News from our grads
Rochelle in Bali - An update
“Well, after 3 weeks holiday I am back to work and my usual lifestyle… I
have just spent 3 weeks with my family and my
adopted family. It was a busy time but it was
great. I feel a bit lost at the moment especially
without my nephews not being here and me chasing
them around everywhere, hehe.
Whilst on holidays we visited Karangasem and handed out food and clothing donations. That was a fantastic and wonderful day. Putting smiles on the people’s faces was magical and knowing that some families now have some food to fill their stomachs made me and the others feel great. There were a lot of laughs in the village and if you look at the photos you will see how happy the people of Karangasem were on our visit.
We also visited an orphanage in Denpasar, Bali
called Tat Twam Asi. As it was Galungan Day (on
this day the Hindus thank the God for the creation
of the earth and its content. The Hindus feel
grateful for His blessings) there were not many
children there so we only got to visit about
seven children. Most of the orphans here have
parents but unfortunately don’t have the
money to support their children so they go to
live in an orphanage. On special ceremonies the
families do come to pick up their children and
take them back to the village for the celebration but six children
at this orphanage were not so lucky.
So, I organised with the lady who runs the orphanage
to pick up the children and take them to the
hotel where my family and friends were staying
so they could swim for a while. We took them for
lunch to McDonalds. My mother also took them
shopping for some shoes.
Wow, words can not describe how much fun these
kids had as did we. It was wonderful and the
kids had an exciting time swimming, eating junk
food and shopping. They were so well behaved
and it still makes me smile to know these kids were so happy – even
if it only was for a short time.
Galungan Day was celebrated on 29th November and I attended a ceremony at my friends’ house. It was a fantastic day full of laughter and meeting new people.
I would like to thank my mother and my family, my adopted mothers Irene and Johanna, my good friend Mark and all the people from Brisbane who donated and helped out so much!!!! Your donations and help are so greatly appreciated so thank you from me and more importantly from the people and children of Bali, Indonesia.
With peace, love and friendship, Rochelle.”
"Together we can make a difference"
Rochelle Partenio - Teach International Graduate
