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Giving Back ...

Opportunities to Suport Indonesian Social Welfare Efforts

“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.

Yayasan Usaha Mulia - The Foundation for Noble Work (YUM) is a non-profit organization established in 1975 that works to empower children, families and communities in Indonesia to lift themselves out of poverty. YUM is a registered charity in Indonesia and works in Cipanas (West Java) and Bukit Batu (Central Kalimantan), assisting the community with a range of Health, Education and Community Development projects for over 15,000 beneficiaries. The target population of YUM’s projects are individuals (of all ages, religion, gender and ethnicity) and families living under poverty. The projects run by YUM use a holistic approach in providing services to those in need, starting from basic health and nutrition for babies and toddlers, educational activities from early childhood to vocational skills for vulnerable youths, women empowerment through skills training, strengthening family livelihood through food security and providing access to basic needs such as clean water and sanitation. You can also support our projects by ordering fresh organic vegetables from our farm: www.yumorganicfarm.com. All profits from your purchase go back to assisting the community. (11/23)

YKIP (Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi or the Humanitarian Foundation for Mother Earth) was founded six days after the 2002 Bali bomb blasts. Originally set up to assist in the recovery efforts in immediate aftermath of the bombing, YKIP’s mission has expanded to span a diverse range of educational programs for which the works are still dedicated to the memory of the victims both overseas and local. Each year YKIP through its four main programs is sponsoring around 500 children from elementary to high school (KEMBALI), vocational studies (VES) and university (UNI) for the orphans and disadvantaged children from poor families; and providing scholarship to those who lost a parent or who had permanently injured parent during the Bali bombing through KIDS program. (11/23)

Yayasan Peduli Anak is a non‐profit organization that fights for the rights of street children and underprivileged children in Indonesia by providing shelter, education, medical support, advocacy and family care programs. Peduli Anak Foundation was founded by Chaim Fetter and his childhood friend, almost 10 years ago. When the founder was traveling through the rural areas of Indonesia in 2005, he was confronted with the lives of street children. Moved by the harsh conditions under which they grew up and the lack of opportunities towards a better life and future, he decided to make a difference. He gave up his life in the Netherlands, moved to Indonesia and started Peduli Anak based on Lombok. With three children's homes, nursery, primary school and high school, vocational school, cooking facility, recreational areas, health clinic, and other supporting facilities, Peduli Anak is now he largest Child Development Center on the island of Lombok. However, we need more help! Chaim hopes and dreams of opening a second Peduli Anak in another location. His mission is to make a difference to the lives of even more underprivileged children. But he cannot do this alone, therefore Peduli Anak is always looking for partners (individuals, friends, companies) that wish to join this mission. Join us!

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.

Yayasan Wisma Cheshire provides life altering opportunities for people with disabilities to obtain job skills in Jakarta. Through their training facilities paraplegics are trained to improve and sharpen their English, computer, administration and also opportunity to have vocational training in handicraft and wood 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.

The Learning Farm aims to enable vulnerable Indonesian youth to become economically self-sufficient, capable, and productive members of their communities through participation in a 100-day residential training program where they learn about organic farming, enterprise development, and a number of other valuable life skills. Through organic farming, TLF is able to transform participants’ values, outlook, and expectations of self and community and to equip them with tangible, marketable skills whilst working and participating in a purposeful, communal environment. You can support our program by sponsoring a number of youth, sponsoring the alumni program, or sponsoring some facility refurbishment. If you want to learn basic organic farming you can participate our weekend course called Edible Backyards Course. Please visit our website for more information of our program.

XSProject 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.

Yayasan Gunungan was founded in 2006 in Solo, Central Java, and runs a Children’s Refuge in the city center providing orphaned and neglected children with a stable and loving home together with a variety of extra-curricular activities. Plans are underway to hopefully build and relocate to a small Children's Village in the countryside just outside the city. Yayasan Gunungan is dedicated to supporting and educating those suffering the worst hardship and distress, by giving them opportunities to enhance their lives and thereby help themselves.

Yayasan Balita Sehat or Foundation for Mother and Child Health Indonesia was formed to assist the low-income families in the kampung near Kemang. Yayasan Bali Sehat has expanded its worthy work to other neighborhoods, providing early childhood education, mobile library, feeding program and medical care for children, and job training for mothers. See how you can help ... a little goes a long way.

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. The ANZA Social Welfare Committee is made up of a group of local and expatriate volunteers (ANZA members) who dedicate time and effort to provide much needed assistance to the impoverished and underprivileged in Jakarta and, to a lesser extent, others areas in Indonesia. This is achieved through regular, monthly funding of local charitable foundations as well the provision of one-off assistance in response to requests received. Much is also accomplished through the committee’s student and medical sponsorship programs and orphanage social support/play programs.

The John Fawcett Foundation/Yayasan Kemanusiaan Indonesia has been working in Indonesia since 1991 providing free cataract surgeries to poor people. Since that time over 38,000 people who cannot afford the medical treatment to restore their sight have been provided with free operations. In addition the Foundation provides free corrective cleft lips and palates surgery for children from poor families and runs an educational assistance program for children whose parents cannot afford to keep them in school. In 2006 Yayasan Kemanusiaan Indonesia was awarded the status of Best Humanitarian Foundation in Indonesia with particular reference to its high level of management and administration, and in 2008 John Fawcett received a national award for his outstanding humanitarian work. The Foundation relies on donations to run its programs.

Role Foundation, based in Nusa Dua, Bali was established in 2007. Since then ROLE (Rivers, Oceans, Lands and Ecology) Foundation has provided free education for women, 450 of which have no received gainful employment, as well as sustainability Education for children and adults and Managed Eco-Assistance Projects to alleviate poverty and create a sustainable future for all. Our ultimate goal is gender equality in Bali and an a island-wide awareness of the need to keep Bali beautiful. Funding is most urgently required for the women’s education program, where you can sponsor a student, help cover the cost of her books, or support the building of a new recycling center in Bali. For more information please visit our website.

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

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

Last updated November 27, 2023