Bangli centre grand opening

On 21 August 2009 we had a grand opening of a second centre of KupuKupu Foundation in Bangli. This was made possible by the lease of a block of land for 15 years and the generosity of ‘Windhorse Company’ (U.K.) who sponsored the building of the Sangkar where the school is held. A Sangkar is the local name for the traditional building style as you can see in the photographs. Other facilities at the Bangli centre include an office, a kitchen and covered eating area, 3 bedrooms for male and female staff and 2 spacious bathrooms.

Why Bangli?

It was decided to locate the centre in Bangli because the area is very isolated and transportation to other areas in Bali is much more difficult. People, especially those who are disabled, have many more difficulties with mobility. From our Bangli centre there is a bus that collects students on a daily basis to help address this problem. Without the bus many of the students would not be able to attend the centre. For many students, it is 1 to 1.5 hours journey in the bus, going around the small villages on the way to KupuKupu centre.

Although Bangli has grown economically in the past 10 years, there are still limited options for transport or trade opportunities with other parts of Bali. Indeed, although tourism has brought much foreign currency and attracted much investment into Bali, the money is often concentrated to a few small areas while the rest of Bali remains very poor.

Invitation:

We would love you to come and visit us in Bangli.  When you come to visit us, you will meet our local KupuKupu staff working at Kupukupu Foundation Centre Bangli.

KupuKupu employed staff at Bangli:

Ernie: she is the secretary based in the office and also loves to help in the school. She has a disability herself however this does not stop her travelling to the centre every day to work. She also goes to church regularly and has a big warm smile. She likes to have opportunities to practise English language.

Komang: Elder sister to Ketut who works in the Ubud centre, both sisters have disabilities. Komang loves to help take care of the students and the centre and is very friendly, and welcoming and lives in the centre during the week whilst working, and goes back to stay with her family during the weekend.

Nengah: Nengah is based in the kitchen and is skilled at cooking and also assisting in teaching and taking care of the students. She’s sweet and gentle and before KupuKupu Bangli opened, she has been a student at the school in the KupuKupu Ubud centre.

Alit and Kadek: Alit and Kadek work on errands outside the centre, for example getting necessary paperwork and supplies. They also do research and fieldwork for the center, going on motorbikes to villages and asking whom are the people with disabilities and recording the information.

So far in the Bangli region, they have recorded 732 disabled people, 70 who have registered for the option to attend the school at KupuKupu Foundation and 83 who need bathrooms installed in their homes.

Notes about Bangli students’ disabilities:

Of the 70 students who registered for the possibility to attend the school, there is space for only 35. Also, of the 70 students, more than 50% have Downes Syndrome which we believe is a relatively high percentage of students. There are also a number of students who suffered from Polio as a child, but they are all now aged above 20 years, due to the positive effects of the national government child immunisation programme now implemented. However, there is currently no government assistance made to disabled people or children in Bali and Indonesia.