Over the last few months, COVID-19 established a dominion of fear stretching far and wide, amongst populations who learned to become more vigilant of their health than probably ever before. Paranoia starts to sink in like an elephant in quicksand at the sign of anything remotely symptomatic of the common flu when on any other pre-Corona day, the average individual would have simply shrugged it off with something along the lines of “I’m sure it’s nothing” or “it’s just a cold”.
Like the rest of the world, Bali’s people have also been in fear. However, with the island’s economical reliance on tourism temporarily suspended (with the exception of stranded tourists who have not been able to fly back to their home countries), combined with the closures and curfews of local businesses– the implications of the epidemic have had most locals fearing more about their abilities to afford basic needs than anything else. Imagine trying to provide for your spouse and your two children who are crying of hunger alongside your elderly family members, when all you have in the kitchen is a few packets of instant noodles that can barely last you until tomorrow?
This is why the second initiative of our #ThaikilaCares project was to donate food to those struggling. So far, we have bought three tonnes of rice – which we have distributed and still are in the process of distributing, to local districts and villages in need here in Bali. We have teamed up with banjars (village chiefs) as well as certain police departments for their feeding events, in order to reach the poorer families and communities.
If you know an area in particular that is struggling for food in Bali, please reach out to us and let us know. We will review all suggestions and continue to help as many communities as we can!
To get ahold of us on WhatsApp, contact +6281907874776 or simply click here: (https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=+6281907874776&text=Hi%20Thaikila)
Love,
Thaikila