Mayke Boestami serves as the current President of BIWA (Bali
International Women's Association), a secular, non-political
and non-profit association formed to foster friendship and
understanding between women of different nationalities, as
well as contribute to the cultural development of women in
general.
Today, BIWA has more than 200 members from 25 countries, a
truly international organization. BIWA members meet regularly
in search of friendship, cultural exchange, mutual understanding
and cooperative effort to make living in Bali a positive and
memorable experience. Becoming a member is a chance to give
something back to the community.
Where do you come from?
I was born and raised in Jakarta and went to the Santa Maria
Convent. After leaving school I went to California in the
early '80s, attended a foreign language academy, and worked
in one of the leading computer companies at that time.
How did you end up on Bali?
I decided to live in Bali as a challenge, but more importantly
I had to leave the hectic capital city of Jakarta with its
traffic jams and the incredible numbers of people. Basically,
it just became too crowded for me.
What is your professional background?
My background is in public relations, supervising and compiling
computer databases, organizing events and anything and everything
to do with the tourism industry in general and as a hotelier
in particular.
What are your hobbies?
Swimming, shooting, horse riding, tennis and all kinds of
exercise. Currently I am enrolled in private yoga class.
Could you please give a brief history of BIWA?
BIWA was founded in an informal basis in 1974 in response
to a famine crisis. This was when the original BIWA members
organized their first successful charity fundraiser. Since
then, BIWA has been at the forefront of sourcing, funding
and carrying out social welfare projects in Bali.
What is BIWA currently involved in?
BIWA's social welfare efforts now encompass women's health;
youth education; financial and medical assistance; education
and assistance to HIV/AIDS prevention and drug rehabilitation
programs; and financial and medical assistance to the Bali
Bomb victims and also the bomb's indirect victims
from various parts of Bali.
How did you get involved with BIWA?
I got involved in 1991 as a regular member. And I found this
association is fun dealing with and meeting women from all
over the world who all have a common interest, especially
in womens' issues.
Could you give us some examples of the work that BIWA does?
HIV/AIDS and other STDs have spread throughout Bali, which
is the province of Indonesia with the fifth largest number
of reported infections. Yet information dissemination on HIV/AIDS
& STDs does not yet reach all groups of the population,
all areas of Bali and all strata of the local community. Women
are at risk for STDs through commercial sex work and due to
prevalent high-risk behavior of men (use of sex workers, etc).
Furthermore, women suffer more severe consequences (impaired
fertility and health) due to biological vulnerability and
the lack of early symptoms of many STDs. Other health problems
affecting women, such as breast cancer and cervical cancer,
reproductive tract infections, domestic violence and maternal
death are also far too common in Bali.
Women tend to put a low priority on their health problems,
failing to allocate time and money to seek health care. They
also tend to have less access to information than men and
thus are less empowered to act to protect themselves. In the
context of the severe economic downturn on Bali since the
October 2002 bomb, money in household budgets for health spending
is more limited than ever and health concerns even more likely
to be ignored, while risk factors are not likely to decline.
For these and other reasons the Badung Women's Clinic needed
to be set up. Because of its location, Pasar Badung in Denpasar
is the largest traditional market in Bali and is active 24
hour's a day. The vendors are generally women, from all districts
of Bali and beyond, and every day they interact with hundreds
of customers. The customers are generally women who come from
all strata of society. This is why Pasar Badung is an ideal
place to access a very large number of women and provide them
health services and information, which they may not otherwise
receive. Clinical services include pelvic exams, STD testing,
pap smears, antenatal care, contraceptive check-ups, breast
exams, etc.
BIWA in cooperation with YRS (Yayasan Rama Sesana) Rama Sesana
Foundation, run by Dr. Upadisari, has partly funded the clinic
and is now full operation and has received an excellent response
from the public.
In cooperation with Maha Saraswati dental students, BIWA also
started a mobile dental clinic for remote elementary students
in Tabanan Regency. BIWA also gives monthly donations to specialized
hospitals such as a leper colony in Tabanan.
We have also either extensively renovated or built entirely
new schools such as the Glogor Elementary School near Klungkung,
the Seraya Barat Elementary School in Selalang, Karangasem;
the Tulamben Elementary School in far northeast end of Bali;
the Baturinggit Elementary School at the eastern foothills
of Mount Agung.
What kind of projects is BIWA involved in at the moment?
We continue searching for schools in remote areas which really
need assistance. With YAKEBA (Yayasan Kesehatan Bali), BIWA
works a lot right now also in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention
and education for youth. We also support Bali Plus in their
drug rehabilitation programs, using vitamins and alternative
medicine.
How does one volunteer to help BIWA?
Anyone can join BIWA as a volunteer and work based on their
capability. The membership fee is only Rp100,000 per year.
Through both individual and business sponsorships BIWA is
able to provide basic dental health service and educational
programs for the underprivileged in Bali.
For more information,
contact BIWA at (0361) 746-9607/285552;
fax. (0361) 285552,
email: info@biwabali.com,
website: www.biwabali.com.
BIWA publishes a bi-monthly magazine
which is distributed free locally.
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please
contact : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 Al Hickey
You can read all past articles of Siapa
at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz
