The Bash & Photos (1st batch)

I'm still too lazy to write long posts. So here are the first photos I got.

My awesome friends made me a banner! How cool is that!


Meet Christian. He's 1 year old and has just learned to walk. His mother got pregnant out of wedlock and gave birth to him in the orphanage. He was left there when he's 1 month old.


Hm, and I thought I was supposed to be the one blowing off the candles? :D


"Look! My tounge is red!". Other kids asked me if their tounges would also turn green if they drank 7-up. They thought their tounges would turn the same colour as the can's colour of the beverage (7-Up has green can).


The children entertained by Albert

The pick-up rhyme game. That girl (Yanni) is going to be a professional heart-breaker. She got style!




Clothes donation from PT. Tandika Jaya Lestari


Group photo

The receipt from the orphanage (this one was taken with my mediocre cam phone and skill. *just rotate your laptop or your head, guys! I dont know how to rotate a photo, ok! xD)


A big thanks goes to our photographer, Adam (www.leonardadam.com)
More photos coming up. Stay tuned!

Update:
I won't be writing any long post.

I just wanted to say thanks to the children, all of you who supported the cause, and my friends who joined me in the orphanage..
Albert & co who coordinated the entertainment for the children, you ARE undoubtedly talented.. So glad to have you there.. Thank you for the banner you guys made me, it was very sweet and touching :)
Andry, Eka and Sylvie who put up with my hungry-early-morning crankiness.
Vero Adam for their cool photos, for your excitement and sincerity.. Thanks for being there.
AStrid, Andre, well.. you guys were basically waste of space :D Nancy, for coordinating the snacks for the kids.

Things went smoothly, the food had arrived before us.
The children were waiting for us and shook our hands when we arrived, laughing, singing for us.
We ate with the children, talked and got to know them.

One boy, Soni, holds a special place in my heart.. He went all the way to make me happy, asking me what I wanted to drink, and rushing back and forward to get us our drinks.. He's just so... selfless. He actually wanted to try a 7-up, but he gave me his 7-Up when he asked me what I wanted to drink, and I said "7-Up", and settled for Mirinda instead. I gave him my 7-up of course haha.

Other boy, Axel, saved Soni's can of Mirinda while Soni's running around to get us food and drinks. Axel said,"This is Soni's. I'll watch the can for him so that no one gets hold of this." When Soni came back, Axel gave him the can and said cutely,"Soni, here's your red drink. I kept watch while you're gone." Isn't that the definition of friendship? Having each other's back.

*Soni is the boy in the middle of the 4th photo of the children holding Mirinda cans. Axel is the one next to him.

I mean, how often do we do that to others? Soni who had never drank a 7-Up before was willing to give me his. What about us? No matter how many times we drank something, we still want it to be ours. We do not know what sharing and giving means most of the times.. These kids are indeed richer than us :)

Albert as the MC really knows what he's doing.. He's energetic, fun, he simply.. owned the kids. There's never a boring moment when Albert was in charge. We played games, we sang, we laughed. We had fun.

Too bad we had to stop at around half past two as the children were tired and needed to take a nap, so we distributed the snack packages, took group photos, and said goodbye to the children who sang for us, sat on our laps, held our hands, hugged us tight, gave us love and stole our hearts.

Yaaay! Now I'm officially 22 years old!
*I warn you, dont u dare burst my bubbles of delirium.

Dear friends, the bash was a success with so many helping hands, and we had sooo much fun with the children :)

I'll update on the details later this week. Am currently down with cold and still waiting for photos from our photographers. Sorry for keeping you waiting :)

Rough run-down

Sunday, 19/02/2012

11:30 : KFC delivery
12:00- 13:00 : lunch
13:00- 15:00 : music, games, entertainment (By: the children & Abe)
15:00- 16:00 : conv, gifts, soap bubble, cash donation release (? Help! How do you say 'Abgabe' in English??)

This schedule is flexible though. We're planning to keep it fun and spontaneous.

The preparation

Update 18.02.2012; 8 pm

We got the total of Rp 28.000.000/ 2372 Euro (+/-) from Rp 23.270.000 + euro conversion of Rp 3.430.000 + my dad's Rp 1.300.000

Conversion rate 1 Euro = Rp 11.800

Will upload the transfer receipt later





Everyone, vielen Dank, thank you, terima kasih, kamsahamnida, merci beaucoup, tack !!!!!!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll stop the donation on Saturday, Feb 18th 2012, at 5 PM Jakarta time (GMT +7)
Update 18/02/2012, 09:25 AM
Our current cash donation Rp 23.270.000
(=1950 Euro +/-) Plus 290 Euro (still waiting for the converted transfer)

15.02.2012

Ok guys, as I'm too lazy to write in 3 languages, I shall hope that English does suffice. So Indonesians, Germans, etc, please bear with me. The bash is coming up in 4 days, so I'll stop the fundraising by Saturday, 18 Feb.

Those who wish to support the cause are welcome to do so before Sat. The money I receive afterwards will go to my hedonistic-lifestyle-support fund. Hehe, I'll still wire the money to their account, but I can't guarantee the transparency from the other side.

Update on the preparation:

- My brother, Haris and I have ordered 110 KFC sets (rice+chicken+pepsi) for the 70 children, 18 caretakers and us. The catering will be delivered on Sunday, 19 Feb, directly to the orphanage at around 11 AM.

- Albert, the owner of Klasik (Klapertart asik/ funky klapertart) will donate 100 pcs of his delish Klapertart. *Yaay! I think the birthday girl has the privilege to get her hand on one of these, right? :pKlapertart is a holland-style tart made from coconut, originally from Manado (a city in Sulawesi), Albert's hometown. It looks good and it does taste heavenly.

Follow their twitter @klapertart_asik
or FB page : klapertart asik
Website: www.klapertartasik.com

- Sari is organizing clothes and books donation for the children. And she also happens to get her textile supplier on board. So, her supplier, Ms. Ahun of PT. Tandika Jaya Lestari is going to donate 50 pcs of brand new clothes from her production to the children. I thank Ms. Ahun, whom I do not personally know, for her donation. And of course Sari for her effort. It means a lot :)

- Veronica is also going to organize clothes donation, and probably the cake (I'll still have to update her on this), and Adam, true to his profession as a photographer, will document the event. *I hope his expensive camera will make me look better on photos xD

- Astrid, Andre, Ellen and Nancy are going to supply the snack packages (me muttering under breath: unhealthy! I want one! Hehe). They haven't decided on the content, it might be candy bars, chocolate, milk, anything. I'll just leave it to them anyway.

- Eka and Andry are organizing clothes donation on their own as well, and Andry is going to have the privilege to drive me to the orphanage :D

- Sylvie and her cousin are going to donate clothes and toiletry sets (consisting of shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc). I also thank her very much for bringing in many cash donation by her restless extortion on her own network :)

- My dad is going to supply fancy labels,coloring sticker sheets, rulers from his production lines.

As for the cash donation, I'm planning to wire the money to the orphanage on Saturday. I'll bring the transfer receipt on Sunday and give it to the caretakers in front of everybody, for the sake of transparency.

Btw, the latest stand as for today, Feb 15th (hm, is stand a german word?) is around Rp 17.000.000 (1500 Euro +/-). I haven't counted the exact figure yet, as I'm still waiting for more donations to come.

I thank you all wholeheartedly for your help, support, encouragement, word spreading, trust, donation, etc.. A dear friend of mine said,"What? You manage to get 1500 Euro in 4 days? Gosh, people do love you." Yes, I count myself lucky to have friends who trust and love me (or are afraid of my intimidation), lucky to know people from all over the world who are full of love and ready to share it as well :) Love you all!Update 16/02/12:
- I've got sets of soap bubble as well. I've been looking for these since last week in supermarkets with no result. In my desperation, I asked my dad's employee yesterday if she knows where to buy those bubbles. This morning, the bottles are stacked up in front of the office. Very cute of her :)

- Sylvie, who's currently working at ANZ Bank, broadcasted my project to her contacts, and her HD asked her about the orphanage yesterday, as they're interested in this orphanage for their next social project. Not bad, isn't it? :D

- Albert (the klapertart owner) and Sari, also an event organizer by profession is going to do a final run down on the event. He'll host and organize the entertainment program, etc. I'm amazed by his efficiency, as I am a very unorganized person. Just ask my flatmate hehe. So glad to have them on the team.

- Vero's cousins are also going to donate clothes, and are planning to visit the orphanage themselves next time :)

The project

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. - Dalai Lama
----------------------------------------

As I am currently holidaying in the good old hometown, it all started when I (true to my-attention-seeking-self) told my dear friends that my birthday's coming up.

Most of them answered,"So, what do you want for your birthday present?" or "Let's go grab some food and drinks. My treat." Some of them answered,"So what?"

I was lying on my bed and started thinking, what did I want? And it struck me, I am lucky enough to have everything I need and I don't want anything anymore. I'm content. And I realized how lucky I am to have friends who would spend more than 50 euro to buy me presents, treat me to dinner in posh lounges, how we're able to spend some hundred euro in one night just for food and beverage.

To those who have never been in Indonesia before, just a quick information. We are a developing country and the gap between the rich and the poor is very present. Some people have to survive and support their families on less than 100 Euro monthly, while others who are luckier will spend the same amount on drinks and parties in a night. (Please don't cast stones at me, I do plead guilty of this).

So I decided to share my birthday celebration with 70 children in an orphanage near Jakarta on Feb 19th. At first I wanted to pay the food and cake from my friend's fund, so the money they're going to spend on me will go to those children's burgers instead. But then I found out that this orphanage is an independent orphanage, which means they do not have any trust fund. So, at this point I decided I would personally pay for the food expenses, and my friend's money will go as cash donation.

I broadcasted my project to the people on my contact list, posted it on social media, shamelessly extorting my friends and cousins. And I got very positive responses from them. Some offered to help, some are willing to donate and share the words. This is going bigger :)

At the beginning I only planned on food and balloons for the kids, now I have photographers, cake donation, etc. Some friends are coordinating clothes donation, cash donation is also pouring in. Some are so eager to drive me to the orphanage, hey they are even more excited than me about this project!

The words spread and I got friends from Deutschland, Australia, Austria, Sweden, South Korea etc  asking me how they could donate. I got the Australians covered, as they can wire their donation to my brother's Brisbane account and he'll give me the cash in our currency. Others can transfer to my Indonesian or German account. 

To be honest, there's a selfish satisfaction in this. I always believe in the good in people, and this project affirms me of people's warmheartedness and goodness, of how enthusiastic people are in helping others. We are one after all.
Someone told me before, that people are evil in the first place and no one can do good without believing in God. I'm glad that he's wrong. My donators aren't religious people who go to worship places every week, but they do know compassion and they believe in humanity. And that's what matters the most.

I can still remember the head-sister of the orphanage thanking me wholeheartedly when I was talking to her on the phone, and it made me realize, I should be the one thanking her and the children. They are the ones who give me the chance, the possibility of trying to make a change. They taught me about love and warmth, something that money can't buy. The givers should be thankful indeed.

"Many small people who in many small places do many small things can alter the face of the world"

* I still have 5 days to extort and beg and I am thanking all of those who make this possible, as I can't do this all alone. Together we can make a difference :)

Taman Fioretti Orphanage
Jalan Raya Kampung Sawah Gg Pos 04/01 No. 16
Jati murni - Pondok Gede Bekasi 17431
Indonesia
Phone : +6221-713 55 174
Contact : Sr. Monika

The donator's list

Untuk transparansi, gue akan nge-list korban todongan gue. Kalo ada yang namanya belom tercantum disini, harap contact gue ya. Atau kalo ada yang mau stay anonim juga bisa contact gue.

W. Lestari
BCA 763 034 1030

Konto : 0202842119
blz : 30020900

List ini akan gue update terus.

For transparency, this is the donator's list. I'll update this list regularly.

Yang udah gue pegang cashnya:
1. Puri : 250k
2. Novi : 150k
3. Steven : 500k
4. Mbak cantik yg ga mau disebut (Jkt) : 250k
5. Ady : 300k
6. NN (Sby): 100k
7. FT (jkt) : 200k
8. Yerri : 250rb
9. Good samaritan bali : 300rb
10. Bos GG : 250rb
11. Gandhi : 200rb
12. Lisa & fam : 1.000.000
13. The next James Riadi Jkt : 250k
14. HJ Tangerang : 250k
15. Titin Tony : 500k
16. Berlinerin : 200k
17. Seleb Bali : 250k
18. H (Jkt): 300k
19. FMM (Syd): 1.000.000
20. JN : 1.000.000
21. A&E : 800k
22. EW : 500k
23. Ms manis yg lg patah ati bgt : 400k (yg ini ngerepotin d scr pseudonymnya panjang aje xD)
24. Ahao : 200k
25. Virna : 300k
26. Gito : 500k
27. Louis Marzuki : 300k
28. Apoh : 100k
29. Hendra Irwansyah : 500k
30. Melissa (Bali) : 300k
31. Mimi Irwansjah : 100k
32. Merry Wijaya : 200k
33. A&V : 1.000.000
34. Juliana : 100k
35. NH, VK: 350k
36. Bayu Santoso: 300k
37. Silvia Widjaja: 100k
38. Lily C.: 200k
39. Pasangan no name: 500k
40. Veronica Lie: 20k
41. HIE (DE): 10 Eur
42. Simon Jegelka (DE): 30 Eur
43. Suryo: 25 Eur
44. Kaan Erener: 50 Eur
45. Sapikurus: 20 Eur
46. Beka Masinggil: 500k
47. JJ/ Malin Westberg: 100k
48. Mariana: 200k
49. Gerry Leone: 300k
50. Han SangJin & fam: 200.000 korean Won = Rp. 1.600.000
51. Gatut.K : 100k
52. Mami Vero: 1.000.000
53. Meryl: 300k
54. Hendri: 300k
55. Liu: 800k
56. Radika Permana: 150k
57. Buser: 300k
58. Fantoni Dalay: 30 Eur
59. HJ: 50 Eur
60. Abang mie: 50 Eur
61. Hendry H: 25 Eur
62. HSBC WTC: 800k
63. AMDG: 500k
64. Astrid: 500k
65. GMD Berlin: 1.200.000
66. Arvin Dj: 250k
67. Krisnadi: 100k



"Orang2 kecil ditempat2 kecil yang melakukan hal2 kecil bisa merubah wajah dunia"
Excerpt dari Berlin Wall.
Foto oleh Nico

A special thanks to Sylvie who consistently spreads the words *Hugs!

Progress

Update: gue dapet message dari ketua organisasi mahasiswa KMKI Berlin, yang bilang mereka punya program donasi dgn nama GMD (Genta Masa Depan) dan mereka tertarik untuk ikutan. Mereka punya perwakilan di Indonesia, jadi detailnya akan mereka urus langsung sama panti asuhannya.
Yaay!! We do raise awareness :)
Gue juga dapet respons positif dan niat donasi dari Australia, Austria, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Sweden. Mereka pada nanya sama gue gimana mereka bisa ikutan bantu.. Untuk yg di eropa gue cm bisa arrange kolaborasi sama account di Germany. Sori ya.
I got the Australians covered as well.
South Koreans, Taiwanese hmm.. Will update you later on this

Gue broadcast di BBM contact list gue ttg cause gue ini, bahwa gue ngumpulin dana sampe tanggal 18 Feb. The responses are overwhelming.
Banyak yang ngerespon dan menyatakan kesediaan utk bantu, baik dari segi dana, organisasi acara, sampe koordinasi donasi pakaian.

Makasih ya semuanya....

- Vero dan Adam yang fotografer yg udah mengiyakan request dokumentasi gue.
- Albert , sang seleb nyasar, nawarin ngMC/ ngebadut menghibur anak2, dan mau supply kue klapertaart asik doi
- Sari, yang mau koordinasi sumbangan pakaian buat 67 anak, sampe bela2in neror gue utk nanya data umur tiap anak spy semuanya kebagian --> gue masih blom dapet datanya nih.
- Andre, Astrid, Ellen yang mau ikut ngeributin dan bawain balon
- Eka (yang udah ngasih info ttg panti asuhan ini) dan Andri yang udah mau nyupirin Jakarta-Karawang-Bekasi-Bandung kalo perlu
- Titin yang udah bantuin spread the words dari Bandung ke Bekasi
- Haris, adek gue yang biasanya makan warteg cuma pake tempe demi ngirit 2000 perak dan rela commute tiap minggu naek kereta ekonomi Depok-Jkt ga pake AC saking pelitnya. Tapi lgsg ngosongin dompet dia pas gue todong.
- Puri, yang akhirnya ngeluarin duit lbh banyak buat donasi, pdhl hrsnya cuman traktir gue minum di SoHo.
- Novi, yang baru gue kenal 2 hari dan rela gue todong
- The list goes on....Gue udah ga bisa sebutin satu2.. SEMUANYA yang udah transfer atau mau ikutan ngeluarin duit, tenaga, dll
- Ada 1 lagi cw yang bikin gue terharu. Walopun dia sendiri kerja susah payah di 2 tempat, dia masih punya jiwa yg besar utk nyumbang. Actually I don't know her so well, tp dr pertama gue kenal dia, despite her cuekness, I know she has a golden heart :) You know who you are, Aussie girl yg manggil gue tante ;)

Sejujurnya, ada egoisme personal dalam organizing hal ini. Gue selalu percaya bahwa setiap orang itu pada dasarnya good-hearted, terlepas dari panji2 agama, ideologi, dll. Dan setiap kata support, respons, transferan, dll mengaffirmasi gue akan keyakinan ini. It is very heart-warming. Makasih banget ya temen2 udah share the warmth.

Gue inget pas gue telponan sama suster pengurusnya, doi bilang "terima kasih" berkali2. Gue pikir2, ngga, gue yang bener2 harus berterimakasih. Grateful udah dikasih kesempatan utk berbagi, utk ngeliat betapa hangatnya semangat humanity.

Skrg akan gue post juga di Facebook, dgn harapan akan bisa reach more hands atau stdknya raise awareness disono.

Oiya, berhubung tiba2 banyak yang pengen ikut kesono, bagi yg pengen ikutan tgl 19 tolong bilang ke gue ya.. Soalnya rumahnya ga gede, jadi gue mesti konfirmasi dulu sama mereka disono berapa org yang mau ikutan, muat ato ngga. Hehe, kecuali pada mo gelar tiker duduk diluar ya terserah. Cuma gue pengennya keep it nice and simple aja. Ga terlalu lebay sampe menarik perhatian yang ga diinginkan.