Kerobokan Prison Visit with BIWA (22nd March)
The Bali Advertiser 10 March – 24 March 2010

BIWA – the extraordinary group of strong women volunteers with a philanthropist passion for helping others in distress – has joined forces with the Rotary Club of Bali Seminyak and social butterfly, Christina Iskandar. During last month’s visit to the incarcerated women at Kerobokan Jail, organized BIWA, hearts started pumping do-gooder adrenaline and ideas started dancing by in visitors’ heads. Each and every one of the women I have spoken to about their commendable visit has been affected profoundly by what they saw at the terribly overcrowded prison. The multitude of sentiments are said to lead to a handful of drives and fundraiser events in the very near future.

A group of mothers, steered by Christina Iskandar (known for several charitable projects in the past) has become quite determined to make a change in the renowned Kerobokan Jail. The facts are that prisoners share a stifling five-by-six metre room with five or six roommates, sleep on mattresses as thin as yoga mats, endure the Bali heat without fans or other cooling mechanisms, and are a dire need for basic necessities such as proper food, a chat with ‘outsiders’, and water. The water tower in the men’s division of the prison broke due to overload.

It is astounding to learn that Kerobokan Jail, a prison built for 330 inmates, accommodates no less that 720 jailbirds! It is, therefore, hardly a surprise to hear that one of the water towers went kaput, leaving the whole male division of the prison with insufficient water supply, or none at all. After having raised the funds for a new water tower in the jail’s women’s section last year, the members of the Rotary Club of Bali Seminyak are happy to help out with subsidizing another tower. Bubbly Christina Iskandar is finalizing the plans to hold a pillow drive, amongst other fundraisers, and hopes to provide the prisoners with fans, paint and much needed counseling in the months to come.

It really doesn’t matter who the inmates are, what their crime was and whether or not they feel remorse. No one should be denied the basic requirements to a healthy life. And for the record, there are lots of men and women doing time for the pettiest of petty crime. I’m thinking minor as in stealing a loaf of bread in order to stay alive.

Several BIWA ladies told me that, when asked what they would like visitors to bring on a next stopover, the inmates responded with “just pray for us, bring some cleaning products and water, and please come back”. It’s hard to have no one to talk to, for anybody, even for convicts.

Join the BIWA women on their next Kerobokan Jail visit on 22 March and perhaps bring some reading material, cleaning products, tampons and beauty products, and a non-judgmental attitude. There is a lot to be learned from an experience like this.

By Stefanie