Bali, the island of the gods, in the middle of the archipelago of Indonesia. An island with two and a half million inhabitants with an average income of 1 euro a day. Most of the incomes come from the tourist sector and from agriculture and manual work like woodcarving. Unfortunately most Balinese people earn a minimum income. Therefore, they cannot take a course in English making it possible to work in the tourist sector. Only a small percentage of the Balinese own land to culture rice. Furthermore, not every Balinese has the gift to make handicraft.

How to earn a living than?

The island of the gods. Balinese people are very religious. Hinduism predicts reincarnation. Therefore, Balinese people are convinced that when a child is born with a handicap, it is its karma. In a previous life this person must have been ‘bad’. As a result many children with a handicap are kept inside the house and sometimes no registration of birth is claimed.

Physiotherapy is not unknown in Bali. However, the knowledge on the human body and the functioning of the brain is far from western standards. A treatment costs three euro per hour and is only given in the hospital in the big cities. The transport to the hospital and the costs of a treatment are far too expensive for most Balinese people.
In Bali it is not odd to find a handicapped person in the filthy streets, that drags himself to get from one location to the other. Young infants are kept at home, of which many stare at the same ceiling year after year.