TTS Bali Project Annual Report – 2011

   2011 was another eventful year. I can't start reporting on 2011 without saying thank you to our supporters. Bob in Japan with Aurora Bali Project and many other friends and family in Canada, Japan, Australia and other countries have been brilliant! You all know who you are and we sincerely appreciate you! I have to say a very special thank you this year to my brother Grant and sister-in-law Chelyn. They have been loyal supporters of my volunteer life since the very beginning and have been big supporters of TTS Bali Project from the early days when we were still Aurora Bali Project. Grant was the driving force and photographer behind this year's TTS Bali Project Calendar. We raised much needed funds and awareness. Thank you to Grant and to all those that purchased our calendar!

Bali Calendar Fund Raiser

2012 Tts Bali Calendar Slideshow: TTS’s trip from Portland, Oregon, United States to Bali (near Tabanan, Bali), Indonesia was created by TripAdvisor. See another Tabanan slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

TTS Bali Project is now selling a 2012 calendar featuring beautiful photos from Bali as a fund raiser. Pictures of the calendar can be seen at: www.ttsbaliproject.com. 100% of the profits from this calendar go directly to TTS Bali Projects. The calendar is $17.99 plus $4.00 shipping and can be ordered through the TTS Bali website at:  www.ttsbaliproject.com.  

Companies or businesses that would like to support our project by buying lots of 5 or more calendars can have their company name appear on the front of the calendar: (For example) ABC Company Supports TTS Bali Project. These can be hung in your offices or given to customers! Price per calendar is still $17.99, but shipping will be reduced to $3.00 per calendar.

Buy for yourself or buy for a friend or family! Christmas is fast approaching! Orders will be taken from September until the middle of November and shipped in time for Christmas and the New Year! Calendars can also be purchased through December and into the new year with shipping as soon as an order is received.

For only $17.99 plus shipping, you can easily help change the lives of children, their families and their community. Please include your name, full mailing address and contact email with every order. Those in Australia that wish to pay by bank transfer or check, our TTS Bali Project bank account information is included on our site. For Canadian or American check payment or any other comments or inquiries, please contact us by email at  [email protected].

Please also help us by sharing this information to all of your Facebook friends, blogs, or email lists. It is for a great cause and remember “Every little bits counts…”

Special thank you to:  Grant W Joseph Photography -http://www.gwjphotography.zenfolio.com/

Purchase the 2012 Bali calendar now

Thank you for supporting us!

TTS Bali Project Team

 

Mountain Village Teacher's Workshop

Ok....How often does a person get to ride up a small winding mountain road and do a workshop in an outdoor community area enclosed by a village temple structure, while looking out on a tropical mountain vista? Not often? Maybe not, but....

Dewi, representing the Helen Flavel Foundation and I were invited by Undiksha University Student's Union to give a workshop on TEFL for YL. (Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Young Learners). The students organized the event as a part of their social services. Teachers from 2 local schools and Education students from the university English, Idonesian, Art and the Japanese Departments attended.

Out the window went the plans as we were told at starting time that only 2 of the teachers were English teachers and only a few of the students were from the English Education Department. Dewi spoke about general teaching strategy and I spoke on child-centered and active student learning environments. We also spoke about reading and gave out copies of “eka's bali” and Maggie Dunkle's book “Making the River Clean” for the teachers and schools.

Art Without Borders

Art Without Borders was founded in a really cool way. One day (as most stories start) Muriel and Dave Knowler were wandering around Bali when they came upon an artist in Kiliki Village, north of Ubud, who explained that he no longer was able to practice his craft due to failing eyesight. Dave plucked his own glasses off his face and passed them to the man. With a look of shock and then a smile, the man immediately understood that with a pair of simple glasses, he would be able to continue his work. Art Without Borders came into being.

With a mission to supply simple reading glasses for artists and craftspeople,  Art Without Borders has, in three short months, supplied over 700 pairs of reading glasses to artists and.....as amazing projects tend to do, has evolved to include non-artists; particularly the elderly.

TTS Bali Project - Bali Director - Syd Joseph receiving a supply of glasses from Art Without Borders - Director Muriel Knowler

"eka's bali "

We designated the General Fund based on past experience and our belief that amazing opportunities to help people would come our way. That was exactly what happened with a chance connection and subsequent meeting with Michelle Bailey.

Inspired by 9 year-old Eka's vibrant paintings, author Michelle Bailey has written and published a beautifully rhythmic book capturing the spirit of Bali. Based on her interest in helping Balinese children “feel” English and learn from the experience of English, she has written in a poetic style unconstrained by structure or grammar. Each page is based on a painting by Eka and tells of everyday life and the culture of Bali. Michelle's book is complete with an Indonesian/English glossary at the back and accompanied by a CD of her reading the book.

In Conjunction with the Helen Flavel Foundation (HFF) we decided to co-sponsor a reading strategies seminar for elementary school English teachers and use the opportunity to distribute free copies of the book, donated by Michelle. Held at the beginning of April, we used the Helen Flavel Foundation Function Center (FC) which is a beautiful venue for hosting workshops and events. TTS Bai Project funded the Seminar costs.

Along with Dr. Ni Nyoman Padmadewi (Dewi) of the HFF and Michelle herself, I was also a keynote speaker. Michelle introduced her book and the story behind it, Dewi spoke of the theory of reading strategies, and I followed with a sessionon the rhythm and intonation of English, as well as a practical session on reading program suggestions for classrooms and schools.

Michelle has graciously offered to donate 500 copies of the Book complete with CD. Teachers from 50 schools received personal copies as well as 3 additional copies for all of their schools!