Bali School Kids was founded in 1999 when Rotary Club of Bali-Denpasar Past President Freddy Subiyanto introduced Swan Valley Rotarians Noel and Geraldine Allen to the idea of sponsoring education for the village children of Sobangan in the Mengwi-Badung regency.
Together the Rotary Clubs of Bali-Denpasar (Indonesia) and Swan Valley (Western Australia) initially developed Bali School Kids as a low-cost project with a lasting impact to ensure as many children as possible could at least complete primary school. It was hoped by giving the children a good start that many would then be encouraged to go onto junior high school then high school.
Although schooling is compulsory in Bali, the annual costs per child can be more than the average monthly individual income. As such, despite being keen to learn many children are forced to drop out of school, particularly in the village areas. The Rotary Club of Swan Valley felt this situation offered an opportunity to make a difference and Pelangi Anak-Anak Bali-Rainbow Kids Program was launched.
Originally supporting just three children in Sobangan, the project quickly grew with additional schools added at Sembung and Mekarsari. By 2005 over four hundred children were benefitting from assistance to attend seven village primary schools. In 2010 Bali School Kids spread further to support children in the more needy Karangasem region of east Bali as the project reached its next big milestone. In 2011, one thousand children were now either in attendance at primary school or had moved through the project to junior high school. Nearly twenty years since its humble beginnings, Bali School Kids will shortly have changed the lives of over 2000 children and currently operates in twelve schools.