Our causes

Teenager groups

When children with a mental disability graduate from school, or if they, through circumstances, did not go to school, there is no other opportunity for them then staying at their family at home. At the SLB there is a form of activity group but they can only participate in this group for three years, after this there is really nothing more to do. To offer young adults a place where they can do all sorts of activities and learn practical skills we have started a young adult group.

Educational workshops

Although there is a school in every region (eight in total) in Bali for children with a mental disability from the age of seven, there is not much specific knowledge about these children and about fitting education methods. The education is class wise and the focus is mostly at cognitive development, like this also finds place at regular schools in Bali. The teachers try, with their own insights, to fit the needs of every individual’s needs and possibilities of the students, but do not have enough instruments and knowledge.

Play learn groups

The play-learn groups are for children till the age of eight. At this moment we have six play-learn groups, two in Singaraja and four in Ubud. The children have two till three lessons in the morning per week. We have one teacher and one assistant on every group. In this situation there is enough guidance, together with the present parents, to assist the children individually. This is for example necessary when a child shows difficult behaviour and the lesson cannot continue without enough guidance.

Teach the teacher

In 2005 we have started with educating Balinese teachers through an intensive program. Together with Dutch volunteers, who guided the teachers, experiences and insights have been exchanged to come up with useful methods and programs. A big part of the program was the background information from the different disabilities and syndromes as in Bali not much information is available about this. In means of a variety of workshops the Balinese teachers learn how to handle the different disabilities. Trainees got the assignment to develop a special movements plan and we have given trainings in communication, cooperation and how to give guidance.