In Reply to: About the "street kids" posted by Hillary on Monday, 2. August 2010 at 12:51 Bali Time:
The majority of these children are from Munti Gunung in the Karangasam regency, north eastern Bali. A very poor, dry and arid area. Currently I have one of these "street kids"whom i bought bracelets from 4 years ago, with me in Australia for a 12 week stay.He is experiencing an Australian school while here and i pay for his schooling in Bali. These kids from Munti gunung are well loved children, with extended families who care for them. They are not in a situation where there is a boss who beats them if they don't bring home money. Education is not free in Bali and these people live in abject poverty, see photos on my site; www.balismiles.com and the information contained within will provide some background knowledge of the true situations these children selling are in. Currently i have sponsors from Australia for 8 of these street kids and they are happily attending school, 3 wish to sell after school has finished and they only sell if they want to, the parents don't force them. Sometimes the families need help with rice, rent etc as their source of income is removed.The groups of kids that are really rude are not liked by the Bali kids - they come from other islands, Padang i think they said? Information on the website is relevant to many of the questions posed here and my contact details are there if anyone wants to further chat or discuss this issue as it is a real passion of mine, cheers, jan