Sumba' s Extraordinary Orphanage - heart project

#mynameis...
Sumba, where on earth is this place?

It is an island in the East Indonesian Archipelago not too far from Bali and so very very close to Australia. This magical place has some of the most dramatic coastlines in the world, it's a beautiful land inhabited by the Sumbanese people who beam smiles like you have never seen before.

A few years ago I was in East Sumba, where I found an orphanage set up to care for kids with very 'limited abilities'. This discovery was set to change my life, as I promised I would never ever forget these wonderful kids.

Finding my way back to the location since has not been the easiest of journeys, as one needs to scooter through the intrepid coastal roads and swirling paths of Sumba, dodging chickens, ducks, wild boar, buffalo, goats and teams of  glorious horses along the way. Ideally you avoid the many potholes and arrive safely at the very humble and small orphanage building, located within the local school compound on Kanatang beach,  45 minutes from the town of Waingapu.

Sometimes this journey was in complete darkness, me tripping gears on a manual scooter with a failing headlight, often lost and sometimes in the middle of nowhere having a stand-off with a white buffalo under the Sumba moonlight. I do have a story or two to share and yes this is the road where I had my awesome scooter accident.


The orphanage accomodates up to 26 children, all of whom are extraordinary. In Bahasa the word 'biasa' means 'ordinary' and when you say 'luar biasa', you are are saying 'extraordinary'. SLB stands for Sekolah Luar Biasa, or school for the extraordinary.

I just love that translation!

These kids are truly extraordinary, they are orphans of various ages from infants up to 16 years of age and they live in a tiny building, sharing rooms with five or more per room, often sleeping on the floor and living day to day with very few possessions. They are poor, underpriveleged and most have very limited abilities. To me they are the most amazing children I have ever met. Against the odds, their Sumbanese smiles beam and they survive.

It's really not easy surviving in Sumba when you are poor. It's a place that one could say has been a 'little forgotten', but we can help  improve the lives of these kids by letting them know that they are not forgotten.

Last year you may know that I spent considerable time in Sumba and managed to collect clothing / useful general donations and most importantly raise funds to help these kids in person. I went directly to the orphanage a number of times where we figured out what was needed immediately to enhance daily life and we purchased what we could. There were so many people that donated last year. A big thank you again. We did good!!!


I promised I would be back, and in two weeks I'm heading to East Sumba where we have some serious and exciting plans to get underway. My Name Is provides name and theme to the next stage in helping these kids and the village around the orphanage.

My name is...      I am a child, I am important, I am in need of some assistance, I am grateful, I am Sumbanese.

A few hometruths. Some of the kids are blind, deaf, disabled, sick, malnourished, many have stunted growth and worst of all, most have no parents or family. Together, they are a unique family. The remarkable adult leaders of the orphanage and village / community members are excited to hear that they are on our radar. Hence #mynameis...

Please help in any way you can. Be it a physical donation (connect with me on Facebook) or donate $ through this official crowd funding channel.

As I did last year, I was able to share immediately where money was spent and I will do the same again this time via Facebook and Instagram. Together we will buy clothing, additional bedding, food, cooking utensils, refit the kitchen, paint the common room and bedrooms, do general building repairs and buy some relevant and useful games and entertainment for the kids. Sadly, there are a few kids that need to visit the hospital in Waingapu, let's see if we can pull together enough to make these visits happen.

I will be working with village and community leaders to ensure we get some wins. These kids are amazing, they deserve better.

If you can help to improve the lives of these wonderful kids, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am looking at ways to forge sustainable and ongoing support for the kids through better relationships with fellow human beings - us!

Please note, I always use my own money to fund these trips and cover my personal costs. Any donations will be used to help the kids.

If you have read this short story, I am grateful.
If you can  support this project financially, even better.
If you are unable to do so at this time, please show your support by following the progress on Facebook and Instagram.

This means the world to me, thank you a million times over!

jase