I am now raising funds for Made's educational expenses, food, medical, etc. The other fisherman, in his small village in East Bali, keep his space on the beach open in the hopes that he will someday be able to buy another fishing boat (see insert picture). Fishing is not only his livelihood, but his passion. He proudly told me how he could pull in sometimes as many as 150 fish in a day. On those days his family could eat fish with their usual dish of rice, sometimes with sambal (a chili sauce), and in really tough times, they may eat rice with just salt for a month at a time. At the age of 32, Wayan is solely responsible for providing for his family. A family of eleven: himself, his wife, and 3 daughters, his mother and father, his grandmother and grandfather, and his younger brother and sister. It is up to him to provide the food, and money to pay for his brother’s and his daughter’s education. In Bali a family must pay for the education of the first child. Wayan’s father could only pay for him, being the number one child, through the 4th grade. Now Wayan pays for his brother to go to school in the hopes that he may someday find employment. His brother wants to teach English. Wayan keeps a tin box where he proudly saves a few rupiah now and then for his daughter to continue to go to school. Until a year ago Wayan was a fisherman with a boat. One day he pulled his boat onto the beach. He was tired and very hungry. There was no one else to help him drag the boat far onto the beach and he did what he could by himself and then went to get some lunch. When he returned, he found his boat had been smashed beyond repair by a huge wave. He cried for five months, borrowed money from a friend to purchase two sets of snorkeling gear and set up business renting it to tourists. My feeble attempts to help with shoes, clothes, and a few chickens for their dinner is only a temporary band-aid. Although a proud family, they all agreed to let me take pictures and to tell his story in the hopes of raising funds for another boat. Their lives will still be most difficult, and below poverty level as we know it. But a boat will enable Wayan to fish again and hopefully provide food for them and money for education. Maybe someday he will be able to buy a scooter (USD 2,000)and a few more sets of snorkeling gear (USD30). This is only one man’s story, I am sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Balinese families living at this same level of poverty. And yet, their nature is happy, beautiful, loving and sharing. This is the family that crossed my path and captured my heart. I hope my family and friends can find the same loving generosity and make a small contribution to help me help them. It will take 3 months to build a new boat in good operating condition, fishing season is strong in February. I did not want to ask for your help around our holiday season and I know that some of us will not be able to contribute, struggling as we are. I greatly appreciate whatever can be done and hope for speedy success. At today’s exchange rate, the cost of a new boat with a motor that will last one year is 10 million Rupiah or roughly USD 830 , AUD 940.00. The cost of a new boat with a motor that will last for 20 years is 25 million Rupiah or roughly USD 2,500, AUD 2,700. I have set up a Pay-pal account using my email address and donations may be sent to it: DKR_WOWW@yahoo.com. Please note that there is an UNDERSCORE between DKR and WOWW …DKR_WOWW…. I can’t thank you enough and I know that Wayan and his family will be grateful and thankful beyond belief. Please like my page and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!! With much love, Debra
