Our Sponsorship Waiting List of children needing sponsorship is regularly updated. Please see below to see the children and read their stories. You can help change their lives. To sponsor, click here and remember to name the child you would like to sponsor in ‘I want my donation to be dedicated: NAME OF CHILD’.
Please set your sponsorship to ‘monthly’ and $40 USD.
Wayan Sugiantari
Wayan Sugiantari (nicknamed “Sugian”) is in her last year of High School in Tabanan. She’s age 16, and has a younger brother age 9. Sugian is a smart girl. Currently, she’s ranked the 7th out of 33 students.
Sugian doesn’t want to drop out of school, especially as she only has one year left, but if her grandfather can’t take any more loans this year, then she will have to. After graduating from junior high school, Sugian almost dropped out, as her grandfather and mom couldn’t actually afford the school entrance fee. However, Sugian cried endlessly and pleaded to be enrolled to a senior high school. Thus, Sugian’s grandpa borrowed money from many places to afford her school fee.
Ni Nyoman Mia Rastiani
Mia is 14 and in 7th grade in Marga, Tabanan. Mia’s dream is to become a Balinese language teacher. According to her, there is less interest among the younger generation to learn proper Balinese. She wants to help in preserving the Balinese language.
Mia’s hobby is reading. She likes to read any books that she can get her hands on. Mia is supposed to be in the 8th grade, but when she was in Kindergarten, she was sickly and had trouble going to school. So, she did not attend school for two years.
Both Mia’s mother and older brother work as laborers. They accept any labor work, such as unloading heavy stuff from trucks, doing field work, and so on. They earn way less than the standard minimum wage. Their earnings are only enough to cover their daily meals. Mia helps her mother in making Balinese offerings, so they can sell them later in the nearby warung.
Desak Nyoman Yumi Santika Dewi
Yumi is 16 and in grade 8 in Denpasar. Currently, Yumi lives with her uncle and aunt. Yumi is a bright girl. In her 7th grade, Yumi was ranked the 2nd in her entire grade. Yumi has a turbulant home life and is not sure she’ll stay in school, so grades have slipped.
Her father passed away in 2018 due to chronic asthma. Yumi’s mother didn’t care about Yumi’s education, so Yumi didn’t attend school for two years after she finished the 3rd grade. That’s why Yumi is already 16 years old, while she’s still in the 8th grade.
Later, Yumi’s paternal uncle forced Yumi’s mother to put Yumi back to school, even though Yumi’s uncle also had 3 small children of his own, Yumi, small as she was, was a precocious child and was willing to follow her uncle who offered her a better opportunity in life. Thanks to her uncle, Yumi could go back to school although she’s two years older than her peers. Yumi’s mother tried to fight this, but thankfully her uncle prevailed and Yumi went back to school.
Dewa Ayu Candra Pripta
Candra is the oldest of three. She has a younger sister who is about to enter junior high school or 7th grade, who is also being sponsored through BCP. She also has a younger brother who is about to enter primary school next month. Candra will be 15 in August and is supposed to start grade 8 in July in Kuta.
Candra is a smart student. She participated in Science Olympics a few times in the past. She’s also ranked the 7th in her class out of 32 students.
Her father works as a taxi driver, while her mother works as a laborer by selling snacks, cleaning other people’s houses, and being a motorbike driver for students. Candra helps her mother in cleaning her neighbor’s house. At home, Candra helps with chores such as making offerings, washing and cleaning their home.
Putu Anugrah Krisna
Krisna is an only child. Even though he’s a boy and the only child, his parents cannot afford his senior high school expenses next year. So they will make Krisna drop out after finishing junior high school this term. He’s 15 years old and lives in Gobleg in the Munduk area. Krisna’s parents only graduated from primary school themselves.
Krisna has a big dream. He wants to become an architect. However, he’s aware that it’s impossible for him, as architects need to take a four year course in the university. That’s why he would be happy if he could at least graduate from senior high school of tourism, so he can help his parents and himself break out from the cycle of poverty.
Ni Putu Ayu Dina Purnama
Dina is the oldest of three children. She’s now 14 and hoping to start her second year of Jr High this month in Jembrana. She has 2 younger brothers. However, her family has heavy financial pressures that they are struggling to meet, and it is doubtful that they can afford her school costs. At this point, she is getting ready to drop out of school, although she really doesn’t want to.
Dina is ranked the 2nd in her class and is extremely driven. Her dream is to be an entrepreneur or a store owner. As a girl, her education will not be as big a priority as her brother’s is (as boys carry on the family line). This was the actual reason that Bali Children’s Project began – seeing girls miss out on education. While things have been changing a lot, in really remote areas like this, the older ways prevail and the girls suffer.
Kadek Ervan Pradina Yoga
Ervan is a hard working student who is determined to go to High School, but it started in July and his chances are very slim without a sponsorship. He’s now 15 and lives in Tegallalang, near to Ubud.
Ervan’s father passed away when he was in the 8th grade due to a complication of a disease which was not fully diagnosed.
His mother is the sole bread winner for his family of six. She works by painting arts and handcrafts, earning around IDR 700,000 to 800,000 (about $60) per month. Ervan lives not only with his mother and brother, but also with two grandmothers and a grandfather. Considering the number of family members that his mother is responsible for, his mother cannot afford Ervan’s senior high school expenses.
Putu Agus Astawa
Putu Agus Astawa (nicknamed “Bayu”) is a 12 year old boy living in Tabanan, desperate to stay in school. He’s just started Jr High, grade 7, and that’s where the fees begin. His chances of paying them are slim, and although the school has let him start, they will probably start to harass him and expel him if he accumulates debt. The system can be harsh and he and his mother are very poor.
There is still a caste system in Bali, although it is generally not acknowledged nor strictly followed. However, Bayu’s mother separated from his father when he was a little child, and his father was of a lower caste than his mother. His mother had lost her caste, and didn’t have a place to return to.
Bayu still has school debt for his committee fee and uniform fee. He hasn’t paid a thing for his new school year as a freshman in junior high school. Even though he feels embarrassed beyond anything he’s ever felt, Bayu desperately wants to continue his education. His mother couldn’t afford a thing for his school and no one could help him.
Ni Luh Putu Sri Widiari
Sri is 13 and in 8th grade. She lives in the far west area of Jembrana, a very remote and poor area. Sri has a dream of becoming an engineer in the future. Sri Widiari is a brilliant student. She’s ranked the first in her class and the third in her entire grade.
Sri currently goes to school with second hand uniforms and school supplies from her neighbor. Oftentimes Sri’s parents couldn’t afford to get her notebooks, so they would gather plain paper from their neighbor or the dumpsters, then put them together into a book for Sri to use.
Wayan Siskayanti
At 17, Ni Wayan Siskayanti of Bangli has been getting excellent grades throughout Jr High and her two years of High School. Siska majors in hotel accommodation in her high school. She dreamt of being a doctor but knows that the educational expense is unattainable for her and her family. Because of her interest in medicine, she joined the Youth Red Cross Club in her school, where she was taught first aid treatment and things to help people in case of emergency.
Siska really loves going to school and is very grateful for the opportunity. She had been sponsored for 2 years, but now her sponsor suddenly stopped and she in unable to pay the costs for her final year. The last year of high school contains many extra fees in order to graduate. The competition in her high school is also tough. If she cannot pay the school costs, even if she finishes, she will not be granted a diploma.
Ketut Berata Yasa
Berata is 16 and just entered High School in Karangasem. Berata’s parents work as laborers. They cultivate the land owned by another person or a landowner. They also raise and take care of livestock (cows and pigs) owned by other people. They receive half of the crops and give the other half to the owners.
Berata is a smart boy. He is ranked in the top 10 during the national final exam in his school. As Berata showed high determination to continue school, his parents took a loan from the village bank to afford his senior high school entrance fee and school supplies, about $200. Until now, they are only able to pay the interest fee every month.
Berata really wants to finish school without adding more burden to his parents. He raises chickens so he can sell them and get an allowance to buy meals at school and petrol to go to school. His two older sisters were forced to drop out after Jr High due to poverty, and so Berata knows his chances of staying in High School and finishing are very tenuous.