Ocean Grove Rotary has partnered with Bali Smiles to pay a sponsorship fee for six Balinese students to attend school for a year.
This project fits with the provision of basic education and literacy which is one of Rotary’s area of focus.
Bali Smiles is a sponsorship program to assist impoverished Balinese families in the village of Munti Gunung send their children to school.
Village assistance includes free health care at the Bali Smiles Health Clinic, a rice sponsorship program and livestock.
Four students are attending junior high school near Munti Gunung and one student is attending junior high secondary school in Kuta.
The sixth student is commencing senior high school, near Munti Gunung. The sponsorship pays for school tuition fees, uniforms, student workbooks and stationary items.
Students and parents are very thankful for the opportunity to continue their schooling.
One student’s mother said she was grateful.
“Thank you so much, thank you for helping us,” Gede Mangun’s mother said.
“I thought my son would not get help, but it has happened.”
“The name Bali Smiles came about from seeing the happy smiles on childrens’ faces when told they would be able to go to school, a basic right we take for granted,” Jan Johannesen of Bali Smiles said.
“There were happy tears, shock and disbelief and then messages of heartfelt thanks from the families to the members of Ocean Grove Rotary Club for making this possible.”
