Welcome

Welcome to our first newsletter and to our new orphanage. We are very pleased to announce that the Jodie O’Shea Orphanage has already opened and is currently the home to 18 very happy children.
The new Panti Asuhan Jodie O’Shea is a glorious building with an abundance of natural light, large spacious bedrooms with brand new bunk beds and cupboards. Outside there are different areas for eating and playing with a variety of plants and the beginnings of a planned vegetable garden.
We hope that whenever you are next in Bali, you can visit us. Jodie O’Shea

The inspiration for this orphanage was Jodie O’Shea, a young Australian woman who was a victim of the Bali bombing. With the blessing of Jodie’s parents, this orphanage was established in her memory and to remind us all that even out of the most tragic events, truly wonderful acts of kindness and humanity can blossom and bring light to the lives of many.

Our Children

As many of you know, one of our goals was to remove children from a previous situation into their new, light, clean, spacious and safe home. We currently have 18 children ranging in ages from 8 years to 17 years. Of these children, 14 are from Sumba, a very poor and arid island to the east of Bali. Three children are from Bali and one is from Manado. To date the following children are calling Panti Asuhan Jodie O’Shea home: Yanto, Erni, Adolfus, Ade, Erik, Roni, Yogi, Debby, Wahyuni, Jener, Maria, Titin, Wani, Runi, Toni, Michele, Asnat and Fince.

All of the children are in school, however, most of them require extra tuition in a variety of subjects due to the many disruptions that have occurred in their young lives. We are currently in the process of looking for suitable tutors to come and assist the children.

These inspiring young children have undergone an amazing transformation since moving to their new home. All of them have grown up malnourished in poverty stricken areas within, usually, one parent families surviving on a meager hand to mouth existence.

It must be stressed that all of these families love and care about their children immensely but have had to make the difficult decision to send them to an orphanage elsewhere in order to provide them with a better life. Unfortunately these families had entrusted their children to an orphanage that subjected them to severe physical and mental abuse.
Today, however, in their new home the children are embracing a life they have never known - a healthy diet, an education, being nurtured and cared for, no longer being afraid and having the freedom to simply be children.

Our First Project

With our new home we have many goals, initiatives and projects we would like to introduce. One such project is teaching the children about how they can look after their environment and surroundings, especially their new home. Sunrise School, one of the island’s primary schools for expatriate children, paid a visit in August to teach us about recycling. The Sunrise children were eager to show us how to recycle, what to recycle and why we should recycle. It was a fun and fantastic couple of hours for all of us. We would like to thank Kayti and Shari from Sunrise School for making the day possible. Thank you

Like most things in life, this project has not happened overnight. Three years ago, in the aftermath of the Bali bombing, many people wanted to contribute in some way to create a future of opportunities for those who had very little. A compassionate and determined group of people combined their resources to improve the lives of children in Bali. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to these people for their ongoing support and commitment:

We would also like to thank those who have recently provided support and assistance in one way or another:

Our deepest and sincerest thanks to Mr Anton Dresman for so generously trusting a total stranger and enabling us to build a new extension. We would also like to thank our builder Pak Wayan, our electricians, gardener and many others who have given their time and energy for our cause. Finally, we would like to thank Sumini, Dotur and their 2 year old daughter for helping to look after the children.

Our ‘Wish List’

Everyone needs a wish list and we are no different.

Our Details

We are still waiting for the final documents and licenses to come through so an official Panti Asuhan Jodie O’Shea bank account can be opened. In the meantime if you would like to pay any school fees or send a donation please do so to the following dedicated account:

Alison Margaret Chester
ABN Amro Bank
Jalan Teuku Umar
Denpasar.
A/C #3601795227
Swift code: Abnaidja

Our address is:
Perumahan Jadi Pesona ,
Gang 2, No 8
Jalan Pulau Moyo,
Pedungan
Denpasar, Bali,
Indonesia.

Telephones: (62-361) 725076 or (62-361) 483610.

Until our next newsletter,

Alison Chester