December 8th, 2024A helping hand for Balinese mums & bubs
News of whether the Bali Nine drug smugglers would be brought home to Australia seized the headlines. Here in Daylesford, however, a harsh side to Bali was revealed to Daylesford Rotarians.
Single pregnant women in Balinese society are shunned due to strict religious beliefs and may be thrown out of their village. Before CCTV removed anonymity, they would often leave their babies outside hospitals or police stations. Now they abandon them in rice paddies where they may die.
This picture of life behind the happy-go-lucky world seen by Australian tourists was explained by Karen Sims, who for nine years has spent half her time in Bali helping these women when not running a communications company in Melbourne.
A local, Yulia Sukanta, stepped in to help and started a Mother and Baby House. From then, says Karen, “it just grew”.
A small house became bigger. Soon the main house held 18 mothers including a 12-year-old, a 15-year-old and two aged 17. A 14-year-old had a second child. Last year a 17-year-old girl was not allowed to finish school because she was pregnant. Pleas to the school were futile. The father of her child is a repeat offender.
“The mothers can’t work, and their kids can’t go to school because they don’t have a birth certificate,” says Karen.
Karen says they keep in touch with the 58 mothers they have helped, including trekking into the mountains to see them. Some of the babies have been fostered or adopted, which is difficult.
Also, there is a stigma attached to babies of a different colour. “There is zero government help and, as for the rest, the (Balinese) rich are staying rich and the healthy are staying healthy.
“Bali is no longer cheap. There are a few wealthy expats and self-funded retirees. “All this could be changed,” says Karen, ”if the men would just wear a bloody condom. The girls are sensible, although many didn’t know about condoms”.
“Young men say, ‘My dad says I’m not a man if I wear a condom’. Others are too embarrassed to buy them.”
Add to this the diseases passed between men and sex workers, which the men pass on to their wives or girlfriends. As if all this were not bad enough there is a high level of domestic violence. “We go to villages to talk about the bashing of women.”
Again, this can be difficult to reverse. Keeping the project going is always hard, Karen says. “We’re down to the wire financially…we’re always scraping by.”
Backing her is Daylesford born-and-bred Glenda Rozen, who regularly takes infant formula powder to Bali and is involved in fund-raising with Australian expatriates in the Bali International Women’s Association.
Glenda, pictured above, returns to Bali after Christmas. Daylesford Rotarians have also come on board and raised $2500 for the project. Link: www.balimotherandbabyhouse.org
A Fromage & Fundraise will be held at Gloria’s Wine Bar, Camberwell today, Sunday December 8 from 2.30pm.
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Supplied
