On Friday 21 September Friends of Sekolah Bisa! (FOSB) opened a pop-up restaurant to replenish the Food Fund for SB! The BIS IB CAS students have calculated it costs Rp.1.7 million per month for 25 children each to receive a hot lunch meal 5 days a week at SB! As the SB! children are malnourished, it’s critical to keep the lunches being served each school day. Everything for the Pop-Up was donated which means 100% of the money raised goes directly to the SB! Food Fund and FOSB are very happy to report, we deposited Rp.12,320,000 to the SB! account at BIS. This will provide 7 months of meals for the children with the ability to serve proteins such as chicken or fish more than once a week.
FOSB thank the ladies-who-lunched for their enthusiastic patronage. We also extend our gratitude to many who could not attend but sent in donations (Mary Ann Bernard, Sue Dougherty, Esther Evans, Fiona Forsyth, Jane Kent, Carolina Kiger, Lidia Martinez, Palmira Miner, Sue McDonald, Amanda Murphy and Michelle O’Brien) and thank vendor Jeane Tjandrasa of Jean Christian who donated a % of proceeds of her sales from the lunch and Christine Bogunovich with Dale Heinke for donating sales of their handmade cake toppers. Thanks also to Rita Djohan, owner of Mil & Mat Barber & Beauty Salon Kemang and Señora Luisa Rey for loaning us tables and chairs when we realized we had more demand than seating; and Señora Sonia Espriella for loaning punch bowls and ice buckets.
In addition, as entry to the 3 door prizes came by dropping a new toothbrush with tube of toothpaste into the basket on arrival, SB! won’t have to dip into their precious funds to purchase these items for a while (every school day toothbrushing happens before each child returns home). We amassed 123 toothbrushes, 77 tubes of toothpaste and 22 cakes of soap, a box of dental floss, a box of crayons, ziploc bags to keep things clean and dry at SB!, some second-hand clothing (which is always in demand) and for the SB first aid kit – 3 large boxes of elastoplasts and 3 tubes of antiseptic cream. Door prizes were won by lucky patrons, Kathy Mackay, Cathy Busby and Janine Spencer.
Everyone was interested to learn about the SB! children and the wonderful work being done by the BIS IB CAS students, the SB! Indonesian teachers supported by volunteer teachers and medical staff with BIS teachers, parents, children and other friends. 30 ladies shopped our mini-Pasar then sat down for a 3 course lunch. Between us, we had sold, shopped, setup, washed, chopped, cooked and served. While there were no Gordon Ramsay moments, it was a busy time in the kitchen getting meals out to everyone. We’re very happy with the success of the lunch and more than motivated by the amount raised. Everyone said as they were leaving – clutching a fridge magnet give-away designed by Christine B. with our welcome cocktail recipe and contact details for SB! – how inspired they were by Sekolah Bisa! and “see you at the next FOSB fundraiser”.
Our next goals are to:
1. Help with the funding of multivitamin purchase for the children
2. Set up a Shoe Fund (25 children need new shoes at a cost of Rp80,000 each, every 3 months)
3. Develop an examination fund (SB! need Rp.6,000,000 by April 2013 to permit some of the students to sit their Indonesian Packet A examinations)
4. Establish ways and means to enable Saturday activities which will keep the children engaged, active and away from the dangers of begging.
Please keep a lookout for details of the next FOSB event or activity.
Want to join Friends of Sekolah Bisa! or be on our contact list for future events or activities? Email us
regards
Christine Gibson-Pierce, Maureen Drew and Christine Bogunovich
Sekolah Bisa! 
Thank you, thank you and thank you. This all means so much. We spent this week taking sick kids to doctors and dressing injuries from nails in feet, sores in mouths from ulcers that cannot heal due to lack of vitamin c and educating parents and children in the need for oral health and compliance with medication for serious illness and injury. It is an everyday journey with the children and your support makes our work so much easier. Please keep it up.