Strong Angels (Nengah Sunawan and Wayan Sukriani)

It takes a whole lot of preparation to bring aid from Bunbury to poverty-stricken children in remote villages of Bali.

But this didn’t deter a group of 9 good Samaritans, travelling nearly 3000 kilometres to three Balinese villages in May 2013.

Between them, they carted over 350 kilograms of gifts and brought along 250 toothbrushes, cakes of soap, bars of chocolate, cans of deodorant, bottles of shampoo, exercise books and medical supplies.

Affectionately known as the Strong Angels, the group delivers about 600 care packs each year to orphaned and impoverished children.

The charity, founded by local Bunbury woman Susanne Hunter also runs a hostel in Nusa Dua with the support of Strong Angels Baliense manager Frank and his wife Tirta. All students at the hostel are sponsored to complete their senior high school or tertiary studies.

While in Bali the group donated toys to the John Fawcett Foundation, a medical service aimed at restoring sight to underprivileged Indonesians.

Mrs. Smith, a volunteer with Strong Angels, said she witnessed the devastation caused by blindness in remote Bali firsthand.

“Two of our sponsored children Nengah Sunawan (age 11) and Wayan Sukriani (age 9) came on board because their father had gone blind at age 35 and their mother had died while trying to earn money for the family,” Mrs Smith said.

She said convincing him to make the long trip from his village in the mountains to the coastal hub of Kuta for surgery was challenging.

 “You can’t just go barging in and expect to fix it all straight away, they are a proud people, and we have to accept that,” she said.

Strong Angels Inc. continued to do 6-monthly trips to Bali until in April 2020 when the Indonesian government closed its borders to all foreign tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2023, we recommenced our 6-monthly visits to Bali.

IN 2024:

Nengah Sunawan (now 22) has completed his tourism studies and has established, with fellow past hostel students Eka and Yuliana, a tour company that offers tours in their local village of Songon and around Lake Batur, Mount Batur and Kintamani. What an achievement!!

Wayan Sukriani is now 20 - as she missed a lot of formal schooling in her early years, she is now at the hostel and completing her Year 12 high school studies.