opportunities for the poor while reducing the huge, growing volume of trash. 7/09

Yakkum Craft provides income-earning opportunities to physically disabled young adults. YAKKUM Craft markets quality handicrafts made by under the RehabCraft Label. These remarkable efforts are easily supported through the purchase of fine leather and wood crafts. 7/09

Kampung Kids This group is a fantastic example of what the idea of one person can start ... an avalanche of service! This yayasan started with an expat working to improve her neighborhood. She succeeded in growing her programs by garnering wide reaching personal involvement and support within the generous expatriate community. Giving back to your community can focus on the kids that play in your street and live down the alleyways of your neighborhood ... helping to give them a better start on life and their families new opportunities to improve their lives! 7/09

Half of International Humanity Foundation's mission is to educate the poor and the other half is to educate the world about the poor. Our vision is to strive for a world of leaders and citizens who have interacted with, and are truly knowledgeable about the world's poor. We believe in a "pass it on" philosophy where education is free and available for all who seek it. Those of us who have received a free education pass it on by helping others less fortunate by teaching, interacting and learning. With just a few hours a week, our volunteers, children and sponsors are changing the world we live in. IHF is a non-religious, non-political, non-profit organization that strongly believes in an equal opportunity for all and in preserving the cultures, traditions and beliefs of the marginalized communities it works in. Indonesia has IHF centers in Jakarta, Bali, Aceh, and Medan. These centers primarily focus on educating children through the TEP and Class Sponsorship programs with some centers teaching over 400 students. The centers provide an informal place for children from lower economic classes to work with volunteers, which teaches the children to feel comfortable with people from different backgrounds at a young age. Volunteer opportunities are available both as an at-center volunteer, and at home supporting the organization through online tasks. 10/09

If you are personally involved in an Indonesian yayasan that you feel would benefit from exposure on this site, please contact us!

For more information on involvement in social welfare projects in Indonesia, read Women Who Care and Social Accountability.

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