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
We stayed in Villa Cemara for a week and it was absolute bliss! When we arrived we were blown away by the size and the luxury of the villa (especially considering the price). The hospitality was outstanding and the staff incredibly friendly. The Villa is ideally located, just a short stroll from the main road and the Bintang Supermarket. I have never been to Bali before and my experience at Villa Cemara made it so memorable. I will definitely be back and I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else! Thankyou Villa Bugis!
My partner and I with another couple stayed here for 7 nights. We stayed in Villa Cemara, the 3 bedroom villa in Seminyak. It was in a quiet area of Seminyak close to the action, beautiful location, pool and villa, friendly and helpful staff, large living area and rooms. I highly recommend this villa. We booked with Vila Bugis through Ministry of Villas and it was all very professional. We will be dealing with them again next time we head back to Bali.
Stayed in villa bugis at Cemara for the second time.
What can I say, I’m planning my return visit in September.
Perfect oasis in the heart of Seminyak. Friendly staff who will go out of their way to make your cherished holiday perfect in every way. Nothing is too much trouble. Beautiful breakfasts daily, and had the occasional Indonesian banquet cooked for us in the villa for just a few dollars.
5 minute walk to Bintang supermarket and close to great boutique shopping, restaurants and the hustle and bustle of Seminyak. But great to then get back to the tranquility of Cemara and have a swim in the private pool and a couple of cold bintangs.
Highly recommended, nothing bad to say about it. Can’t wait to go back.
My partner and I just took out first trip to Bali and stayed at Villa Cemara. Our villa was absolutely beautiful and completely exceeded our expectations. The villa itself was well appointed with everything we could possibly need to make our stay in Bali just perfect. The pool was amazing and the grounds were beautiful. Our villa and pool had complete privacy with no surrounding villas able to look in. We had friends staying in other Villa Bugis villas (as we were here as a group for a wedding) and out of the four different pools we swam in ours was by far the nicest temperature. All of the other pools were warm like baths however at villa Cemara the pool was cool and refreshing, which was such a relief after being out and about in the Bali heat. The location of our villa was perfect too as it was less than a 2 minute walk to the main street of Seminyak.
All if the Villa Bugis staff were so friendly and helpful with no request too large or declined. Absolutely anything we asked for was catered to and super quick too.
We have now decided that we will be returning to Bali many more times and we will only ever stay at Villa Cemara as it was just perfect!
We had a wonderful stay at Villa Cemara for 3 nights from 21 March to 24 March 2014. The air-conditioning in one of the rooms was faulty the day we arrived, but when informed, the problem was solved quickly.
I did ask for an iron only to be told that there is no iron at the villa, but other than that, I would recommend Villa Cemara, and would stay here again.