The visit to Panti Asuhan Pondok Si Boncel was over 2 1/2 weeks ago. Since then I have been a little sidetracked because I was busy dating. (I don’t date a whole lot so I hope it’s an excusable offense.) As a result, my charity project was put on hold for a bit; not for long though because I have all these donors to answer to. And right when I needed it, I got a kick in my behind by my dear friend Juliana (again) and now we are back on track.

The next project is going to be a bit different from the previous one. Juliana and friends are planning to hand-deliver packages to people living in poor neighborhood around Jakarta on Saturday, January 19, 2008. They are planning to deliver 70 packages on their own. I pledged 100 more packages to this cause. The package consists of rice, sugar, cooking oil, milk, sweet soy sauce, cookies, tea, margarine (I prefer butter in this case but according to my friend, it is what people use plus I wasn’t involved in the purchasing, otherwise I would have VETOED it.), soap, shampoo, laundry detergent.

Some of the area we are planning to visit is an area full of “pemulung” (people who go through garbage, trash, or landfill to find items that are recyclable) who live in small houses (closer to a hut) made of anything (woods, bamboo, etc) they can use to make it stand on the ground. As you can imagine, even basic food is a luxury to them. Another area we are planning to visit is a Chinese settlement in Tangerang (a city outside Jakarta) who according to my friends have been there for 10 or more generations. (I am a third-generation Chinese-Indonesian.) Their appearance resembled more of those of native Indonesians although they still maintain a strong Chinese tradition which can be seen normally during wedding and Chinese New Year.

Yesterday, Juliana and her friends did the shopping so today it’s packing time. It was a lot of fun. It was full of joy and laughters. Now I know why I started this project in the first place. It was a good avenue for like-minded individuals to work together to help the less fortunate. I had my clumsy moment though. I cut through 2 pack of cooking oils with my sharp scissors. Whoopsie.

Some of the foods stored in the garage before packing.

Teamwork, teamwork, and teamwork.

Some of the packages.

Many thanks to Juliana Chandra, Kurnia Yusuf, Danny Masko, Hendrawan, Grace Yohana, Alice Han, my aunt’s two young maids for helping out with the packing. Special thanks to my aunt for allowing us to use her place of business to store all the packages and for providing snack and refreshment during the packing.

And many thanks to all my donors whose donation make this project possible.

Breakdown of Expenses:

Will follow once I get the details from Juliana.

1. Rice (100 packs of 5 kg each) Rp 3,200,000

2. Cooking Oil (100 packs) Rp 940,000

3. Sugar (100 packs) Rp 566,200

4. Sweet Soy Sauce Rp 812,500

5. Milo (Chocolate Milk) Rp 666,050

6. Margarine Rp 407,286

7. Tea Rp 860,400

8. Biscuit Rp 189,745

9. Laundry Detergent Rp 565,140

10. Shampoo Rp 486, 480

11. Tax for all items (except rice) Rp 549,381

Total: Rp 9,243,182 (US$ 979.72)

(Update 01/19/2008)

We added 50 more packages to our total donation. According to Juliana, we commit 100 packages to people in Tangerang, 70 packages to “pemulung”, and about 50 packages for drive-and-drop mission.

Additional expenses are as follows:

1. 25 packages @ Rp 77,000 Rp 1,925,000

2. 25 packages @ Rp 83,000 Rp 2,075,000

3. Additional items to make extra packages (rice, milk, sugar, sweet soy sauce, cooking oil) Rp 522,000

Sub Total: Rp 4,522,000

New Grand Total: Rp 13,765,182 (US$ 1,459)

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