FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is Damara?
Damara Bali is a non-profit foundation support a beer life for the children from poor farming families in
Bali. Damara Bali Foundation was established in 2015 and registered as a non-profit Indonesia Foundation
(Yayasan) with the Indonesia Ministry of Law and Human Rights Indonesia No AHU – 0006690.AH 2015.
Who runs Damara?
Damara was founded by I Nengah Swikrama, who grew up in an orphanage and received education thanks to
the support of other people’s generosity. He has worked for over 30 years to assist children living in
orphanages. For the last 8 years before starting Damara he was the Director of Widhya Asih, managing an
organisation that provides homes and education to over 500 children and helps with many community
projects.
How does Damara help?
Our main aims are:
- Direct sponsorship of children who have dropped out/or are at risk of dropping out of school because
their parents are too poor to provide the cost of books, basic school supplies and uniforms. - Help poor farmers to have sustainable capability for generating income to provide for their children
and send them to school.
How is Villa Bugis associated with Damara?
Villa Bugis proudly supports Damara as its primary charity. Damara started with generous contribution from
Villa Bugis, a villa management company in Seminyak, Bali (www.villabugis.com). Villa Bugis have committed to
continue with annual donations and also with coverage of the cost of all administration of the charity to
ensure 100% of donations go directly to those that benefit most.
How many children are currently supported
Damara supports nearly 100 children for the school year 2019-2020, all living in extremely poor villages in
north and east Bali. All these children had already dropped out of school.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child?
The cost is quite small – IDR1,500,000 per year per child – or about AUD$150 per year
How is the donation money managed
Damara works with trusted school administrators who identify the children in need of help. No money is given
directly to the families, but is used for paying for direct expenses for the children to send school. Damara
representative visits regularly to monitor how the children are doing and receive school reports.
How are we matched with the children we sponsor?
Sponsorship is made to those most vulnerable, and in most need, as identified by their school, who’s staff
work very closely with Damara and the community. If you have children, we often try and match those with
similar gender and age group, for reliability.
Are we able to visit the children that we will be sponsoring?
Yes, this is possible after sponsorship has been made – it is a full day trip to and from the rural areas that the
children are living.
What do we receive after sponsorship?
You will receive photos and bio’s of the child you sponsor, it is also possible to communicate via written (and
translated) leers if you wish – as well as 6 monthly school reports and a quarterly newsletter
How do we make a payment?
Please visit www.damara-bali.org/donate-here – all Damara Overheads Finance and Admin services are provided by Villa Bugis. Direct payments can be made into the Damara account, but this is usually costly with fees from overseas, from both ends, not making it worthwhile.
How do we renew each year?
Each year we will contact you to renew your assistance and commitment, and you can then choose to renew the same way as initial payment was made.
DAMARA is a non-profit foundation supporting a better life for the children from poor farming families in Bali.
Damara Bali Foundation was established in 2015 and registered as a non profit Indonesia Foundation (Yayasan) with the Indonesia Ministry of Law and Human Rights No …AHU – 0006690.AH 2015
Jan 9, 2023 at 03:22 pm – Booking.com
We loved the open style of the villa with its fully open kitchen and living areas, and semi-outdoor bathrooms. Everything was beautifully maintained with daily cleaning, gardening, pool care and mosquito management handled by the friendly and kind staff. We loved how super relaxing the villa was as a place to escape after a busy day out in Seminyak. A dip in the gorgeous pool was perfect in the heat.
Jan 07, 2020 at 10:28 am – Flipkey
*Superb, outstanding, special*
My family of 5 stayed here for 2 weeks over Christmas/New Year’s period and we all couldn’t be more happier with the unbelievable standards of accommodation, service and staff of the managing company for Villa Vara, VILLA BUGIS. The villa is stunning and so well maintained, comfortable and clean. The villa is really large and all the rooms are separated with there own private bathrooms, air conditioned, safes and king size beds. One of the rooms can be split to 2 king sinlges if required for children. Gardens and pool immaculately kept. The pool is rather big and so inviting, 2 gazebos, 1 is a day bed gazebo made for 4 people the 2nd is a bbq area with table , chairs and a bar with fridge, really handy for the outside drinks bybthe pool…The people that are assigned to your villa during your stay are so friendly and helpful, and literally, they try so hard to meet all your requests within reason. Loved them so much! The location is fairly good in Seminyak, there are a coupke of shortcuts you can can take to walk the the famous “Eat Street” so this good. All in all, my family and I loved our stay here and we would absolutely stay here again. Thanks Villa Vara and Villa Bugis for a wonderful stay 🥰
July 16, 2019 at 11:32 am – Facebook
My family of eleven stayed in Villa Vara and had a wonderful time. Breakfast was great, with plenty of options. All staff were very friendly and attentive. The hired pool fence was excellent, and the gardens well cared for
Apr 18, 2019 at 05:12 am – FlipKey
This was our second holiday in Bali. There were 7 family members including 2 children. We arrived around 2 am in the morning from Adelaide Australia very tired and weary. We were greeted by a staff member who helped us to quickly settle in. The Villa was beautiful, large and well designed to accommodate our family group. The pool was amazing and our two granddaughters spent as much time in it as possible. The Villa is located at the end of a long lane which felt very secure but was quite a walk to get to the main road. The Villa is very central and it was easy to find a taxi at the end of the lane. We found the weather too humid to do a lot of walking around with the kids so mainly took taxis. The staff were very friendly and helpful. There were a couple of maintenance issues which they quickly sorted. The daily breakfast was great as was the housekeeping service. I would recommend Villa Vara for a relaxed family or group stay in Seminyak.
Oct 27, 2018 at 05:08 pm – Facebook
Great place, great service and very friendly staff making our stay enjoyable.
August 16, 2018 at 04:43 am – TripAdvisor
Amazing villa with loads of space, massive pool and the most wonderful, caring staff. Lovely breakfast cooked each morning by beautiful Mya, gardens kept immaculate and the very sweet Deirga who was very attentive to each of us. Would definitely come back!
July 12, 2018 at 11:32 am – TripAdvisor
Villa Bugis did an amazing job at organizing my 40th birthday at Villa Vara, the property was amazing with a big sparkling pool and great rooms, close to everything, one massive highlight of staying with Villa Bugis is the staff they bend over backwards for you and even thou people in Bali always give you a top service these people go just that extra mile. I will defiantly never stay with a different group, Villa Bugis will be my Villas of choice.
Beautifully presented Villa with the most amazing staff, location is perfect – quiet and just a short walk to the best shopping and restaurant’s in Seminyak. Will be rated as one of our most memorable vacations.
Villa Vara was perfect from start to finish. The staff could not do enough. We stayed as 1 couple (Master Room), and 5 singles split between the double room and 2 twins. The complex is huge and you certainly don’t feel cramped in. The staff are prompt for breakfast everyday and the cleaner/gardeners do an excellent job preparing the Villa on a daily basis. The airport transfers are also brilliant, especially as we arrived in 3 different parties. They provide all the essentials, including mosquito repellent and a huge drinking water dispenser. I would highly recommend this Villa and any of the Villas under the brand.
Such a beautiful villa. Very private with comfortable furnishings. Very large private pool. Staff are amazing and can’t do enough for us to make sure we have a wonderful relaxing holiday. Located in a quiet area but still within walking distance to all shops and restaurants that Seminyak has to offer. Security are great and make us feel very safe and secure here. Breakfast is beautiful too with selections of bacon, eggs etc or pancakes or Indonesian. All are yummy! There are cheaper places to stay but you get what you pay for and this is definitely worth the extra coin. We will definitely stay here again.
Good location, friendly staff, clean! We had a group of 12 persons including 3 families – 6 kids => much better choice than a hotel! ” will be back ” ;)
This villa was one of the best places I’ve stayed in. The service was great! Each staff were so polite and helpful. They really go above and beyond to make your stay enjoyable. I will definitely stay here again when i go back.
Can’t say enough how excellent our stay was. Amazing villa, staff and location. Rooms were kept clean. Pool was just the right size and clean. Will be back.
Hello!
We are very pleased to hear your very pleasant feedback! We also look forward to welcoming back again and giving you yet another Balinese experience soon, hopefully even better than last time!
Please look out for deals when you’re ready to come back to Bali!
We hosted 25 family members over four villas for three nights in August and the Villa Bugis was perfect for everyone. We even held a Balinese blessing ceremony and it was managed very well. The staff are very friendly and efficient and they were accommodated all of our needs including special meals for vegetarians, cars, and extra supplies. The rooms, pools, and seating areas were all great. Everyone in the family loved the stay and we hope to go back again soon.
Hello! Absolutely love the name Orange Samurai! Apologies for missing this message which is quite rare. We are very pleased to hear that you had a great time in Villa Vara in December and also appreciate that you took the trouble to write & compliment us! Also to let you know that Villa Vara has been upgraded to give our guests an even better Balinese experience and a super relaxed holiday. We do look forward to having you stay with us again! Do look out for deals too!
Villa was in immaculate condition on arrival. Staff SUPER friendly. Yuliah speaks amazing English and is a great member of staff. Pool was amazing! Rooms great! …2 of the rooms though had average shower pressure/water spurted to the sides Chefs come and cook meals if you buy the ingredients as well! Definitely coming back to another Villa Bugis villa in Seminyak.
Hi Katy! Apologies for this delayed reply but we thought that we should address the concern that you have kindly brought to our attention. Firstly, thanks very much for taking the trouble to write in and compliment us too, much appreciated! We have alerted the maintenance staff about the water supply (back in November itself). Meanwhile, just to let you know that Villa Vara has has been upgraded to give our guests an even better Balinese experience and a super relaxed holiday. Do come back soon to check it out and enjoy some of the deals that are offered every now and then – we would love to have you back! And lastly, please do write in if you any other concerns or how we can make your stay more enjoyable!
Would just like to thank you again from all of us for the amazing stay we had with you! Your staff were amazing & went above & beyond to make our stay at villa vara fantastic!!
We spent a week in VillaVara, a truly memorable experience.
The place,the location,the Service.
Definitely a place to be revisited again and again !
Would recommend to anyone planning a Quality time Holiday .
VillaVara is one of the better appointed Villas in Seminayak.
Stayed May 2015, traveled as a couple
hello – i just wanted to thank you and your team for such a fantastic time in Bali
Your villa was amazing and your staff were just the best! we truly enjoyed every aspect
because of our cancelled flight we turned up around midnight before Nyepi day which proved to be challenging as we couldn’t leave the villa or shop for food but the staff you had onsite helped us out with a few packets of noodles which was very lovely
i only have one recommendation – we noted that the chlorine was extremely high in the pool as my stepson’s skin is very sensitive but also most of us struggled with the chlorine amount. May need to look at using a little less next time – but that was the only recommendation we have, everything else was perfect
we have already been recommending this place to our friends and family and we also intend to stay with you again as we have decided that we love it there and would love to go back again. we may need a bigger villa next time though as i think more people want to come now :)
Villa Vara was the most beautiful villa – the photos on the website don’t even do it justice! My family, friends and I were blown away by the customer service and assistance we received from their friendly staff every day. there was no job too hard for them and they were very helpful. One of them even taught my stepson how to play chess! We lived like Kings and cannot wait to return!
thank you again for all your help
Caitlyn Dalzotto – and the rest of us!
Just wanted to say a big thankyou to Villa Vara and all the staff for looking after us for my hens weekend, we had a fantastic time! The Villa was perfect, so big, gorgeous scenery, and very friendly staff who were always happy to help, we will be back high recommended!
We had a great time at villa vara! Private pool was fantastic! Breakfast was amazing. The staff were just wonderful – couldn’t do enough! Had a power cut and within 5 minutes of ringing the staff had sorted out the generator. Rooms were really lovely and nice and cool. Great stay – highly recommended.
This compound makes up about 6-8 villas. Each with a private pool.
It feels like your in the big brother house when you walk in but more luxurious.
The staff came in and cooked us breakfast with options of Indonesian or American style breakfast.
There was also a water filter which was refilled daily to drink.
The staff were friendly and can organize anything for you.
I would stay here again.
Sheree, thanks for your lovely comments – we’re thrilled to hear that you had a wonderful stay at Villa Vara and would love to have the opportunity to welcome you once again when you come again!
A wonderful and luxurious Villa to stay at with friendly staff who are extremely helpful and were a pleasure to be around. Will definately return and recommend to otners.