Volunteer Opportunities in Indonesia

For the curious, here are some of the organizations I'm looking at volunteering for in Indonesia:
*Most of these I found using the Volunteer Abroad website http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm

4th World Love - Lombok, Indonesia
http://fourthworldlove.org/

Sumatran Orangutan Society - Ubud, Bali
http://www.orangutans-sos.org/

International Humanity Foundation - Buitan, Bali
http://www.ihfonline.org/

Please also check out the Ubud library - this is wonderful!. I explored it this evening and booked a class there for Balinese dancing. The library provides books for westerners as well as for the Indonesian people. There is also a specific children's library though. Yayayayay!

Pondok Pekak Library
I'm including the link to an article about the library...
http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/nonprofitnews/2005/pondok_pekak.html

It was founded by Laurie Billington (American - I think they said Montana?) about 13(?) years ago. WAY COOL. I enjoyed browsing their books - they actually have a nice selection of English books! They also have a program for travelers like myself to check out books. They are of course always in need of donations so I will probably leave a couple of my books here.

I'm also checking out an organization run by Steve who I met bicycling... I'll post the link later - he runs a program that works in collaboration with hospitals and clinics helping AIDS victims. He works to promote healthy gardening so that individuals with AIDS get proper nutrition. I hope to visit his program in Cambodia later this year - he formerly ran his program in various countries in Africa. I don't know that he needs volunteers but I am interested in his work and hope that some of you find this information helpful.

What I'm finding is that there are a large number of organizations that need help - much like the U.S. There are people in poverty, animals that are endangered, waste management issues, legislative issues, children needing better education and opportunities and so many more ... not that unlike the U.S. The difference being that some of the countries I'm in are not as developed as the U.S. I wouldn't call Thailand a third world country and I'm not sure where Indonesia as a whole ranks with development and competition in the global market. Much of what I'm seeing in Ubud is tourist driven and not poor. While the images of poverty or need are different than what I'm used to they may be very similar to the needs of some individuals and populations that live within the U.S., a very developed country. I find irony in this. We need to help our own populations as well as those abroad. I found this in Thailand too though. Many of the poorer individuals I met thought westerners were incredibly rich in comparison to Thais - and yes - they are right - the individuals they meet traveling through or settling there are very rich in comparison. However there are many wealthy Thais too. Especially in the urban areas.

What I am looking for in this trip is experience working with organizations that are working hard to find sustainable solutions to the problems they are addressing. I can find this in the United States. However I'm also looking for the intercultural experience and exposure to other people and other ways of thinking. I also get to play tourist when I'm in between stints and I happen to be in some of the most beautiful areas of the world. But that's not what I'm here for. I resist the tourist front that I'm living in right now in Ubud. I like it but I also want more of the culture. I want to live with families. The modern world is creeping into villages and distant regions and some of the cultures it touches, it changes. In some ways this is good yet in others it's sad. If there are ways to bring help and funding from the western world without as much "western" impact I want to promote this. So many of the cultures I'm encountering are so rich in comparison to my own. They are absolutely beautiful.

I found a lovely cafe here in Ubud (I won't name it because it is lovely and doing good things), but it's also very western. I felt as if I was back in Seattle in a cafe listening to Seattle-ites and islanders discuss their yoga and art and craft and their thoughts on world and US politics. There's even a pro-Obama hanging. (And there were a few people from Seattle at the next table over!) This cafe promotes various organizations here and does some very good things - they are even asking that individuals not use straws in an attempt to find one more way to decrease waste - BUT... it needs more Bali flavor. Then again, I am in the center of Ubud in a place most tourists choose to stop to enjoy the art, food, dance and culture.

Anyways, take my thoughts as they are, just my opinions. There is good and bad in all places and all things and both should be accounted. The Balinese make offerings to many gods but they also place daily offerings on the ground and sidewalks to appease the bad spirits. I kind of like this philosophy - I don't know enough about it or the history but I like it.

I miss home and I miss my friends - both here and in Thailand. I miss being able to say hello to the other teachers and staff at Yaowawit. I miss being able to go to coffee or lunch with my friends in Seattle. I miss my kiddo and our jokes and laughs. You all enrich my life and I'm sad to not be closer. I hope all of you are doing well and that life is treating you kind.

Much love and hugs,
Joyann