Well … what a humbling and wonderful day we spent with the kids in YKPA Orphanage in Tabanan. Arguably one of the most important reasons we’re on this journey - to give a little back to those less fortunate.
This orphanage doesn't get many visitors or donations as it's a fair way out of the tourist hubs in Bali. And so well, you can imagine the kids faces when we rocked up. Utterly humbling to see how happy they were to have guests and how wonderfully polite and welcoming they were. Got goosies just writing that!
We took some basic supplies along with us - make sure the kids have plenty to eat plus a few treats - why not! And then we cracked straight into the afternoon's activities. The kids are between 3 and 11 and we managed to hold their attention for a good 10 minutes! Then, as you'd expect, a few of the younger ones started to wander! Funny to watch!
The goal of these days with the kids is to simply have a load of fun with them - using art, colour and creativity - something they don't get to do very often
Then we got straight into the messy stuff … crayons, paint, paper and canvasses! We asked them to paint their dreams! There was perhaps a little creative license with this but well … this was about having some fun too!
We started by asking what their Yellow Brick Road was to get them thinking about their future. Some of the answers were inspiring … A Doctor, A Policeman, A Teacher … and the obligatory 'footballer'! Manchester United and Real Madrid were his team of choice!
I have to say I was bowled over with some of the talent! One gorgeous little girl, Angel, she was called, painted some wonderful flowers - not bad for a 4 year old!
At the end we asked each of the children to explain to the group what they had painted and then asked them all to vote for their favourite. No surprise the girls all voted for the best girl and the boys went for the boys! Some things don’t change wherever you are in the world!.
Then there was the eldest boy - well, he was super impressive. An incredibly detailed picture of more flowers. And the other winner, she painted her dream of being a doctor … truly wonderful.
Thank you to our customers, Cara, Sapna, Andrew and Stella. You made this all possible.
We left them all with a medal each saying 'Saya Bisa' which in Indonesian means 'I can' … and well, we hope they had as much fun as we did. Putting smiles on their faces - even if just for a few hours - was worth every single minute.
