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LE Bali Fundraiser

Date: 02/26/2009

The Lower Elementary Bali Fundraiser Project

All proceeds will go toward the tuition for the children in Bali. WMS has been supporting students in Bali for five years.

Service learning at WMS is more than community service or fund-raising. The work that the children do is part of the curriculum.  The LES service learning project is connected to a Montessori school in Ubud, Bali.  The Suta Dharma Montessori School serves about 200 children from 2 1/2- 12 years of age, mostly Balinese and European. The school has a wonderful sponsorship/scholarship program for children whose families can not afford to send them to this beautiful school.  Local schools are poor or nonexistent, and many of the sponsored children live in remote villages. By sponsoring a child, not only is the tuition paid, but the child receives a uniform, two meals a day, and transportation to and from school.

When WMS began sponsoring two students, Luh Mira and Ketut Nikantara, both were in Upper Elementary school. When they graduated 2 years ago WMS offered to continue to pay their tuition at their new middle school.  WMS also decided to sponsor a new student who was beginning as a 5 year old. His name is Komang Juniartha. The tuition for Komang is $390 per year, and the tuition for the two middle school students is $300 each. Last year WMS raised close to $2000, the extra funds went to help pay for hearing aids that Komang desperately needed. The cost for hearing aids in Bali is $25 million rupiah ($2094.15 US) In the past the Upper Elementary classes at WMS shared this project with Lower Elementary.  We hope to raise $1990 this year, to cover the three tuition payments as well as another $1000 to put in the hearing aid fund.

As part of the service learning project the children will make calls and write letters to The American School for the Deaf, Sound Bridge, and other organizations for the hearing impaired in our area to see if there might be more we can do to assist in the purchasing of Komang's hearing aids. The children are also learning about currency and exchange rate. They are practicing mathematical logic as they try to convert rupiah to dollars. When studying geography, they think in  terms of, "how far is that from Bali?" and they are excited to be studying Australia which is practically next door!

Stacey and Maricarmen's class prepared lunch for the staff. Teresa and Ellen's class sold sculptures and finger puppets that they've created and plants they grew from cuttings. Robert and Martha are planning their projects for the spring.
   
This work truly empowers the children and we so appreciate the parent support.