Bali Fundraising at Feast
Alice: Bali Fundraising at Feast is very dear to our hearts. When Shane and I first visited Bali together, we met with a family of wood carving artists. They have been struggling to make end meets post Covid-19 lockdown that shut Bali to their main source of income – tourism. The Balinese man we met became friends and we were introduced to his family and circle of artist friends and relatives. This is how the people of Bali work – as a community. They helped each other out. We started buying art pieces directly from them instead of going to art galleries in Bali. They were being paid so little for a piece of wood carving that takes up to 2 to 3 days of work to produce. As a fellow artist, I felt the pain of injustice. They didn’t have a choice but to comply to the prices offered. Many had left their professions to become security guards or restaurant staffs to stay afloat.
Post Covid-19 2021 and 2022
Unable to travel during Covid-19, we flew back to Malaysia when the borders opened up. So many changes happened post Covid-19 in 2021 and 2022. Many people we met along our travels in the past were affected as it was in Spokane, WA. However, many of them were not so fortunate to get any reliefs from their governments. We helped a few individuals in Malaysia and Thailand. We returned to Bali to meet our new friend and during our stay, we met more individuals that we have deep connections with. This time we were brought to the oldest indigenous village in Tenganan. We were introduced to Wayan, a Jro Mangku or village spiritual leader. We were motivated to do something for the school children after spending significant days getting to know each other in his beautiful village. Our friend and driver helped us get some school supplies for the village’s children. Before we left Bali, we promised Wayan and his family that we will return to help build a computer lab for the children.
Cooking to Raise Fund
Shane: So this is where Alice came in. To date, the majority of our funding comes out of our pockets. I buy and fixed stuffs and sell them. Alice keeps a portion of her food sales for our humanitarian work overseas. This is the first time that she is cooking to raise fund and we are very excited to share this journey with our friends, families and guests. Her Malaysian food is amazing and she has come up with a delicious spread of Indonesian and Peranakan (Straits Born Chinese) influenced dishes. Please visit her Facebook Page SeraiMas for the latest news update. We hope with this outreach we will be able to spread more kindness to more people we meet in our travels.
Our Humanitarian Story
Alice: Shane has been involved in several charity organizations and church before we met. He has also been very involved with the homeless community in Spokane. I was on the receiving end of a good Samaritan in Malaysia. My ex-partner had emptied our joint bank account leaving me with nothing to fend for myself. I received news that my father had passed away and I had no means to attend his funeral. This stranger helped me. He asked me to pay it forward instead of returning the money I owed. This is the reason I feel inspired to help out as much as I can. Shane and I made a great team.
Shane: We started our work in Southeast Asia in 2016 when I flew to Malaysia to conduct an emotional regulation seminar in Kuala Lumpur. During my visit there I volunteered at Kechara, a Buddhist organization working with the homeless. We went out at night providing medical services along with meals. While doing work with Kechara, I was contacted by UNHCR and asked to volunteer my mental health and trauma skills to work with children that were human trafficking victims. Alice and I spent the next 4 months working with Rohingya refugees. We provided food, clothing, healthcare, education, and counseling to children ranging from 9 to 16 years of age. All victims of human trafficking.
We noticed many poor and marginalized in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. I contacted several large corporations soliciting for food assistance. We established the first “food bank” in Taman Firdaus and began receiving a truckload of food every week which was sorted and distributed to those in need. This food bank is still in existence today.
Over the years, we continued our humanitarian aid by providing support to people in Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia. In addition, I arranged a meeting with the heads of the prison system to see if we could possibly develop a support and educational program for incarcerated refugee children. Unfortunately, this was at the end of our stay and follow-up would have to wait another year. During the interim period, there was a major change in government and this forced us to temporarily scrap the prison program.
Your Help is Needed
Our plan for December 2024 is to provide resources to install a computer lab in the village school in Bali. In addition, if funds permit, we hope to donate 1 year’s salary to hire a music teacher to instruct students in playing the ancient instruments which are a huge part of the Balinese culture.
We are seeking donations to help us with our humanitarian assistance. Your help is needed and will be greatly appreciated. We also understand if you cannot make it to Feast World Kitchen on Wednesday when we have our Bali Fundraising event. Hence, the GoFundMe if you still like to support us in our project.