Humanitarian projects ease agony of the poor in Bali<\/p>\n
Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Sanur<\/p>\n
Seven-year old Komang was burned in a house fire some years ago
\nin his hometown in one of the most impoverished villages in East
\nBali. The right side of his body was burned so badly, that his
\nharm was fused to his torso.<\/p>\n
It was really a miracle that he survived the fire. But, his
\nprevious cheerful childhood vanished as he could do nothing but
\ncry miserably with no respite from the pain. His destitute
\nparents were unable to take him to a doctor.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, they made their way to the Australian-based John
\nFawcet Foundation, a humanitarian and non-profit organization
\ndealing with community-based health activities on the island of
\nBali.<\/p>\n
They were very lucky to have met a visiting plastic surgeon,
\nDr. Tim Cooper from Perth, who then operated on Komang to return
\nhis arm to its normal position.<\/p>\n
The Foundation set up a set of Roman rings in the yard of
\nKomang's house for him to exercise his arm and keep the skin from
\ncontracting. Komang now has full use of his arm again.<\/p>\n
Komang also received donations so he could return to school,
\nfrom the foundation's Primary School Children Assistance.<\/p>\n
Komang is only one of thousands of other poor children and
\nteenagers in Bali who have had to go through difficult periods
\nbut regained new and fulfilling lives with the support of this
\nfoundation.<\/p>\n
Established in l991, the John Fawcet Foundation set up its
\nIndonesian affiliation as Yayasan Kemanusiaan Indonesia (The
\nIndonesian Humanitarian Foundation) located in the Sanur area.<\/p>\n
In the eyes of millions of tourists, Bali seems like a
\ntropical paradise. But it is a paradise that some 1.7 percent of
\nits 3 million population cannot see because of half or full
\nblindness.<\/p>\n
\"The prosperous tourist island actually has a dark part in
\nwhich thousands of its people are extremely poor and unaffected
\nby the glitter of the tourist industry,\" explained Penny Lane, an
\nexecutive officer of the foundation.<\/p>\n
The majority of poor Balinese families are faced with the
\nheart-breaking fact that they cannot afford to save their own
\nchild's life.<\/p>\n
There have been cases where a child in need of a simple
\nappendectomy, has died because the parents had no money to pay
\nfor the operation or medical treatment.<\/p>\n
\"We are here to prevent such tragedies, our programs are
\nspecifically intended to help these needy people by paying for
\nall treatment costs for children who would otherwise die or whose
\nquality of life would be severely diminished because their
\nfamilies cannot afford medical treatment,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Among the foundation's \"giving hope\" services are free surgery
\nfor cataract, cleft lips and palates.<\/p>\n
The cataract surgery is one of the longest-running of its many
\nservices. It has been going on since 1991 when the foundation
\nstarted the Sight Restoration and Blindness Prevention Program.<\/p>\n
It started with a mobile eye clinic to reach the most remote
\nvillages, and in 1996, in cooperation with a local health office,
\nestablished the Community Eye Center in Denpasar, using a former
\nleprosy hospital.<\/p>\n
\"Surgically, a cataract operation is simple and costs only
\n(US$35). However, for a Balinese villager, it is financially
\nimpossible. An operation would cost a year's income for a farming
\nfamily. If Balinese people begin to lose their sight, they
\nliterally can't afford to do anything about it,\" she said.<\/p>\n
For the cleft lips and palates surgery, the foundation, in
\ncooperation with the Rotary Club, make use of government
\nhospitals in Bali to give free services.<\/p>\n
The foundation often invites volunteer consultants from
\nAustralia and also from other countries to share their experience
\nand knowledge with local medical workers.<\/p>\n
After the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombing, the Foundation
\ncooperated with Bali Hati to help the victims obtain treatment in
\nvarious hospitals in Australia.<\/p>\n
Funding seems to be one of the challenging hurdles to the
\nfoundation's mission in Bali. Therefore, no less than the founder
\nJohn Fawcet himself took the lead in fund-raising.<\/p>\n
When visiting the foundation's office in Sanur last week,
\nFawcet was seen busy making phone calls to seek assistance from
\nhis global contacts for the poor Balinese.<\/p>\n
\"I have good news, one organization will donate 40 hospital
\nbeds, each worth about ($2,800),\" Fawcet smiled brightly. \"My
\nstaff and I here work like beggars asking for help from anyone in
\nthe world. And I am very content to do that as long as the poor
\nhere can get what they need,\" he commented.<\/p>\n
\"We often ask Australians in their country or those visiting
\nBali to join the foundation's Primary School Assistance program
\nby donating A$100 to $200 per child per year to help these needy
\nchildren in school,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We ask individuals, organizations, companies to also take
\npart in our programs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
More coming to Bali for good<\/p>\n
While about 280,000 Australians visit Bali every year as
\ntourists, some Australians have come to the island and have been
\nresiding here for many years to dedicate themselves to the well-
\nbeing of the impoverished Balinese.<\/p>\n
There are a number of humanitarian organizations and
\nphilanthropic individuals whose compassion runs beyond race,
\nculture and religion.<\/p>\n
Brent Hall, Australian Consul General for Bali and West Nusa
\nTenggara provinces, estimated that there were about 5,000
\nAustralians now residing in the two provinces, the majority in
\nBali, coming from diverse professional backgrounds such as
\nbusinesspeople, artists, designers, sportsmen and women,
\nteachers, exchange students and committed people involved in
\nvarious humanitarian activities.<\/p>\n
\"Bali has become a second home to many Australians. Once they
\nfell in love with the island and its people, they would likely
\nvisit here frequently and even stay here for certain period of
\ntime. A lot of Australians have visited Bali for more than 10
\ntimes and many of them have stayed here for 15 to 20 years,\" Hall
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
\"The John Fawcet Foundation is one of the many humanitarian
\norganizations that have been reaching the poorest groups of the
\nBalinese population to enable them get access to medical
\nfacilities, education and other basic needs,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/humanitarian-projects-ease-agony-of-the-poor-in-bali-1447893297",
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