Friday 14th August
Once again we woke up early this morning. Mark, Steve, Dave and Jaimee enjoyed a walk along the beach watching the sun rise. I awoke with a sore throat which felt as though it was swollen and was feeling generally lousy. David treated us to a great breakfast of bacon and eggs overlooking the beach. The girls tried out the pool while I retreated to the villa to rest and upload photos while typing up the accounts of our first few days. Made was due to pick us up at 10am to head to the hot springs and into Singaraja to purchase some things we needed for the Distribution day on Saturday. By mid morning there was no Made and I received a call to say he needed to go to the village first and would come in the afternoon. Mark and the girls headed off for a walk to explore Lovina a bit. At about lunch time we received a text from Made saying he needed to take his dad to a doctor in Singaraja and asking if we could get another driver from the hotel to take us. As I was feeling rather low I took the opportunity to continue to vege out while Mark and Jaimee headed next door for some lunch and Caitlin had a nap. After lunch Mark and Jaimee went for a walk along the beach. Jaimee stepped on a sea urchin so the staff proceeded to take care of her. I ducked down stairs to check that she was ok and found the staff hitting the injured area with a hammer. I had a chuckle at this but was assured that the barb needed to be broken and all would be fine. Jaimee just enjoyed having them fussing over her. As all appeared to be under control I once again retreated upstairs and continued to do what I had been doing all day so far which was very little. The girls were more than happy to utilize the pool and make the most of a relaxing day. The footy was on tonight so Steve and Dave sat with David and watched the crows game while Mark, the girls and myself headed into the main street of Lovina and had dinner at Kakatua. The meals were nice however once again the service was quite slow due to so many dinners. After dinner we headed back to Dolphin Apartments and settled in to watch a DVD before having an early night in preparation for a big day tomorrow.
Saturday 15th August
This morning we were all up early to get organized for the Distribution day. We were also checking out of the Dolphin Apartments this morning. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the apartments. The kids felt really special to know that they would be the only kids allowed to stay here as they will be child free accommodation.
After enjoying another fantastic breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked by David on the BBQ we were picked up by Made's cousin Gede. Made was spending time at the hospital with his wife as she had been involved in a motorbike accident a few days before we arrived. She had broken her wrist and required surgery which was done a couple of days ago. With the car loaded up we headed to Singaraja where we needed to purchase some prizes for the games which we would hold in the village today. We stopped at a little toy store in the main part of Singaraja. Although the staff here did not speak English between the bits of Indo Caitlin and I can speak between us we were able to make the necessary purchases. From here it was another 30 min drive to reach Bontihing.
We arrived in Bontihing at about 9.45am where it was a quick stop at Made's parents' home to say hello and await the Rotarians from the Sanur club to arrive. It was only a few minutes before they arrived and we then headed to the village arena to start the day's activities. As with previous years, as soon as the kids saw us arriving there were cheers and clapping from the very excited kids.
The small truck which had bought up the supplies for the day was unloaded and preparations were made for the first game of the day. Each year we play this game which I refer to as greasy pole as it is a popular game with the kids. It involves a trunk of a bamboo plant which has a ring at the top from which prizes such as pencil boxes, envelopes with Rp10 000, toy cars, dolls etc are hung from it. The kids have to work as a team to reach the prizes at the top. It is fantastic to watch the kids working together and eventually reaching the rewards. As the pole is quite greasy at first and the poles are quite high it takes some time for the kids to finally reach the top. It is amazing to see the kids climbing the pole. There is no way kids in Australia could be enticed to do this.
Once the first activity was completed we had a lunch break at about 11.00am. Some local ladies in the village are employed to make enough lunches for all the kids, teachers and visiting Rotarians including us. There are about 600 kids so this is a huge task however they always manage to supply a nutritious lunch of rice, pork or chicken and a local vegetable dish. Each person receives a portion of lunch wrapped in a cone of brown paper. Many of the children however save their lunches and then take them home at the end of the day which then feeds the entire family. The children are also supplied with an aqua as well as a small carton of indo milk. Many of them rarely have the opportunity to drink milk so we supply one each as a treat for them on this day.
This year we decided to supply each child with a toothbrush and toothpaste to encourage oral hygiene. This also ensures that every child receives something on the day and not just the children who have been sponsored. Last year we supplied every child with a hat which were donated by my boss in Adelaide and the year prior we had some t-shirts printed with the Educated Smiles Project logo for the kids. It was great to see some of the kids wearing their t-shirts which they had received 2 years ago. The kids were all very excited to receive their toothbrushes and toothpaste. This was great for my 2 daughters to be reminded of how these children appreciate the smallest of things.
It was now time for the 2nd activity of the day which was a tunnel ball competition. This was a new game for the local children so a demonstration was required which was done by myself, Mark, Caitlin, Jaimee, Steve and Dave. The local kids found it very entertaining to watch us demonstrating how to play the game. Each school had 10 children (5 girls & 5 boys) to represent their school. We had 2 schools compete and then the other 2 schools. The winners of these games then went through to compete against each other to determine the winning team. Each member of the winning team received a prize. We gave the boys a soccer ball and the girls received a skipping rope.
With the activities concluded it was now time to distribute the school packs to the sponsored children. There are currently 54 kids sponsored between the 4 schools. As a child completes primary school the sponsorship is then transferred to another needy child from the same school. Jaimee had the honour of handing out the first group of school kits. She enjoyed doing this however after some time became overwhelmed by all the kids staring at her all day. We tried to explain that the kids were fascinated by her however as it was so hot in the village and she was becoming tired by this time she needed some time to retreat away from the action. Mark took her into the village chief's office so she could regroup before joining us again.
With all the school packs distributed we had the opportunity for the girls to meet the 2 children we personally sponsor. We had bought them both a small gift of a stuffed koala and a book of Australian animals which included fantastic colour photos and information. Jaimee was very excited to give them their gifts. We had some photos of our family with the children that we will have printed before leaving and send back up to the village to the kids. Steve and Dave both sponsor a child each and also had the opportunity to meet their sponsored child and take some photos.
I had purchased about 1000 exercise books from Office Works a couple of years ago at 1cent each. Although most of them had been bought over previously we still had a few hundred left which we brought with us this time and equally distributed to the 4 school headmasters for use in the school.
Distribution day had now drawn to a close at about 1pm and the children were now making their way home. We had once again had a fantastic day with the kids. This was the first distribution day that Mark , Caitlin, Jaimee, Steve and Dave had attended and all were thrilled to have been a part of it. It was especially nice to share this day with my kids and give them another reality check on how lucky they are to have the lives they have.
We took some time to tour all 4 schools so that Steve, Dave and myself could assess the needs of each school for future planning. After another quick stop at Made's parents' home for a cold drink and the chance for the girls to catch up with his sister, Ketut, we set off on the long journey back to Sanur. We did a stop off at Crackers Bar and Grill at Candi Kuning markets for a toilet break, some food and a drink and a chance to break up the trip a bit. We finally arrived back at Sanur Beach Villas at about 6.30pm. The Sanur Village Festival was on so the previously tranquil spot had suddenly become very busy with cars, motorbikes and people which was accompanied by loud music being blasted through the PA system. Mark and the girls were exhausted so headed off to bed at about 9pm however with all the formalities of the trip out the way for me it was now time to relax and enjoy a few drinks under the tree of knowledge. It was sometime after 3am that I finally crawled into bed for a well over due sleep.
More to come
Balibabe