From Bali to Holland, with love

From Bali to Holland, with love

Rachel Greaves, Contributor, Kerobokan, Bali

One morning in October 2000, Jebeh Nyoman Yanti was walking along
Sanur Beach, as she did every morning with her friends, looking
for customers to attract to the market stalls.

Little did the 20-year-old Balinese beach vendor know that
this would be the day that would change her life forever.

On the beach Jebeh met Tjeerd and Jenny Hoekstra, a middle-
aged Dutch couple, enjoying their second holiday in Bali. Jebeh
smiled at the visitors but didn't stop because she was on her way
to get some breakfast.

Then something -- maybe "the gods" -- told her to go back and,
sparked by an equally astonishing intuition, Tjeerd and Jenny
decided to invite her to a restaurant.

Tjeerd's first question to Jebeh was, "What is your dream in
life?" to which Jebeh replied, quite candidly, "I want to study".
Tjeerd and his wife looked at one another and knew immediately
that this was going to be a day that would also change their
lives.

Over the remainder of their holiday, Tjeerd and Jenny
befriended Jebeh. Struck by the Balinese girl's outgoing
personality, intelligence and thirst for knowledge, they swapped
addresses. When they returned to Holland they exchanged numerous
letters in the post and arranged for Jebeh to telephone them, via
collect calls, every month.

Long talks followed, despite the fact that Jebeh's English was
limited. The couple returned to Bali in May 2001 bringing a
second-hand laptop computer to encourage Jebeh to correspond with
them by e-mail.

Educating Jebeh

It was surprise visit, but to their amazement Jebeh was
waiting for them at their hotel with flowers, having dreamed the
night before that they were coming. The goal of this holiday was
to discuss the possibility of educating Jebeh in Holland; they
had already made enquiries about a four-year hospitality
management Bachelor program at CHN University, Leeuwarden,
suitable for foreign students and held in English.

Tjeerd and Jenny had shown copies of Jebeh's school
certificates to the principal and had been told she was almost
certainly capable, but would need to pass the International
English Language Test System (IELTS) test to be eligible.

Jebeh's parents were proud that these foreigners wanted to
help and take care of their daughter. They survived on a meager
income from their small warung, selling cigarettes, beer, soft
drinks, cake and snacks.

They didn't even own a fridge and had to fetch blocks of ice
by motorbike in order to keep the drinks cool: They certainly
could not afford any education fees.

Meanwhile, to Tjeerd and Jenny, with no children of their own,
the brave-spirited Jebeh was already beginning to feel like a
daughter.

In January 2002, Tjeerd and Jenny paid for Jebeh to take a
three-month English course in Bali with 18 other local students.
In between her studies, Jebeh fulfilled her duties at home,
waking at 6 a.m. to do her share of the housework, while at the
same time maintaining her beach job and doing an evening stint at
the warung; she still managed to come top of her class!

Two months later, she passed her IELTS test with sufficient
marks to be accepted on a preparation course in Holland which, if
successfully accomplished, would qualify her for university.

The arrangements were made and, in June 2002, Tjeerd flew back
to Bali to collect Jebeh. He brought with him a videotape player
for Jebeh's family, so that he could send them homemade tapes of
her progress.

The Balinese family filled the table with food and made him
very welcome, and then they all went to the airport to see Jebeh
off to her new life. It was very emotional for everyone, but
Tjeerd promised that he and Jenny would take Jebeh back to Bali
every year for a holiday.

Adapting to the West

Although nervous, Jebeh was amazed by her first plane journey
and the banner and balloon reception at Amsterdam. She now had
two-and-a-half months to get used to life in the tiny twin-
villages of Oppenhuizen & Uitwellingerga before beginning her
course.

At first, she found the food very strange; she didn't like
cheese and only enjoyed eating bread with chocolate.

Nevertheless, the plucky 22-year-old embraced her new
challenges, and proved to be very good at adjusting to wearing
shoes, drinking tapwater, riding a bicycle on the specially
designed cycle paths and stopping at red traffic lights.

She was touched by how friendly everybody was in the village,
and fascinated by the black-and-white dairy cows that were milked
and fed by machines. She appreciated the dishwasher and relished
hot baths.

Jebeh did her nine-month preparation course with 23 other
foreigners; only five passed. Jebeh was the only one accepted for
the International Hospitality Management course and won an award
for being the best student.

Meanwhile, she had to adapt to her first cold winter: She
learned to ice-skate on the frozen canal, went skiing in Austria,
and enjoyed the warmth of a traditional wood-burning stove.

During Jebeh's first year of International Hospitality
Management she passed all the modules and was the only one in her
group to achieve the propedeuse (certificate for the foundation
year).

Last October, she learned that she had earned a scholarship of
2000 euros. Only two students won this; Jebeh was the second-best
of 900 international students. She can hardly believe that she is
doing so well in a course that appears to be one of the finest of
its kind in the world, studying subjects that include tourism,
retail management and teacher training.

Helping those back home

Ever mindful of her roots, Jebeh has also been involved in
fundraising efforts for the education of the children of a remote
Balinese mountain village, Cegi. Ever since learning that Jebeh's
father originated from this village, Tjeerd and Jenny have
inspired their local community in Holland to raise over 25,000
euros for the East Bali Poverty Project.

The funds have been used to build two schools, and to sponsor
the entire 2005 education program for Cegi. This also initiated
an exchange program between the children of Cegi and the Dutch
children of the Oppenhuizen & Uitwellingerga elementary school.

The youngsters exchange stories and drawings, and Jebeh
translates their letters, thereby creating awareness about the
simple and harsh lives of the Balinese mountain children.

Jebeh's Balinese smile cheers all of the customers at the
sports complex where she works part-time. Her earnings have
enabled her parents to complete their new house and she is paying
for her younger brother's education.

She is fluent in English and Dutch, and speaks the Frisian
dialect while regularly impressing her Dutch family and friends
with sumptuous Balinese feasts.

Tjeerd and Jenny cannot now imagine life without her: She is
so self assured, they say. Asking Jebeh what it feels like to
have two families, she replies, "I've got a lot of love".

Sometimes she still gets scared that she might disappoint her
new family, but Tjeerd smiles. "She could never disappoint us
because we see just hardworking and ambitious she is. So far,
there have never been any misunderstandings or disagreements; she
brings so much joy and happiness to our house.

"If we had to do it all over again, with a snap of our
fingers, we would."