Last week I took my boys, Zachary & Luca, to visit the Jodie O'Shea orphanage in Denpasar (Bali) during our holiday there. Bali has given so much to me throughout various chapters of my life & so decided that I wanted to start giving back a portion of our profits from SunMoonRain to include this wonderful sanctuary that has been operational since 1995.

The Jodie O'Shea orphanage is 100% funded by the kindness of generous friends & visitors & currently looks after 91 local kids age ranging from newborn to 17. It was created by a really special inspiring English woman Alison Chester who has transformed the lives of these children with her dedication to creating such a wonderful home for them filled with such positive energy. 

Alison built this home in loving memory of Jodie O'Shea who tragically died as a result of the Bali bombing in 2002. In the aftermath of the Bali bombing, many people wanted to contribute in some way to create a future of opportunities for those who had very little. A compassionate and determined group of people lead by Alison combined their resources to improve the lives of children here in Bali and began building the orphanage for them. Of these children, some are from Sumba, a very poor and arid island to the east of Bali and some are from Bali or other Indonesian islands.

We brought a whole bunch of treats (cakes and jelly) for the children when we got there, and they gobbled them up so gratefully and happily. It was really touching to see how much they valued and treasured this small gesture. 

Here we are with super cute little 5 year old Rehan from Sumba....a little yogi in the making! 

My boys "monkeying" around with the other kids...

Making bracelets with the girls…they sell them after to the hotels gift shops & the proceeds go back to the Orphanage. So special..

In this picture above, Zachary is chatting with a lovely young boy Daniel who he connected with and who we decided to sponsor yearly paying for his food, clothing, health, tuition, holiday from the orphanage as well as contributing to the staff costs and orphanage power & maintenance.

If you would like to know more about this wonderful sanctuary please check out Care For Kids and if you would like to make a donation to this wonderful cause or sponsor a child as we have done, please contact lisa@careforkidsbali.com.

The orphanage considers sponsors a very important part of the child’s life as a mentor and a model to follow. They hope the sponsors will work to make the child feel really special - so  ask that they try to make connections when they can by email, letter (snail mail) or the social network.

It was really wonderful to see the children so happy there embracing a life they have never known - a healthy diet, an education, being nurtured and cared for and having the freedom to simply be children.

Well done Alison and your wonderful team, you are an inspiration to me and others and SunMoonRain is so honoured & happy to be able to contribute in what small way we can yearly to your non-profit organisation for the betterment of these children.

Shabnam - October 27, 2015