JP/17/AUCT

JP/17/AUCT

Bachelor auction romantic way to raise funds

Evi Mariani
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The hottest bachelor at the charity auction was Alexander
Jovanovic, 43, an Aussie with a pair of hazel-colored eyes, 180
centimeters in height, sexy streaks of gray hair in his wavy,
dark hair and charm that sent the ladies screaming and crooning.

Of the total nine bachelors up for auction, his was the
highest bid, at Rp 3.5 million (US$388). The winner of the
bidding, Miriam, a sexy lady with exotically braided hair, won a
romantic dinner for two with him.

At the same time, with the money she shelled out, she was
helping, maybe, a smart but impoverished university student to
complete his or her studies.

In total, this year's event, organized annually by the Forum
of Executive Women (FEW), raised Rp 20 million from the
auctioning of all nine bachelors, and from ticket fees and
sponsors.

The money will be channeled via Yayasan Goodwill
International, which has been providing help for less well-off
university students at the University of Indonesia and Bogor
Institute of Agriculture since 1999.

"I'm so happy that after all the donations made for tsunami
victims, they are still willing to give for another good cause.
I'm happy that people never seem to tire of giving," Poonam
Sagar, the chairman of FEW, told The Jakarta Post.

Well, it seemed that it was not just she who was happy. The
generous ladies, the volunteering bachelors, Mizue Hara and
Bunbun Guharoy from Goodwill, Goodwill scholarship awardee
Desrini Fatimah, and others in the room all looked happy and had
a lot of fun.

"We raised Rp 60 million from last year's auction. Too many
bachelors up for auction may have caused a reduction in the total
raised this year. Maybe, the women were a bit confused in
deciding whom to choose. Last year, a bachelor received a bid of
as much as Rp 10 million," Poonam said.

The bachelors on auction on Thursday night at Mercantile
Athletic Club comprised a German chef, an Italian university
student, a Canadian investment adviser, an Indian consultant, an
American consultant in public health, an Australian IT managing
director, a Scottish rainforest savior (complete with traditional
kilt and socks), an American security services manager and an
Australian hotel manager.

They paraded on stage one by one as an auctioneer opened the
bidding at Rp 500,000.

FEW, established in 1996, is a nonprofit organization that
enables women to meet and share information, network and increase
their knowledge on various business and social aspects of life.

FEW members are a blend of expatriate and Indonesian women
from a wide variety of professions. Currently, there are about
400 FEW members in Jakarta.

Goodwill International, formerly known as International
Community Activity Center (ICAC), is also a nonprofit
organization founded by a number of expatriates and Indonesians.