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
Nov 11, 2022 at 05:22 am – Google Business
From the moment we arrived we were treated like royalty. Everyone was lovely, the villa was huge, very clean and just a quick scooter ride to eat street. We will definitely stay again. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤
Aug 6, 2022 at 05:22 pm – TripAdvisor
We stayed in villa cinta. From us getting picked up at airport to arrival and the hole stay it was awesome, the villa was beautiful, I actually screamed when I seen it and the staff were just absolutely amazing, they always made sure we were ok and always made sure the villa was clean and the breakfast and dinner, well I have no words it was just OUTSTANDING. We had in-house massages for all ages and was outstanding. Breakfast was always at the time we asked. We would go out for the day and come home to a beautiful clean villa. Any request, the staff were straight onto it. I will definitely stay at one of villa bugis villas again. A must do accommodation you won’t regret it.
Oct 02, 2019 at 07:32 am – Flipkey
As a family, we stayed at Villa Bugis-Villa Cinta as a celebration for my 60th birthday. We had an amazing time. I appreciate that there are cheaper villas but the service, spaciousness, detail, outdoor bathrooms & wonderful pool made it worth every cent! The position was also perfect as it was close enough to walk to ‘Eat Street’ But not close enough to hear the noise. When we wanted to go further afield, the staff would happily book us a bigger cab as we were a group of five people. The staff, particularly ‘Pande’, were very accommodating & booked restaurants for us etc. All villa staff were respectful & polite. They even sourced floatable pool toys for us! No requests were too difficult! I would definitely recommend staying at Villa Cinta. The Villa Bugis group were recommended to us by friends & I happily recommend them also. I hope to visit again some day.
Aug 27, 2019 at 09:48 pm – Google
Absolutely loved Villa Cinta! I absolutely loved this location. The staff also made my time in Seminyak the best ever
July 23, 2019 at 11:12 am – TripAdvisor
We stayed at Villa Cinta with 3 generations of family (7 people) for a week. The facility was beautiful & well maintained. The staff were very friendly & went above & beyond to make our holiday extra special.
Mar 13, 2019 at 08:12 am – TripAdvisor
I stayed in Villa Cinta for a week in early February and had a fantastic time. The staff were friendly and attentive from start to finish booking massages to the villa and transport to and from the airport. They greeted us on arrival with big smiles and a fresh coconut. The bedrooms were spacious and comfortable with good safes and lovely bathrooms. The pool was kept very clean and the staff even treated the pool overnight after a heavy rainfall. We had breakfast on three days which was very reasonable and delicious with a great range of options from local to English style. The villa was situated perfectly with restaurants and bars within walking distance and a very short journey to the beach. Overall we enjoyed our stay very much and would recommend to anyone without hesitation!
Jan 21, 2019 at 10:22 am – TripAdvisor
We had a lovely stay at Cinta Villa and the staff was really friendly, courteous and helpful. The villa is a bit away from the main part of Seminyak but still in walking distance and we loved that it was quiet and secure. The villa was well laid out and very clean. Would fully recommend for any stay.
July 10, 2018 at 10:25 am – Facebook
Massive shout out to our amazing staff Yasti Reynold and I Gede Sant Candra , Agung , Komang budi , and Wayan Bagus . Absolutely awesome staff , five star service , and always had a smile . Thank you so much for everything you did to make us and our holiday feel so special .
The best Villa and staff ever !
Spent 8 blissful days at Villa Cinta with friends and could not fault villa or staff services
in any way. 10 out of 10 …would highly recommend.
Great location… Delicious breakfast…Staff amazing…Rooms maintained beautifully.
Do yourself a favour and stay at Villa Cinta.
From the moment we arrived we were well taken care of. We organised airport transfers through the Villa and they were there to greet us amongst the chaos and escorted us to a well sized, air conditioned vehicle. We got to our villa in great time and were greeted by the wonderful staff with cold towels and juice. A seamless check in and a detailed tour of the villa and facilities. Our first impressions were ‘WOW’ -it was all we had hoped for and more. We travelled as a bunch of girlfriends who were in need of R&R and catch ups and this was the perfect location. The villa is in a great location with coffee shops, restaurants, beach and boutique shopping all with a few minutes walk. I will only ever recommend private villas for Bali. Thank you to Wayan, Yulia and the other wonderful staff that looked after us each day. We miss you already!
Brilliant location; lovely no frills design with a little WOW factor in the pool and garden design making a great base in Seminyak; great layout, good space, bedrooms and bathrooms. Fantastically helpful staff; we were looked after brilliantly by Julia and Wayan, while all other staff from nightwatchmen to gardeners were delightful. Many thanks.
We stayed at Villa Cinta with 6 people, expansive villa with a great sized pool! Huge bedrooms with luxurious outdoor bathroom. The kitchen/ lounge are is huge. Great entertaining area! Spent a lot of time here. The staff were amazing, we made new friends and shared some laughs! Villa bugis are lucky to have these staff. Upon entry there is a stepping stone fish pond. Was pretty cool feeding them daily. The only negative thing which I think is only going to be temporary is that the alleyway that leads to the villa hasn’t been paved or anything so looks a bit crumby. But that’s just nit picking. Will stay again :)
We stayed at Villa Cinta, one of the many villas under the Villa Bugis umbrella. It’s a three bedroom villa and it was perfect. Everyone had their space to chill and have their alone time yet we were able to lounge together at the huge living/dining area. Location is ideal with the shopping areas nearby and the beach is just a few minutes walk away. Definitely a place to return to when we visit Bali next.
Stayed July 2016, traveled with family
We had stayed at Villa Cinta for a week and were so impressed with the villa and staff that we decided (after a brief stay at Gili Island) to return to Villa Bugis is we could secure a booking at short notice. They very kindly upgraded us to Villa Gembira and we couldn’t have been happier. The villa was beautiful, but the staff were the absolute joy of our stay. Ever helpful and never too busy to assist us with anything. The villa was close to restaurants, shopping, beaches and other entertainment. We intend to book for Bali again next year and wouldn’t consider looking for anything but a villa in the Villa Bugis chain. Absolutely recommend highly.
Once you cross the little stone steps over the (awesome!) koi fish that follow you at the doorway then you realise it’s time to relax and just hang out on your holiday in Bali. Rooms were big, pool was massive, main living/dining area was nice and open. There was even a little side room you could use for media to watch a film if you wanted.
We just played some music through the stereo and had some drinks over dinner, enjoyed napping and reading on the big sunbed when it was hottest during the day, and then walked around the big hotel next door to go grab food from the row of nice-looking restaurants. All in all – you can definitely just let the world roll by when there is no outside stress. Great value with a few friends.
Working with Ministry of Villas gives me the ability to ‘taste test’ the properties that go on our website to ensure that it meets our standards. We’d recommend Villa Cinta as it is a simple escapade in Seminyak. The private pool and bale was a great way to spend lazy Sundays. The air-conditioned TV room was a good reprieve from the balmy Balinese heat. We stayed in the master bedroom which was spacious. The partially indoor -outdoor toilet was expansive. It also had an outdoor bath tub hidden amongst a little garden where you can soak your stresses away. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. Because it is located next to a ‘gang’ you may have dogs barking really loudly, but otherwise it was a great pleasure to be staying at Villa Cinta.
We stayed in Villa Cinta and from start to finish it was the best place we have ever stayed in Bali. We were picked up from the airport and from that point on we were treated like special guests. The Villa itself is simply beautiful from the rooms to the larger than expected pool to the beautiful gardens with huge frangipanis and palms that wrap around the whole property making it feel like your own tropical oasis. The staff are exceptional, incredibly friendly and attentive at all times and always eager to help you with anything you need including organising any trips you’d like to do and getting the best price for you. The day we left our flight wasn’t until later in the day and rather than leave us stranded they transported us to another villa to use until it was time to leave. Our greatest surprise came at this point when not only did the transport arrive to take us to the airport but the entire staff that had become a part of our everyday lives at the Villa were all there to farewell us. Wow we felt like royalty. I highly recommend Villa Bugis and one of their villas you will not be disappointed, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
We are a family of five (including three teenage boys) and have just returned from a fantastic 8 night stay at Villa Cinta. This is the second time we have stayed in a Villa Bugis managed property (6 months ago we stayed at Villa Jaclan which was also great). During both visits we have had the opportunity to inspect other villas that they manage and I can highly recommend any of their properties.
Villa Cinta is ideally located just off the Drupardi strip and there are some really great little places to eat within a 5-10 minute walk (Kendi Kuning is a particular favourite of ours). The beach is also only a 10-15 minute walk so for us, the Drupadi Gardens area is very well located.
The villa itself is lovely and well equipped. Plenty of sun lounges and a great day bed. The wifi was also very good. The pool was a good size and very refreshing. The pool was in shade most of the day which did mean that the water temperature was a little cooler than other villas, but still warmer than the average pool in Australia!
The separate air-conditioned TV room was also a good option for some ‘down time’.
One of the main reasons we chose this villa was that the beds in the second and third bedroom both split into king singles (so five beds in total in three bedrooms). This is really important for us as teenage boys are not keen to share beds! I don’t understand why more villa owners don’t do this to provide more options for families. All three bedrooms were a good size with magnificent outdoor bathrooms.
Special thanks to Nova, Aylit and Gede for their superb hospitality (and delicious banana pancakes!). We look forward to returning again soon!
great villa with excellent rooms.staff were really helpful.villa was at the end of a long laneway but our concierge Gede was only to happy to ring a blue bird cab when ever we needed it and made it a lot easier than hailing one at the end of the lane.pool was great and was cleaned everyday as was the whole villa.
Stayed January 2015, traveled with family
Deze Villa ligt op een geweldige locatie tussen het strand en de winkelstraten. De service is erg goed. Het personeel is heel behulpzaam. Je kunt er met zeker 6 personen heerlijk verblijven. De tweepersoons slaapkamers hebben allen een eigen badkamer. Al met al hebben we deze zomer genoten van een luxe verblijf in een heerlijke villa op het gastvrije Bali.