THE BALI CHILDRENS PROJECT

High fees and little income mean Balinese children from the poorest families regularly drop out of school. Without funds to support their education, children do not finish high school. Based on government statistics, 17.84% of children will not graduate from senior high school - this equates to two out of ten children.

The temptation to drop out of school is amplified when considering many families have little choice but to stop paying school fees and send their children directly into work. Our sponsorship program pays fees for children from the poorest families to stay in school.

It literally changes lives, helping children to grow up to realize their dreams. Sponsors are made up of caring people from around the world.

You can become a sponsor too for a donation of $40 a month.

As most of the children supported by Bali Children’s Project are from poor families, most are also missing out on the basics of life at home.

Many children sleep with no mattress or covers. Some have to walk miles to get to school. Other children cannot even afford lunch money for healthy food. With donations for Quality of Life, we are able to give essential home comforts such as mattresses, duvets and pillows.

We donate bikes to children who need them and pay for food costs too.

Bali Children's Project encounters many children in need of support to access school. School backpacks are given to children who are on our sponsorship waiting list to at least help them to start school while waiting for a sponsor to support long term costs.

Why ?
Most children we come across are in desperate need. Many families cannot afford to buy school supplies, uniforms, bags, shoes. Without these basic materials, children are unable to start school. Their dreams of an education & a future are lost before they have begun.

School backpacks remove entry barriers and enable children to start school.

For some, it can be as simple as giving them the basic equipment & materials needed to start school. While these children still may need sponsorship later on, giving a school entry backpack is the solution for helping children with costs.

A school backpack includes:
– 3 uniforms
– 1 pair of black school shoes
– A school backpack
– School supplies

There are many under equipped schools in Bali – especially those for early years. Poor families cannot afford the luxury of private well equipped pre-schools. While there is a growing number of well equipped pre schools, there are also many which lack support.

There are many schools that have been set up to serve young children in the local community, that do not qualify for support. These schools lack the resources, equipment and materials to provide effective early stage education.

Providing Supplies and Materials

Many preschools and kindergartens that exist in poorer areas struggle with minimal supplies.

Many schools are left bare, with little books, equipment or learning materials for children.

After firstly identify the schools in need, we create a list of needs and try our best to provide the schools with all they need.

From April 2016 until June 2018, Bali Children's Project have built or renovated 15 schools in Bali.

Elementary and high schools in Bali are run mainly by the government. As a formality, each school will have a library building and books donated.

However, there often is no infrastructure or training in how to run a library. With no training or operational structure to libraries, many are poorly run and have fallen intro disrepair.

Bali Children’s Project’s Libraries Support Program aims to make these libraries functional.

Through renovating and reequipping libraries, the program is bringing a new kind of library to Bali’s youth.

Bright and engaging, the libraries are immediately more interesting places for children to learn.

Bali Children’s Project’s Child Protection program was launched in 2016, with the aim to help children understand and react to abuse.

Like many other countries in the world, children in Bali aren’t always protected from abuse, which can manifest in many forms.

While there is support to help children suffering abuse, cases often go unreported, because children are not educated to respond properly.

The workshops aim to equip children and communities with knowledge and signs of abuse. In providing this key information, children can be better equipped to avoid and react.

Working through videos, engaging role play activities and information sessions, the workshops are popular with children and their school faculties. Special guests from local police and child protection authorities also participate, helping to deliver the program.

Take home materials, including posters with key messages developed by child psychologist Mandy Braeur, serve as reference materials for children in future.

Through delivering these simple messages (for example identifying ‘stranger danger’), we can achieve our goal in raising awareness amongst young children.

Ultimately, this will decrease the numbers of children suffering from abuse.