The island of Bali is famous for its scenic beauty and remarkable ancient culture. Bali may be small in size-you can drive around the entire coast in one long day-but its lush beauty prevails over its small size.
RYS Indonesia Summer 09 will engage in a social service project together with youth from SOS Bali, an institution which creates homes for orphans, by putting orphans of different ages together as family units complete with foster parents into homes practicing different faiths. Therefore the experience is not simply about how someone could be a part of a family but also a part of the society.
SOS Children's Village Bali is situated in Tabanan, on approximately 18 acres. It consists of 12 family houses, including the Village Director's house, a community center, a multipurpose hall, a library, a temple and administrative buildings.
A large orchard and two fish ponds provide the village with fresh fruits and fish. The youth are brought up according to the island traditions, learning Balinese music and dance. Sports are very popular. Youth attend training and competitions in volleyball, soccer and athletics.
During this RYS Indonesia project, youth from Europe, the U.S., Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia will help create a fishpond as a symbol of peace.
One of the objectives of RYS Indonesia working together with the SOS Bali project is to understand the importance of the family unit for orphans. How does living together as a family of individuals having different backgrounds impact the children? And how will it impact their future lives?
RYSI participants will live and work together with SOS Bali youth to construct the fishpond, as well as paint and clean their village. They will also receive training in communications and leadership from an RYS trainer. Participants will join together for sightseeing and sincere investigation into interfaith practices.
