The story of Bali Life

In 2005 Brad Little, the founder of the orphanage, met a 9 year old boy living on the streets of Kuta, begging for money.  The boy asked if he could come and live with him, get away from the streets and start going back to school.  At the time Brad's wife Siska was pregnant with their first baby and they were living in a small house.  They both felt that it was unwise to take the boy in.                              

Then Brad met with him again and heartbreakingly had to explain that they couldn't help.  This left Brad and Siska with a deep desire to find a way in which they could help, not just this boy, but all the street children in Bali, Indonesia.

Brad returned home to Australia and shared at his home church his desire to set up a children's home in Bali.  A visiting businessman just passing through was challenged by what was said, wrote a check for AU$17,000, and Bali Life was Born!

A suitable property was found and the first two children, two boys aged 8 and 5, arrived in November 2006.  The Bali Life family has grown steadily over the years.  The home now houses 20 children from a variety of backgrounds and places in Indonesia, and four Indonesian staff.

In March of 2010 they were approached by a Balinese lady who had found a child on the streets in a bad condition.  She had nursed him back to health and now needed to find a permanent place for him to stay.  Bali Life was glad to give him their last bed.  The more time they have spent with this boy the more they are convinced that this is the same boy that Brad met briefly in 2005, the one who inspired the birth of this children's home. 

*Courtesy of Balilife.org  

Why does Bali need orphanages?

There is no simple answer to this question.  Apart from being genuinely orphaned the 3 main factors that lead to children living in orphanages in Indonesia are poverty, homelessness and abuse. 

Poverty: Parents will often have many children but cannot always afford to provide for them.  The average income in Indonesia is about $100 a month and with rapidly increasing costs of living it's hard to survive on such a little amount.  Some parents may recognize this and choose to send their children to an orphanage where they know they will at least receive food, shelter and education.

Homelessness: In the busy tourist areas of South Bali a large scene of 'street kids' has developed where children are sent out by their families to beg.  The children eventually drift into a life that is less and less attached to their family and more to the people they meet on the street.  If begging is unsuccessful it often leads to petty crime and, heartbreakingly, into life as sex workers where work/money is more dependable. 

Abuse:  Indonesia adopted the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 however implementing it has been problematic.  Traditional attitudes persist in which child abuse is seen as a family matter for which intervention is unnecessary.  So although child abuse is illegal in Indonesia, doing anything about it other than removing the child completely from the reaches of the abuser by placing them into the care of an orphanage, is extremely difficult.    

*Courtesy of Balilife.org

Inspiration for the project

After spending time volunteering at the Bali Life Orphanage in the fall of 2010  I immediately knew that I had to return for a longer stay.  The island of Bali, but especially the children at Bali Life, had a hold on my heart like none other.  Upon returning to the States I found that whenever I spoke to friends about my time at Bali LIfe I became so passionate about the orphanage and their story that I I had to find a better way to share it.  

I decided that on my return trip to Bali Life I would stay longer to volunteer and make a documentary film about the orphanage while I was there.  I began contacting documentary film makers to gain insight into the making of a documentary.  My original plan was to simply use my low end video camera to film and edit the footage myself.  But the more I talked to film makers the more I came to realize three things.

• The story of Bali Life is so unique, beautiful and amazing that it has to be shared with a larger audience

• It will need to be entered in film festivals, have support with marketing, street team, artwork etc.

• To share it with a larger audience it will need to be shot, edited, color corrected and mastered at broadcast quality.

You/Me/Us

This is where you come in.  I'm asking for my friends, family and the public to help me share this story with the world. You will literally be a part of bringing this project to life. In order to do so these are the next steps...

• Equipment: Hi Def Camera, lenses, microphones, tripods etc.
• Editing: Pro Editing software, hire color correction in post production, HD Masters etc.
• Score: Licensing music for the soundtrack, mastered and packaged as an EP in support of the film. (In order to keep costs low and also add to the family feel of this project I will be writing some of the music myself and/or  licensing it from fellow musicians that I know and work with where feasible)
• Financial Support: To allow me to focus on finishing the film once I return to the states, entrance fees, promotional materials and logistics traveling to and from film festivals

Donating

Let's be honest, there are few things less fun than asking for money. However I am so passionate about this project and confident that you will be too that it's worth it!  With your support, collaboration and interaction with this film, together we can bring this project to life and share it with the world.  

Thank you so much for your time and thanks in advance for your support.  Please watch the video above and check out balilife.org!  Don't forget to take a look at the REWARDS, they just keep getting better and better!

Sincerly,

Erik Smith

jarformythoughts.com

smyth_18@yahoo.com

balilife.org