(The
following articles were published in two parts in the Bali Advertiser
in November 2001 and April 2002)
Story by Ines Wynn and Begonia Lopez
Tourists with disabilities undoubtedly find Bali a daunting place.
Few of the hotels, even fewer of the famous attractions, and none of the
public buildings, shops and structures, have easy access or accommodations
for mobility-challenged customers. Indeed, it is a rare sight to
see a wheelchair maneuvering around Kuta Square or attempting a visit
to a temple. Even the modern, recently constructed malls are a prohibitive
excursion for the wheelchair-bound.
If
the wheelchair tourists are nearly invisible in Bali, it is even truer
of the locals. Traditionally, handicapped people in Bali are homebound,
out of sight. Some of it has to do with the Balinese attitudes towards
disabled people. The Bali Hindu Dharma religion believes people’s
lives are ordained by karma. The ongoing cycle of rebirth and reincarnation
provides a framework for the soul to evolve. Sins and omissions
in a prior life are revisited in the present life as afflictions and lack.
Being born in this life with less than a full set of abilities is the
manifestation of karma. Disabled people are regarded as souls
who must rectify in this life what was lacking in a previous one.
Therefore, the Balinese look at disabled people with the sort of indifferent
compassion that clearly signals the physical or mental problems are to
be overcome by the affected people themselves, with little or no help
from their environment. Thus it is that handicapped people are not
very well integrated into local society. Little recourse is available
to them, even fewer agencies exist to bother about their plight.
Most handicapped people in Bali are homebound by necessity, not by choice.
There
are 20 and 30 year olds who have never been out of their houses. They
never went to school so they cannot read or write. There are disabled
people who have never seen a wheelchair, others who know but cannot afford
one. Most schools cannot accommodate disabled children. Only bigger
cities such as Denpasar, Gianyar, and Bangli have schools that cater to
the disabled. But for people outside of these districts access to
these schools is rendered impossible by distance and lack of transportation.
Luckily
a few people really do care about the disabled in Bali. And a concerted
effort is underway to remedy the isolation and the helplessness of these
folks. The KUPU-KUPU foundation is a not-for-profit, non-governmental
organization, (NGO) whose main aim is to improve the lives of physically
and mentally disabled children, adolescents and adults in the Province
of Bali. Their mission is to assist the disabled in achieving the
highest possible level of physical and economical independence.
How it got started
Kupu-Kupu was set
up on 18th February 2000 and registered as a Charitable Organization
in Spain.
Spain?
Indeed, the story told here reads like one of those dreams we all have
but for which we lack the courage or the conviction to follow through.
What follows is the story of a lady who came to Bali, saw what few tourists
notice and immediately perceived the need for action. In her own
words, Begonia Lopez, founder and President of Kupu-Kupu, Spanish national,
social worker and erstwhile tourist in Bali recounts her experiences:
“I came to Bali the first time
in 1998, totally fell in love with Bali and the Balinese people and decided
to come back again the next year. But this time I didn’t want to
be a tourist. Instead, as I am a social worker, I tried to find out how
I could do some volunteer work. Someone in Ubud told me about three
handicapped brothers at the Sutha Darma School. So I went there
and discussed the chance to do some work. I was asked to teach English
and Spanish and got very involved with the three handicapped brothers
and their family.
On a subsequent visit to Bali
I brought some school materials and a small amount of money given by a
few friends in Spain. I visited the kindergarten at the village and bought
more school supplies for the children. Then I met someone from the Social
Department in Bangli and we started to visit some of the poor people in
the villages around Ubud who were living in very bad conditions and I
spent some money helping them. We also visited the “Tresna Asih” boarding
school for handicapped children in Bangli and when I saw the kitchen I
was so dismayed at its condition. When they told me that 22 kids
lived there, I knew I wanted to do something to improve the kitchen.
When I went back to my life and
job in Europe my mind was full of thoughts about how I could help the
people I had met. From that point my life changed. In my hometown
of Vitoria in the Basque Country I tried to find an already established
NGO who would be interested in sponsoring the project to build up the
new kitchen for the school for handicapped children in Bangli. I couldn´t
find a Spanish NGO interested in the Kitchen Project so finally I set
up my own NGO with three friends. I registered Kupu-Kupu NGO in the Basque
Country on 18 February 2000 with the goal to improve the lives of physically
and mentally handicapped children in Bali. I did some fundraising for
the kitchen project and obtained a grant to buy school supplies for the
schools for handicapped children in Bangli and Gianyar.”
And How it grew
“Many
of the people I met were suffering from polio and unable to get around.
I approached “Merdeka Wheelchairs” in Jakarta and they were able to provide
10 wheelchairs to needy disabled people. Most had never seen a wheelchair
or even left their houses. When they told me how much they would like
to meet other people with disabilities and talk about their problems and
their situation, I decided to help them organize a meeting. With the assistance
of the Social Department in Bangli and a few sponsors for the transport
and food, we organized a meeting and spent a few hours talking to
people, trying to find out their needs and their problems. From that meeting,
attended by 60 people, I established a database with names, addresses,
studies, skills, type of handicap, work and needs.
To build up the kitchen
for the Handicapped Children’s school in Bangli, we needed batako and
after checking the database I realized there were some disabled people
from Bangli who make batako but they lacked machines and sand to make
it. So we bought the sand and machines and they started to make batako
for the kitchen. Given that many of the handicapped people are very artistic,
we started to help other people by buying some things for them like machines
for the woodcarvers and pencils or paint supplies for the painters.
In the meantime I
started some fundraising locally and I approached the Hotel Melia in Nusa
Dua to introduce the NGO. They have collaborated with us since last November.
At the moment there are two handicapped people who make 500 sandals for
the hotel every month.”
And where we’re going...
There are many ways
of improving the lives of people with disabilities. First, we are trying
to find the people with disabilities in the villages, talk to them and
find out their needs. Most of the people we are trying to help have polio,
so we bring wheelchairs. There are people who need supplies and tools
for their work, and there are people who need help selling their products
so we try to find business people who can order from them or we organize
exhibitions or bazaars for them to sell their handicrafts.
We
want to establish an office or information center, with a workshop where
young people with disabilities can work and sell their products and where
unskilled people with disabilities can learn a craft or a trade.
We know people in their twenties who cannot speak Bahasa Indonesia or
who are illiterate because they never went to school.
Some
of the other projects we have on the drawing board:
- Adapt the houses of disabled people
to make them more accessible
- Promote the products of disabled
workers and open new markets (print catalogues, create new designs and
websites).
- Purchase a vehicle
to reduce the economic and social isolation of people with disabilities.
- Train two handicapped
people in website design so that they can sell their products and create
a website to promote the foundation.
- Expand cooperation
with “Merdeka Wheelchairs” in Jakarta for the supply of wheelchairs
to Balinese.
- Pay attention to
the needs of women with disabilities.
How we are funded
We rely totally on outside funding
and grants. Funds for the kitchen project and the school materials
for handicapped children in Gianyar and Bangli came from my home
town Vitoria in Spain. There are a small number of people in Spain and
Great Britain (around 50 people) who support the foundation through membership.
Our British sponsors have bought a hand phone and a motorbike to
help with our field activities and they are doing fundraising in Britain
through their friends and community. This year we got a new grant from
the Council of Vitoria (Spain) to set up an office for the NGO in Bali
and buy a vehicle to transport the disabled.
What our needs are
We
need new sponsors to buy or lease land for the office and for the hiring
of office staff. Our most immediate needs are funding for two staff members.
Begonia Lopez has been working as a volunteer since January 2000, without
salary or income, living from savings and spending her own money to keep
the NGO afloat. But she needs a Bahasa Indonesia speaking assistant to
overcome the language barrier and to work on various projects.
We
want to set up a network of professional people who want to collaborate
with us for a few days or for a few weeks. Specifically we would
welcome a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist,
orthopedics, pediatrician, special education teachers, nurses and auxiliary
nurses.
We
need business people who could give orders for handicrafts.
We
need any kind of office equipment such as computer, printer, and fax.
We
want to find a local partner or registered NGO in Bali, and people who
can do fundraising and support our projects. Every day we come across
more needs and more handicapped people with different problems.
There is so much to do!
We rely on volunteers
The Kupu-Kupu foundation relies
on people who can volunteer their services, support and advice.
A special thanks goes to those individuals who have contributed their
time and services, People like Bapak Vern, Bapak Agung Putradhyana, Ibu
Sherry from the Bali Street Dog Foundation Yudisthira, Bapak Petrus, Ibu
Tomoka, Ibu Astrid, Ibu Joan, Ibu Ruth, Bapak Emory, Ibu Down, Ibu Rosa,
Bapak Tri, Café Internet 3000 in Ubud and the staff who facilitated the
first Kupu-Kupu Exhibition of handicrafts make by Balinese people with
disabilities, Café Gong in Benoa Nusa Dua who facilitated the July-August
Exhibition, and the staff and Manager of the Hotel Melia in Nusa Dua,
who have supported Kupu-Kupu from the beginning
We
would love to find more hotels and restaurants interested in helping our
disabled people by selling their handicrafts, paintings or postcards,
or organizing exhibitions.
We
need local people who want to teach reading and writing to three young
handicapped girls (between 20 and 26 years old) in Bangli and Ubud who
have never been to school.
The
unknown artists of the Kupu-Kupu Foundation (Part 2)
By Ines Wynn
Bali
is famous for its handicrafts. They come in all types, styles and
ilk. Objects great and small fashioned from wood, stone, batik,
palm leaf, coconut, etc. From the mass produced to the one of a
kind, Bali souvenirs beckon to tourists in many shops, street stalls,
the traditional markets and upscale boutiques. There are arts and
crafts unique to Bali, like the Barong masks, the Young Artists style
paintings, filigreed silverwork, woven baskets to name just a few.
They come in beautiful earth tone shades or gay parrot colors, in sizes
to fit small purses and big departing suitcases.
But the
tourist who buys a pretty trinket or an exquisitely chiseled carving rarely
notices the artist behind the work. The mainstream thinking is that
all Balinese are such great craftspeople and the sheer abundance of the
available objects and the clear mass production all too readily obliterate
the human being who fashioned them. To be sure, a lot of craftspeople
in Bali work in the public eye. They are visible when you visit
woodcarvers’ galleries or the stonemason’s yards. Balinese are proud
of their crafts and like to demonstrate the handiwork process to visitors.
Whether batik painting, silversmithing, carving, painting or beading,
the artists and artisans like to share their world. But they rarely
sign their products, even though they are all handmade.
The majority
of the artisans work away from the public eye, in the remote villages,
in out-of-the way workshops or in the privacy of their homes. And
then there is a group of artists who work from their wheelchairs and because
of their mobility challenges are limited in the type of craft they can
pursue. Thanks to the Kupu-Kupu foundation I was able to meet a
number of these people, observe their work, ask questions about their
art and I came away with the feeling that these artists, though limited
in physical freedom compensated for that by letting their imagination
and abilities have full rein. The talent and determination of that
group is boundless. What they lack in physical mobility they regain
in an inner vision and a natural talent that few of us know how to unleash.
Meet
Made Jepun, 26 years old and unable to walk without crutches due
to polio. Though she never went to school and has no formal education
or training, she is a multi-talented artisan. At a young age she
learned to paint by copying paintings which her uncle produced in the
Young Artists style. Though she has never seen any of the famous
Young Artists original work, she has captured the essence. Her paintings
are colorful and dynamic, full of life and beehive activity. Her
sense of color application is also evident in the beaded purses she makes
and the necklaces and bracelets she fashions. While her paintings
are bright and cheerful, her beaded creations are subdued, subtle, playing
up soft nuances between colors. When I visited her, she was applying
beads to the designs of a Japanese kimono. Made occasionally makes
custom pieces like beaded gowns and stoles and the work is minutely and
painstakingly accomplished. It takes her the better part of a month
to finish a beaded gown but the result is awesome. Made works in
her parent’s modest warung in Penestanan Kelod where she also displays
her crafts and those of her brother who creates hand painted sarongs and
dresses.
Ketut
Sri is 23 and a tiny waif with a bright mind. Stricken by polio
at an early age, she grew up in an isolated village with no means of schooling
or formal education. She taught herself Bahasa Indonesia by watching
TV and is now learning how to read and write with the help of a younger
brother. From an early age she tried to make herself useful around
the family compound by assisting her older brother who is a woodcarver.
At 15 she gradually started carving herself and is now a very accomplished
woodcarver. She specializes in carving Sae and Barong masks.
Her work is fine and controlled, the features finely chiseled. While
admiring a series of masks she has carved for her personal collection,
I asked Ketut offhandedly what she would have like to be if she had not
grown up with paralyzed legs. When she answered that she would have
liked to be a dancer I was not surprised. Somehow, the soul and
spirit she puts into her carved masks with her dancing fingers are akin
to the role she would have assigned to her feet. A soaring spirit
cannot be contained. Neither can dreams.
This
year’s “Women Artists of Bali” calendar produced by the Seniwati gallery
in Ubud features a work by Putu Suriati. Putu is one of the
better known women painters in Bali. Though she too is confined
to a wheelchair, she has painted since she was 15 and now, at 38, Putu
is an established painter. The evolution of her talent and vision
is evident in her work. In the beginning she mimicked the
Young Artists style, gravitating later to realistic landscapes with subtle
ad subdued colors and depictions of village rituals. In a later
phase Putu settled on Barong scenes as her favorite style. She likes
to portray happy and serene images in the traditional style with exquisite
details. Her paintings are exhibited at the Seniwati Gallery in
Ubud.
Wayan
Purnawan leads a double artistic life in Bangli. By day he works
at his job as a woodcarver. By night he turns to his cherished hobby
of painting Flora & Fauna in the Ubud Traditional style. Like
a medieval tapestry, his paintings are monochromatic collages of imaginary
woods with exotic birds and jungle animals. Wayan is self-taught
and displays the happy confidence of the artist who has found the style
he wants to explore, refine and expand. Wayan is just 22 and only
started painting 4 years ago. Considering the limited amount of
time he can dedicate to his hobby, it is surprising the level of artistry
and accomplishment he has attained.
While
Wayan has found the direction to pursue in his painting, Made Sutempo
is still attempting to define his. Keenly aware of his lack of exposure
to other artists and to any stimuli for that matter, Made paints strictly
from photographs and illustrations. His work is a clear reflection
of his search. It is interesting to note the range he
has covered, from painting miniatures on eggs, to bold portraits, landscapes,
and flowers. His topics and subjects vary widely and his brush is
eager to explore and experiment. Born in a Kintamani village, Made
currently works with a few other handicapped artists in a roomy workshop
provided by the Department of Social Services in Bangli.
Two
of Made’s friends are Tri Tunggal and Kadek Erawan.
Kadek is a sandalmaker by trade. Looking at the samples in his
shop, one marvels at the nice workmanship. He currently makes complimentary
guest slippers for one of the large hotels in Nusa Dua. But business
is slow these days and few people know the path to his door. Yet
he has a fully equipped workshop and is eager to produce more. Tri
helps Kadek when big orders come in but lately there has not been much
to do. To survive, Tri does beadwork and other assorted craft jobs
that come her way. Both are young and still full of hope that the
economic situation will turn around in Bali so that they can live independently,
without having to rely on loans from friends and handouts from social
agencies. As with the other artists profiled here, these young people
have talent and a keen desire to work.
The most
striking thing these artists have in common is that they have developed
their art on their own, without any input from teachers or the chance
to imitate the masters in their field. At best, a relative taught
them the rudiments of painting or carving, or they were able to imitate
a style third hand. They never had a chance to see a true original
work, learn from an accomplished guru or get professional direction and
advice in their first experiments. The works they create truly come
from the heart and the gift of their fingers, uninhibited by rules, techniques
and conventions.
The Kupu-Kupu
Foundation wants to support these artists by creating exposure to their
works and a venue to showcase their talents. To date several small
exhibitions have been organized. But the word needs to get around
that there is a pool of talented and accomplished artisans who can create
many things, from original works of art to utilitarian goods and objects.
The beaded purses and gowns of Made Jepun, the quality sandals of
Kadek Erawan, Ketut Sri’s excellent carvings and the fine paintings of
Putu Suriati, Made Sutempo and Wayan Purnawan are just a smidgeon of the
many creative products made by Balinese people for the rest of the world
to enjoy at prices that belie the value of their work.
The Kupu-Kupu foundation
wants to find restaurants or other businesses that can provide some exhibition
space for our artisans’ work, or shops that can sell their products.
If you can help, contact Begonia Lopez at 0812 362 8720 or Bapak Agung
at 0818 346786
____________
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