We went to the Seeds of Hope Bali Orphanage today. Jameelah spearheaded the effort. She really wanted to volunteer somehow in Indonesia. She found this orphanage online, and it looked like the perfect opportunity.
We had fun with the kids. We brought them snacks and sodas. They sang songs for us, showed us their rooms, and played games with us. They knew English pretty well; it was easy to interact. And most of them seemed around 8-16 years old.
I got hit in the eye with a soccer ball while playing duck-duck-goose. I sat out after that with an ice pack. Two little girls attended to me. I was OK after about 20 minutes.
A pastor and his wife run the place. A western donor pays for their monthly supply of rice (about 300kg). Rice is their staple--breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was a special place for these kids--the best situation for them, short of having two loving parents.
I don’t know what we really did for them. They had clothes, food, smiles, and places to play. Nonetheless, we felt good for showing support. It was touching to see all these kids happy together. Jameelah cried on the ride out.
We scored an amazing restaraunt that night in Kuta. It has a superb setting and spectacular food for low-margin prices. We were really on a roll lately with the deals. I had nasi goreng, and Jameelah had the mie goreng. It was the best meal of our trip and only cost about $5 each.
