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Published: March 24th 2010
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Hi everyone,
I am actually now in my beloved Pondicherry, India but wanted to put this blog up about the wonderful work that Brenton Whittaker is doing.
Will update with my adventures here soon.
I am SOOOOO happy being back in India.
Anak, Anak (Bali Kids) Orphanage
Many of you would remember the “Shoe Box of Love” campaign where we were urged to get a shoe box together with odds and ends for the poor children of Bali. It was a huge success and helped many, many children. The name behind this being, Brenton Whittaker OAM (2008). A special person who I have been lucky to know for many years.
Well now Brent is heading up Anak Anak (Bali Kids) orphanage and what an amazingly positive place it is.
I have had the pleasure to be able to work with some of the kids there and never have I met such a great bunch of happy children.
Quite a few of them have health problems ranging from pretty badly decaying teeth and scabbies to T.B. and H.I.V. These are all being treated expertly through the clinic which is part of the orphanage. In fact I believe
that at present, this is the only orphanage in Bali that will take in children with H.I.V. One poor little love arrived with both T.B. and H.I.V. was as thin as a stick and obviously weak. With the love and care at Anak Anak he has proceeded to put on 6kg in 6 weeks and last week he was with all the kids that we took to see Avatar. Wonderful!
Anak Anak also has a mobile clinic that goes out regularly to poor remote areas and helps treat children with various ailments. If they can’t be treated on sight, they are taken to stay at the clinic and if things are really bad, they will support the child while they go into hospital. These people are angels.
Just like in India and in Nepal, there are so many scams regarding orphanages that it makes you wonder how some people can sleep at night. I remember when I first left for Nepal I had this idea that I would look for the worst possible orphanage and try and get as many donations from family and friends as I could and do my best to make their living conditions better.
Experience and talking with people who know a whole lot more than me has made me change my thoughts completely. The reason these orphanages are usually so bad is that the people who are running them get more donations from shmucks like me if they keep everything, including the kids in a bad state. And naturally all the money goes into the pockets of the people who are running them.
So, what to do? Find orphanages like Anak Anak (Bali Kids) and Sunrise orphanage in Kathmandu and support them as much as you can. Yes they look good. Kids are clean, all going to school, are well fed, but that’s because all the donations go to where they should go and not into the pockets of cruel unscrupulous people. By people like you and I supporting these legitimate orphanages, they can expand their facilities and house more kids, thus depriving the wicked ones of the kids they need to fill their filthy, greedy pockets. So if you don’t see photos of shocking conditions in my blogs, please don’t think that they don’t need your help. Just believe that every penny is going to care for the children.
Enjoy
the photos. x
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Jan and Angela Harvey
non-member comment
meeting you and Brenton at anak anak
What a pleasure it was to meet you both, and the children, at Anak Anak in March. Your blog comments are so true and we will be supporting Brent as much as we can, particularly encouraging Australians to become more aware of the good work both of you do, and to "carry for kids" when tourists travel over there' So appropriate is your explanation about seeing "happy and healthy children". Having recently been scammed for $2000-00 by one Balinese orphanage I now will be more aware of where I place my donations and time In Love and Light Jan and Angela Harvey