Wood Flower Pendant Necklace Carved by Hand - Shoe Flower

Artisan Organization: Bhakti Senang Hati

Country: Indonesia

Bhakti Senang Hati was founded and is run by people with physical challenges who provide a special service for the physical challenged in Bali. Non-profit organizations are important in Indonesia, as government funding for people with handicaps is limited.

Bhakti Senang Hati assists people living with disabilities. Without assistance from the private sector, many Balinese people wih disabilities, including children, remain marginalized, thus limited from benefiting or contributing to society. In many parts of Indonesia, and certainly in Hindu Bali, having a disabled child is considered evidence of bad karma. The majority of the Balinese people are Hindu. To be born with or to have a physical challenge is perceived as black magic, bad karma for the individual and/or their family.

Many people believe that the child is being punished and a bad spirit of a deceased ancestor has been reincarnated in the child. Hence, a disabled child is a disgrace to the family. In the past, these children were often hidden away in back rooms, were never sent to school, and received little or no medical care. Attitudes are changing but it is still not uncommon to come upon children — and sometimes even adults — who have been isolated in this way.

The foundation creates programs to develop self confidence, physical and economic independence, and to increase awareness in the general community of the rights of people with disabilities. It also endeavors to meet with disabled individuals and lift them out of their social isolation, provide technical assistance to achieve physical independence, build confidence in those with disabilities by providing them with a normal social life, build self-confidence through assertiveness training, and teach skills that will enable members to become self-supporting, especially painting, sewing and woodwork.

Bhakti Senang Hati accomplishes this through the help of volunteers who provide skills training and social interaction. The society also provides wheelchairs and housing, and runs Bhakti Senang Hati Places, a home for disabled children.

Bhakti Senang Hati's goals are to help people with disabilities achieve a better life by introducing their handicrafts worldwide. This is important to improve their spirit, self confidence and also the quality of their work and knowledge.

Each person in Senang Hati has his or her own special skill as an artist or artisan."