Introduction
IHF Bali operates an Education Center in Buitan Village, Manggis, Bali, located approximately 2 hours away from Denpasar.
English, Math, and Computer classes are run at the center daily, and are available to students ranging from SD1 (first year primary school) to SMA (senior high school). The classes are taught by both local and international volunteers.
Bali Tourism & Poverty
Bali is an island almost completely dominated by tourism. The immense discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor continues to grow, even as tourism booms. This often leaves people who live by traditional means caught in poverty and struggling to survive.
Volunteers at our IHF Bali Center teach the children that there are other possibilities for their futures aside from Bali tourism and poverty. We teach them that the world is open to those who are willing to explore.
Religions in Bali Center
The IHF Center in Bali is located between a Muslim and a Hindu village. There are no religious barriers within the center and people of all ages, castes, and religions study together freely.
Children at Bali Center
The children at the Bali Center are mostly from remote villages with little, or no, infrastructure. Access is a major issue for these children, as public transportation only reaches the main roads and many people living in rural villages do not have their own private vehicles.
Programs and Communal Family Structures
While some of our IHF Centers are safe-homes, this is only the case out of necessity. In Bali, communal family structures exist, so children have many mothers and fathers to care for them.
Rather than offer a safe-home, IHF provide schooling and meets other needs of these impoverished children. The children life off site with their communal families who love them. We believe these beautiful communal family structures should not be lost.
By providing free education, a permanent support system, and running additional programs such as free healthcare check-up days, IHF offers the children of Bali a stable platform to gain the confidence and knowledge they need to excel.
Dear IHF Bali Community, Global Friends and Sponsors: There’s good & bad news with Bali.
The Guest House has finished a very needed renovation. The main Community Center is still being renovated because it was in such bad condition after twenty years of hard use say in and out with children, adults, and visitors.
Old plumbing failing, updated electricity for safety, and a huge old Grass traditional Bali- style roof on the center, with leaks everywhere and needing to be replaced with a roof requiring less yearly care and costs. Oh my, what a top to bottom task the community center refurbishing has been.
You know how these construction surprises go. No fun to discover more problems that cost and delays… but vital. So we continue to need to raise funds to repair the roof, electricity, plumbing, and rebuild the student desks etc. Any donated used Laptops, tablets, and computers for teaching are also very needed. All will need to be completed before bringing in students for class or special activities at the center- as it is too dangerous during construction.
Until then we continue to need to do all activities via PHONE and internet. Not easy, families have moved to where any employment is during COVID, and we worry children will get further lost in the shuffle & lose any educational opportunities. But amazing Indonesian and Global volunteers continue to help day in and out, trying their best and knowing how important it is.
We are planning to complete this by the end of September, unfortunately missing the high tourist season that helps fund our important activities. As all those who have spent time in Bali & Indonesia know: everything goes slower and gentle patience is learned. Yes, the timeline has been slower than we hoped, but we are very grateful that it’ll soon be done for our beloved Bali Center. No more worry about mildew or toilets not working! A huge stress source solved at last as we teach, stretch and learn with the community over these past twenty years.
Dear IHF Bali Community, Global Friends and Sponsors: There’s good & bad news with Bali.
The Guest House has finished a very needed renovation. The main Community Center is still being renovated because it was in such bad condition after twenty years of hard use say in and out with children, adults, and visitors.
Old plumbing failing, updated electricity for safety, and a huge old Grass traditional Bali- style roof on the center, with leaks everywhere and needing to be replaced with a roof requiring less yearly care and costs. Oh my, what a top to bottom task the community center refurbishing has been.
You know how these construction surprises go. No fun to discover more problems that cost and delays… but vital. So we continue to need to raise funds to repair the roof, electricity, plumbing, and rebuild the student desks etc. Any donated used Laptops, tablets, and computers for teaching are also very needed. All will need to be completed before bringing in students for class or special activities at the center- as it is too dangerous during construction.
Until then we continue to need to do all activities via PHONE and internet. Not easy, families have moved to where any employment is during COVID, and we worry children will get further lost in the shuffle & lose any educational opportunities. But amazing Indonesian and Global volunteers continue to help day in and out, trying their best and knowing how important it is.
We are planning to complete this by the end of September, unfortunately missing the high tourist season that helps fund our important activities. As all those who have spent time in Bali & Indonesia know: everything goes slower and gentle patience is learned. Yes, the timeline has been slower than we hoped, but we are very grateful that it’ll soon be done for our beloved Bali Center. No more worry about mildew or toilets not working! A huge stress source solved at last as we teach, stretch and learn with the community over these past twenty years.
Here is an update for all our Bali lovers and visitors!
The Center’s reconstruction and refurbishing has at long last begun, a major job and we are so excited!
Bali Guest house overlooking pond and beach is stripped to its bare bones for extensive remodel. And the main school building is next. Using Covid closure time to attempt this huge job we hope will be done by May2022 for Guests housing then July 2022 for Main Buildings Education Center to reopen if COVID allows. In the meanwhile we continue to do TEP in a very small scale and ” one on one” teacher / student online teaching also on a small scale. We are all eager for the construction and COVID to be over! 
This photo shows the grass matting that is inside the walls and roof and outside the weather-roofing is energy metal – far sturdier than the former grass roof… though we loved the traditional grass roofing. The same combination will be on the Main School Building.
Take a look at these photos of the reconstruction!
It’s kind of scary to us… we love our guest house, with its view of the ocean, the sound of the waves, the waterfall, and ponds surrounding bothe the school building and guest house. Difficult to see them mucky green and the main pond drained during construction. Carol loves the Koi fish that are trained to eat out of her hand and have grown so big over the years.
The Bali center was once Carol’s vacation home many long years ago, before becoming our school. The guest house with swimming pool brings in tourist guests that help to support the IHF children’s programs.
We are hoping that everything will be done for the summer, for our GLDs and Directors coming, and that they will have the lovely environment once again, without a leaking roof and plumbing problems. We look forward to welcoming once again student groups and guests. We will have to keep it carefully because we will be selling and moving to the area that is closer to the children most in need. That’s very important to keeping our mission statement and what we serve, and of course will continue TEP, mentors, and online help with our children and community around us and our wonderful Agus and Assep.
There are a lot of changes but at the same time we want the continuity that has existed over the 22 years to remain in the form that will be viable and most productive.
Our new directors and GLDs will have a challenge in facilitating all this, it won’t be easy and we’ll have to continue with our patience, to make sure that the children continue being served, the university student groups and volunteers also continue being served. It is always a balancing act and very important for our beloved Bali.
Some lovely folks have come and dropped off some needed schol supplies and we are so so thankful to them! Anyone that’s able to stop by, take a video and give a report on the construction going on, and anyone able to leave supplies for the villagers, the Hindu and Muslim villages on either side of us, their children and the school supplies.
We cannot thank them enough!!
We will keep you updated, we hope that the next video you will get will be the guest house all completed, Wildan and we hope and pray Nicole and others situated in the guest house, and the works on the main classrooms house started. Let’s hope that’s what we will show you next month!
We are so thankful to anyone and all of you have contributed in your many different ways, whether it’s been by monetary donation to make this happen, or by teaching the children in Bali and throughout Indonesia, or bringing school supplies, donations of laptops, smartphones, any donations and help you have given on the various teams involved, Carol and just all of us are so so thankful to you!
Our English classes are taught by our lovely Mariska, who has formed a beautiful relationship with her students. Our classes are on Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, subject to the availability of the students.
Our roof has deteriorated over the years although we have renovated it periodically. This year however, we are looking to fully renovate the roof so that we do not incur any damages to our centre as well as threat to the health of our volunteers. We feel that with this renovation, we may be able to attract more voluntourists with a new-look centre once restrictions have been lifted in Bali. Voluntourists have helped us sustain our programmes as a centre over the years and we wish to provide them with an even more beautiful accommodation.
