Rucina Ballinger was born in Indiana, U.S.A. At Indiana
University she studied comparative religions, dance and folklore.
Rucina worked at the Indonesian Consulate in San Francisco
in the 1980s. She and her husband, Anak Agung Gede Putra,
also ran educational study tours in Indonesia, focusing on
Balinese culture. Her hobbies are going to the gym, dancing,
playing charades with “da goils” in Ubud, and
creating humorous skits and songs in Balinese with Grup Gedebong
Goyang. Rucina can often be seen taking pre-dawn walks in
Pengosekan, playing badminton in Ubud, and attending numerous
family weddings, cremations and tooth filings with her husband
and two handsome sons.
Why and how did you first become interested in Bali?
I came to Bali first in 1974 as an undergraduate to do research
on dance and theatre. I wanted to be in a culture where dance
is still a viable part of daily life.
What kind of work are you involved in now?
I’ve been the CEO of YKIP (Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi)
for four years now.
How did you become involved with YKIP?
Right after the first Bali bomb, I was asked if I knew a dalang
(puppeteer) who would be able to do a project on trauma counseling
for the victims. I contacted I Made Sidia of Bona whose innovations
and ability to collaborate were perfect. Sidia has worked
on projects with theatre directors from Australia, the US
and Europe and currently teaches at ISI in Denpasar.
What is YKIP’s mission?
To the improve the lives of everyone who lives in Bali as
a tribute to those who were killed, injured or lost their
livelihood as a consequence of the terrorist attack of October
12th, 2002. Our vision is for a better Bali through health
and education programs for the poor.
Does YKIP only concern itself with helping the victims of
the Bali bomb?
Our policy is to give assistance to anyone on Bali who is
needy through health and education programs. YKIP gets the
bulk of its funding from the Annika Linden Foundation-RESET.
Annika perished in the 2002 bombings and her then-fiancé,
Mark Weingard, set up the foundation as a memorial to her
and other victims.
Can you give us examples of the challenges that the children
and families of the bomb are faced with?
There is stigma for the Balinese widows as being a Balinese
woman unattached to a male. As a result of losing the main
economic resource in the family, these widows have had to
find work to ensure that their children are fed and schooled.
The children have been stigmatized in school as well. Some
of the children are still dealing with depression which manifests
in doing poorly in school and not being able to socialize
properly. We have been working with local psychiatrists to
ensure that victims receive free psychiatric treatment.
Have there been any real success stories that YKIP has been
responsible for?
In the beginning, we were able to get some Indonesian victims
evacuated out to Australia who were then fortunate enough
to undergo life-saving operations. We also established Sushrusa,
the only preschool for the hearing impaired on Bali, which
has given young children the gift of hearing. To see their
parents’ faces light up when they call out their child’s
name and the child responds for the first time is truly a
wonderful experience. I also don’t want to forget our
Kembali Scholarship program which puts nearly 500 children
through school who would’ve otherwise have dropped out.
What is unique about the work that YKIP does compared to the
work of other humanitarian and aid groups in Bali?
There are so many other yayasan (non-profit organizations)
on the island that quietly go about their work that we don’t
even know about them. In the early years following the catastrophe,
there were many foundations, such as Bali Hati that helped
the victims. We are one of the few groups who are still directly
assisting the victims. YKIP has committed itself to putting
the children of the bomb victims through university, funds
permitting. We maintain high transparency for our donors.
For example, our field workers must survey each child in the
Kembali Program individually at home and in school as well
as distribute their supplies and lunch money up to four times
a year.
What do you like best about your work?
I love meeting lots of Indonesians in the field as well as
the donors who come to our office or go onsite visits. My
six staff are all gems. We all work so well together, represent
four ethnic groups and three religions, and we all speak English,
Indonesian and Balinese.
Do you have any humorous anecdotes to relate about your work
with YKIP?
We had one mother of a sponsored child who took her daughter’s
lunch money and bought a piglet with it - she was quite open
about telling us about it. So I guess her daughter had a lot
of babi guling the following semester! I also had one woman
approach me to ask if I could help her niece go to school.
I whipped out my notebook to write down the family’s
data and asked what grade the child was in. I found out that
the boy just had his second otonan, a Balinese birthday that
makes him 14 months old. Talk about pre-registration! I told
her to contact me again in five years.
What are the most difficult aspects of working for YKIP?
Without question the commute from Ubud to our offices in Kuta.
Where can one learn more about YKIP and how can people help?
Check out our homepage www.ykip.org. Donations can be made
online or by transferring funds to Bank Permata, Denpasar
Branch No. 601, US$ acct. 5802 163 330, Rupiah acct. 5801
261 460.
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please
contact : <pakbill2003@yahoo.com>
