Hello, I am Dewi. I am the youngest of 8 children and I was born in the village of Munti Gunung, Karangasem. My village is known to be where beggars and the homeless come from. I grew up surrounded by poverty and illiteracy. My mother and father cannot read or write, our first language is Balinese and most of the people I know do not speak proper Bahasa Indonesia. Everything considered, I always felt very cut off from the rest of society and an education was never a priority to anybody I grew up with. Money was always the priority. People around me preferred to continue old traditions and remain beggars like their families had done for generations, so change was not something anybody expected (or seemed to want).

I always wanted a better life. When my mother and older siblings moved to the city for “work”, I really wanted to follow along. I was allowed to go when I was 6, but I very soon realised that the city life was not anything that I imagined it to be. My family members were begging on the streets or working in cheap spas. We all lived together in a single room that was too small, it was hot, stuffy and the slum around us was unsafe. I do not remember ever sleeping well. But what could we do, there was no money for anything more than that.

I joined my sisters on the streets, begging and selling leather bracelets to tourists in Kuta, while my mother waited in empty shops nearby. I remember once we were taken by the police because child-labour and begging is illegal in Indonesia. I was so scared, all I wanted to do was to escape and go back to my mother. My siblings found an open window and we climbed out and ran until we found someone to take us home. That memory will never leave me.

Soon after, my mother found Yayasan Sinar Harapan Bali and I finally started school. I learnt how to read and write. I was not always the best student, and I really liked to cry during my mathematics lessons, but I was learning. Best of all, after much negotiation, my mother stopped making me beg on the streets. This was the beginning of my new life.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. I chose to stay at the Yayasan instead of return with my family to the village. I wanted to continue my education and this was where I felt safe. I learnt so many new things like speaking up and speaking my mind, I was encouraged to ask questions and pursue my interests. Most of all I learnt to be independent and developed a sense of responsibility. My Bahasa Indonesia and English improved. I found myself becoming more confident, more adventurous and I was so much happier.

In 2022, to better my studies I moved to JB, a national plus school. It was challenging but I love my new school. I have so many friends and am surrounded my support. I am very grateful to have gone through this journey and I know there is a long way to go but with my guardians here at Yayasan Sinar Harapan Bali’s support I am excited for what lies ahead.