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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 APRIL 2016 43 Travel Lend a helping hand to the East Bali Poverty Project MARC CASOLANI NOW I know that I always share places in this World that are lush, exciting and beauti- ful to explore. The place that I will share with you today is not only beautiful and exciting, but it is a place that will help a person restore their faith in humanity and experience a zest of inspiration. The main town is called Bunga, and it is found in East Bali. Yes Bali, your tropical and honeymooning destination. This village is spread out between 19 sub-villages that are settled around the foothills, and all the way up and along the mountains of Agung and Abang. In 1998 British Engineer David Booth set off to survey this area and with the philoso- phy of "helping people to help themselves," he wanted to see if these people wanted help of any sort. The survey took over a year to carry out and they discovered a population that was without water, sanitation, roads, schools, health facilities and electricity. Il- literacy was up to 100%. Malnutrition and iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) were en- demic. Iodine is essential nutrient for healthy childbirths, brain and body development. Luckily, through this survey and its philos- ophy they got a positive response and over 1,000 families had requested children's edu- cation as a foundation for a better future. An inspiring and productive collaboration then began with the most disadvantaged commu- nities. All programmes since then have been designed as models that can be replicated, and executed by local people who directly transfer knowledge and appropriate tech- nology within their communities. The EBPP was set up to empower illiterate and malnourished children, reduce poverty and promote cultural sensitivity, progress through sustainable development, and to harness human and natural resources for mutual benefit and sustainable social and economic development. Through this, the local population of Bunga have progressed to a stage were not only have their lives dras- tically improved, but they have helped them- selves become recognised academically by having a high success rate over the years and they are growing within their means and not letting anything get out of control. From be- ing a population forgotten by time and pro- gress, they now have schools, low child mor- tality, sustained birth control, an improved ecosystem, a progressing sustainable food forest for the thousands of villagers, and rain water that is captured and conserved for the benefit of the land, nature, ecosystems, and, most of all the people. With everything that I have mentioned so far, this is a great place to go and visit if you are in Bali, and if you want to take it a step further for those of you interested in volun- teering, this would be a great opportunity to feel like you are part of a successful and very real project. Every bit helps, but I feel there is no bet- ter way than helping a cause that is working on helping itself. Inspirasia Foundation, a private foundation who consult and sup- port many NGOs with exceptional projects in health and education for the underprivi- leged, have been a big driving force in help- ing EBPP get to where they are now. With the help of IF and other organisations, EBPP looks like it is heading to a very interesting and successful future. With this, I hope they will have a great success story to share with and motivate others projects around the world. To get here you will need to contact David either via email or mobile: he will then create an itinerary for you to get a full feel and un- derstanding of the project. This itinerary will consist of a whole day excursion including a bumpy 4x4 off-roading experience, village and school visitations, bamboo project visi- tation and much more. Through the guid- ance of David and his highly skilled team, you will truly experience and get a good understanding of what it is like to set up an NGO, to see how the project works, to see and feel the environment that surrounds the project and what things have to be dealt with on a daily basis. In this case the government has only recently began to set up a platform to aid this area of Bali, and they have a long road ahead. Until now it has been the village people that have made it all happen with the valuable advice and assistance from EBPP. I know this is not your every day stop when visiting a tropical chill out getaway like Bali, but as I have already said it is definitely a worthwhile experience. It's not every day that you get to witness such amazing pro- jects for humanity in the making. Once you make arrangements with David or one of the team, you can get here with one of the EBPP vehicles, food and drinks will be arranged and your camera and notebooks will be essential. It is a lovely drive there through rural areas and small urban hamlets, with the ever-present Mount Agung and Mount Abang in the background. If you re- ally enjoy the experience and take it to heart then, feel free to make arrangements with the team to get some volunteer work done. For more information contact Marc at marc@casolani360.com