Costs involved in schooling a child in Bali?

Hi

I hope someone can help me, please. Does anyone know what the costs are for a Balinese family to school a child (primary school) for a year, including uniform, books, stationery, fees etc.?

Also, what is the best way to post goods to a family in Bali (safest method) and the best way to send money to a family, again the most secure method.

Thanks in advance!

cheers

wendy

Costs involved in schooling a child in Bali?

Hey Wendy

Drop a PM to Ursie57, she sponsors a child directly (without going through any organisations) so should be familiar with the costs. She%26#39;s having problems with her ISP at the moment though, so may not see this thread. Last time I checked it out, it worked out to be about 150000Rp per month for school fees alone.

Noddles

Costs involved in schooling a child in Bali?

Thank You, Sir Noodle!

I shall do so.

wendy

i have transferred money successfully to bank accounts in bali. there is approx $30 + AUD to do so but the transaction is %26#39;safe%26#39;.

as for postage i have had a few problems in the past sending goods. one parcel was never delivered to the recipient and after 6 long months it arrived back on my doorstep. the name and address were correct and clearly written but it just never got there. the safest way to deliver anything is to deliver it yourself.

sounds like a good excuse for another trip to bali lol!

For sending money, also consider Western Union; there are Western Union offices around Bali. The person receiving the money would need a reference code from WU to collect the money, so you%26#39;d need to email them this or phone them up.

I have read a suggesion before that if you wish to regularly provide money to a family in bali it could be a good idea to open an account in your home country and provide the family with a debit card linked to the account then you are not up for the $30.00 fee each time you want to transfer money. They can then access the money at an ATM and only pay the cost of transaction fee. I recently did electronic transfer through a bank and it was expensive not very convinient. I guess if only have to do one transfer a year it is not that big an issue.

School fees vary greatly in different districts. Kuta and surrounds are much more expensive than more remote areas. 150.000rp a month is exorbitant.

Through Rotary it costs only $110 a year. That covers school fees, books, 2 pairs of shoes, uniforms.

I think through Helen Flavell it is $120.

Most of the time it is much more economical to buy goods in Bali rather than send them.

I was wondering if anyone has ever asked if the bookstore in Denpasar, sorry can%26#39;t remember the name, that sell the school books, will accept monies on behalf of a particular school. Like a gift voucher.

We give stationary, balls, games, general school supplies to a particular school. I always give them stuff that I think they will need but maybe there are textbooks and supplies that they need and can%26#39;t afford. What I was hoping was to give them a gift voucher to that particular store so that they can spend the money on exactly what they need.

Any ideas?

Hi Wendy

You can sponsor a child through Rotary for $110.00 a year.

Have a look here

http://www.geocities.com/balischoolkids

We have just arranged to sponsor a child. Being in Perth, like yourself, it is easy to talk to Noel who runs the program.

If you have a specific child you want to sponsor, he may be able to help you. Otherwise they will allocate you a child.

We received a photo and report on our sponsored child within 1 week of signing up. My family is very excited about corresponding with Roni and getting to meet him when we go back to Bali in October.

cheers

Sparky

Hi Wendy,

Still having problems with my ISP....10th day with no broadband...I%26#39;m suicidal!

Have sent you a PM.

I%26#39;ve sent a parcel via DHL courier as I thought it would ensure it%26#39;s safe arrival. It cost a fortune %26amp; then the receiver had to pay phenomenal duty costs for the toys %26amp; clothes enclosed. My letters unless sent by registerd post/to be signed for on arrival never arrive at their destination.

With Western Union, it%26#39;s very easy to navigate the website, the money can be picked up by the reciever almost immediately %26amp; WU email you when it has been collected. You just need to SMS the transaction code %26amp; your name %26amp; address to the person you%26#39;re sending the money to. When setting up the payment you only need to know their full name.

Whinnie try asking the school what they need or maybe give them some suggestions they can choose from. Go on a shopping trip there. Stationery, paper etc can be bought quite cheaply from Makro, also balls. Dictionaries %26amp; books from Grandmedia. Balls, skipping ropes etc for breaktime activities from a sports shop. The school I visit had no resources for playtime at all. I also managed to get some educational posters, think it was from Grandmedia, but I%26#39;ll check when I get back home. I took a dozen educational posters I bought here in UK %26amp; popped them in a cardboard cylinder. It didn%26#39;t even get checked at customs. Don%26#39;t know how much you want to spend but a table tennis table would be a good investment %26amp; all the children would benefit for several years to come.When I asked what they really wanted, the headmaster replied that they would love a table tennis table...so I raised some funds before my visit, Herry took me around several sports shops, I purchased one in Denpasar %26amp; had it delivered to Amed for a fairly small charge. Also simple English books or English-Indonesian picture books with key phrases/words in both languages.Again you can buy them in Bali.

Cheers

Ursie

Thanks for that Ursie. We%26#39;ve given soccer balls, tennis balls, skipping ropes, those velcro bat and ball games and the like, and of course books, pencils, textas, rulers, erasers etc. But you have given me some fresh ideas and I will ask them as well.

We actually haven%26#39;t been to the school, we were too shy, so we sent it along by giving it to a pupil%26#39;s family and they delivered it the next day. 5 of them had to carry it all on 3 of scooters so that it all arrived at school at the same time.

The funniest thing was Hubby and I, on our next visit, reading and trying to understand the 3 tests pages and results that Putu (our friends 6 year old son) had saved for us (at the request of his teachers) to show us how well he was doing in school. We couldn%26#39;t understand a word written on any of the pages and his mother had to whisper his results to us so we could make a big deal of how smart he is. The little darling had saved all the pages in the plastic packaging that had held the robot we had bought him on our last visit. They were all carefully rolled up and put there for safety.