**Note** I'm going to travel to Flores in July and personally bring the donations to the schools and families! Read more about this project on my blog.

Hello everyone!

My name is Saskia and I'm raising funds to support the education of 56 school children and 13 university students from Flores, Indonesia. Many of these children are orphans, some were abandoned and others are from extremely poor families, but one thing they have in common: they all struggle to afford their education.

This fundraiser runs until July 2026 and is carried out in collaboration with the Dian Flores Indonesia Foundation.

100% of the donations will be used to pay the following:

In order to support all 69 children and students to stay in school/university in 2026 we need to raise a total of 495.846.000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) which is ~25.300€.

Since Gofundme charges 2.9% + 0.25€ per donation to cover transaction fees and guarantee that the donations are secure, I set the goal for this fundraiser at 26.000€.

How are the donations handled?

To make sure that everything stays transparent, a new bank account was created that will be used for this fundraiser only. The donations collected via GoFundMe are going straight to that bank account at the beginning of every month. You can also donate directly to the account:

Saskia Schwarz

AT16 2011 1854 8632 2103

GIBAATWWXXX

If you decide to donate directly, please state “anonymous” or “public” in the reference. Your donation will be added accordingly to the list on GoFundMe as an offline donation. If no such statement is made, you will be added as anonymous donor by default.

How will the donations reach these children?

In July, I’m going to travel to Flores for two months and personally bring the donations to the schools and families together with Florian Lengu. I’ll be covering my travel expenses myself.

Our work in Flores will be documented on YouTube, Instagram and on my blog (purposewithsass.com).

The background story

Seven years ago in 2019, I met Florian Lengu, a local from Flores and founder of the Dian Flores Indonesia Foundation.

Back then I was backpacking through Southeast Asia for a few months and as I was making my way through Flores, a beautiful and less travelled island eastern of Bali, I happened to pass through a town called Bajawa. One evening, Florian and his family were having dinner at the same restaurant as I was and eventually, we started talking.

When he learned that I was from Germany, his eyes lit up and he said: "Oh, really? Do you know Garmisch-Partenkirchen? I've been there!"

Honestly, this was so unexpected, my jaw dropped. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a small town in the very south of Germany, usually known for skiing and the Winter Olympics. But it also happens to be the town where my grandparents met and where I spent a couple of summer and winter holidays during my childhood.

Naturally I had to ask: "How come you've been there?"

And the story he told me really struck me with surprise.

Florian himself was born into a large family of eleven children and had to help his parents from early on just to afford school fees and daily needs.

In 1991, when Florian was 16, he met a Dutch couple, Mr. H.P. Deys and Mrs. Jeanne Deys, who were traveling across Flores as tourists. He offered to be their local guide for three days, taking them to visit several villages connected to his family’s roots.

Three months later, he received a letter from Mr. Deys saying they would support his education. This was a dream come true. They supported him until December 1992, when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Flores. Tragically, Florian lost all contact with his sponsors in the Netherlands since the documents with their information were gone and back then there was no internet available on Flores.

In 1993, he started working in tourism and eventually finished school. That he had lost contact with the Dutch couple never left his mind and in 2002, 11 years after they initially met, he set out to find them and flew to the Netherlands. Once there, more resources where available and he managed to reconnect with them.

Since he already was in Europe, they wanted to treat him to an experience he would remember for a lifetime and took him to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. „Reuniting with them was one of the most joyful and emotional moments of my life“, he recalls.

"I just want other children to experience what I once received - the gift of education and hope." And for many years now he has been doing exactly that: helping children receive donations for their education, whether by approaching travelers or through the support of local politicians.

However, in recent years it has been quite difficult to do so, especially in times when tourism is low like during the pandemic or recent volcanic activities that had many flights cancelled.

Right now, there is 200+ children in the area of Bajawa who need financial support for their education. Many of them are orphans due to past natural catastrophes or illnesses, others were abandoned or are from extremely poor families.

Over the years I have also supported some children occasionally, but since I'm still a student myself my financial means are rather limited.

In the pictures below, for example, you can see me and one of the girls going to a bank together to open her account when I was in Flores in 2019. The picture on the right shows Florian and his wife Theresia who had invited me into their home for a few nights, showing me their culture and warm hospitality.

Florian and I stayed in touch over the years and now he has sent me a list of these 69 children in need with detailed information on all the costs for transportation, materials, school uniforms and the tuition fees of the various schools and universities.

Most of the children are in school (elementary, middle or high school), but the list also includes 13 university students.

Education is so important. I really want to contribute somehow but since I can't do it alone I've now started this fundraiser. I'm sure it is possible to do this but we need your help. Every donation, as small as it might be, helps. And even if you can't donate yourself, it would be highly appreciated if you shared our mission with your friends and family. :)

Thank you for reading this far and all the best,

Saskia Schwarz