CLEAR September 14th on your calendar because the first ever Bali EVEnt is taking place at Panchoran in Ubud and it promises to be an evening of masked mischief for a marvellous cause.
There will be music, dancing and frivolity, plus cocktails, exquisite cuisine and a charity auction where you can snag seriously sweet items. Even better, all proceeds will go towards building a much-needed preschool and community centre in a disadvantaged hamlet in Timor.
The Bali EVEnt is the first of what will be an annual event to benefit women in Indonesia. The team behind the gala is the International Committee of WADAH (Women and Hope Foundation), a Jakarta-based organisation that was established in 2008 to address the special needs of women as they participate in social, educational, community and cultural activities. It grew out of a need to bring hope to communities by helping people help themselves and share a better future for their families and society as a whole.
WADAH refers to a place in the Indonesian language, but WADAH Titian Harapan embraces a broader meaning that encompasses not only the sense and spirit of a place, but the home and community where one belongs. Operating at marginalized and underprivileged levels in society, WADAH supports Indonesian people by offering the opportunity to manage their lives beyond family survival, lifting them out of the spiral of illiteracy and poverty. The foundation currently serves 53 communities throughout rural Indonesia.
Education is one of the main focuses at WADAH, so they have a number of programmes in place to facilitate learning for people of all ages. These include the construction of school facilities and libraries, preschool classes, training for preschool teachers, tutorial classes, alternative learning systems, an adult literacy initiative, and scholarships. In addition, WADAH also supports development and preservation of traditional arts. To date, the foundation supports 38 preschools, nearly 1,300 preschool children and after school activities for over 5,000 children.
The foundation also implements public health programmes in communities that do not have access to basic health facilities. Working with local volunteers, the team sets up health and sanitation facilities, provides communities with nutritious food made with local ingredients, and disseminates public health knowledge including information on improving maternal and child health. WADAH also links local communities with health clinics or hospitals where possible.
Last but not least, WADAH aims to empower people through economic development programmes. Initiatives include providing facilities for the development of small businesses, vocational training, training in financial management, and the implementation and management of savings schemes. They also encourage entrepreneurship by offering small and medium enterprises loans and supporting the formation of cooperatives and small businesses operated by members of the community.
After seeing such great successes in the Indonesian communities they served, WADAH branched out to the Philippines and Malaysia in 2014. India was next in 2016, the same year that the foundation was granted Special Consultative Status at the UN ECOSOC. Today WADAH still runs programmes in all four countries and works with partner organisations in Nepal and Africa.
One shining example of a WADAH success story is the Solar Grandmas programme. Last year, the foundation sent 13 Indonesian grandmothers who previously had no formal education to Rajasthan, India, where they completed a six-month training course on solar electrification and rainwater harvesting. By taking these skills back to their villages, the grandmothers have dramatically helped over 4,000 individuals from 514 households. This year, nine more women will complete the programme in the hopes of becoming community leaders who can literally light up homes in their villages.
The inaugural Bali EVEnt is an opportunity for you to enjoy a glamorous evening out in a divine rainforest setting, while also lending support to WADAH and the great work they do. The party kicks off with cocktails in the garden at 6pm followed by a seated dinner with wine, live entertainment and a charity auction. When the clock strikes midnight, a light supper will be served along with espresso martinis. The dress code is formal eveningwear, so think glamorous garb, and don’t forget to bring a mask.
Tickets are IDR2,800,000 per person and include the welcome cocktails, dinner with wine, light supper, espresso martinis, and entertainment. 100% of the proceeds will be used to construct a children’s preschool, train new teachers for the school, and build a multi-facility community centre for women and their families in the underdeveloped hamlet of Fatuliman, Koa Village, Timor, Nusa Tenggara Timor. Now if that’s not a reason to get dressed in your finest and enjoy a fab night out, we don’t know what is!
