Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by Cate Bolt on 22 August 2009 | 3 Comments

Tags: Indonesia, orangutans, orphanage

Hi Again,

I was going to make this a static page up the top but I thought I’d run it here first, so that you can add any other questions that might have been keeping you awake at night and I’ll answer them to the best of my abilities and then move the whole lot to the top for all the “late people” to be able to find.

Most frequently asked question… WHY?

Why not? The main reason is that I woke up one day and decided I didn’t want to die without doing everything I could possibly do to make the world a better place. Without getting too hippy-dippy on ya’ll, I believe this is my destiny and what I am supposed to do (for a whole range of reasons which would take too long to list). Why Indonesia? Three main reasons – the proximity to Australia and the fact that I can fly back and forth between Aus and Indo in only a few hours, rather than a full day. Secondly, I’m really moved by the irony that a place so close to Australia, arguable THE most fortunate country in the world, is victim to such grave need and abject poverty, and has been marred by such gross social injustice for so long. Ten years ago I would have never decided to pursue foreign aid because I am SO madly passionate and patriotic to Australia, but things change – and while my patriotism hasn’t wavered at all, my passion for humanity extends far beyond the country borders. Third reason for Indonesia – Orang-utans and Sumatran Tigers – say no more.

 

How can you afford to give up work?

The wording of this question makes me giggle. I have given up MANY things to do this but work isn’t’ one of them. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard as I am right now. I think what people mean is “how can you afford to not be getting paid to work?”

Firstly, Rick and I are still running The Elements – which is still a relatively new business so it’s still finding its feet. We certainly aren’t making enough here to live off and 50% of the profits go directly to the charity. If you are thinking of buying anything organic for your home, please consider buying from us. We don’t have huge margins on any of our products, but every cent of profit is either going to feeding our kids or to feeding the kids of Indonesia.

We’re also making money from Rick’s tireless affiliate marketing work. If you are looking for a good work from home project which will make you a fairly constant income (no get rich quick, it takes some time) then I’d recommend checking out This Program on Rick’s Blog – if you decide to purchase it we make a small commission.

I also have a couple of website clients that I’m doing sporadic work for, which comes in waves. We are getting by week to week – some weeks we aren’t. We aren’t people who have great needs, we pay the rent first and then food comes from what is left. That’s it. I have a belief that the universe provides for those who provide for others. I guess we have somewhat put ourselves in the hands of the universe and hope we can do enough to help others to warrant receiving ourselves.

 

Are you really planning to move your whole family to Indonesia?

Again, this is very complicated. The short answer is – not in the short term. We have a couple of kids who have very special needs. We made the very expensive decision when we moved to Queensland to put the kids into a non-state school that was better equipped to meet the needs of our kids. Unfortunately this decision is one we made before we decided to be poor LOL. On the up side though, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done for all of our children, so we will just have to keep finding the money to pay the fees. At least one of these children will definitely need to stay in Australia to get the best opportunity of an education and a normal life. He still has 5 years of school left.

So for the next five years, it will require us to living in two countries, and single parent for several weeks at a time. My eldest son finishes school in a matter of weeks and he is committed to working in the charity, so initially it will be many trips back and forth.

Also, Indonesia is a volatile place, I’m really not committing to taking my kids anywhere that might not be safe before truly making an assessment of the risks myself. If & when the kids come to Indonesia is yet to be seen.

 

Do you feel you are compromising your own children for the sake of others?

Ick. Horrible question. Anyone who knows me and my children knows that a) they never go without anything they need, b) there is NO shortage of love in our home and c) my children will always be my first priority. If not being at home for them every afternoon and evening is compromising them, then I guess I am. But I’d like to think that in doing so I’ll be raising global citizens who have the capacity to show compassion to their fellow human beings, who understand that food and shelter is more important than the latest iPhone and who, even if they don’t work in the charity themselves, go on to truly appreciate how precious life is. I don’t know the answer to this question. Obviously as a mother I’d like to be here for my kids at every moment they need me, but if I’m not here personally they will always be able to contact me and know that they are my first priority. I’d also like to teach them that they (everyone) is capable of great things, if they just decide.

 

Where will the village be?

The best I can tell you at the moment is the island of Sumatra. The rest is up to the Indonesian government. We need to work with them to secure land for reforestation. This will be somewhere in the order of 30,000 hectares (300 sq kms), only about 5% will be used for the village, the rest is strictly for reforestation and wildlife refuge purposes.

 

Aren’t you scared?

Friggin terrified. My only real fear however is of failing. I realise the religious unrest in Indonesia makes it a volatile place, I realise that there are many, many, many challenges that face us between here and where we plan to be but the biggest fear I have is of letting down the dozens of people who have given their support, and had the faith to donate their products and services to me. I don’t believe that I will fail, because I know how pigheaded and stubborn I am, and because my mother once said to me “you could do and be anything you wanted to.” But there are times when the thought comes into my head “what if I let all these people down?”.

 

Do you speak Indonesian?

Saya bisa bicara sedikit bahasa Indonesia. (I can speak a little Indonesian), but I’m learning. I started taking lessons about a month ago, I can now do all the normal greetings, get and give directions, order food and drinks, catch a taxi, find a hotel – but it’s early stages LOL I have a LONG way still to go. My eldest son did 8 years of Indonesian at school so he’s more fluent than me.

 

How much will the project cost and how do you plan to make the money?

The very first stage, the milestone we have to have in the bank before we can get land… $1,000,000. Yes, you counted the zeros correctly, that’s one MILLION dollars. No, I don’t expect that I can make a million dollars sewing handbags in the next year. Although, I reckon if I put my head to it – I’d probably find a way LOL. Obviously as soon as we are finished with the registration process we will start begging for money – so please have your credit cards at the ready! What I hope to raise from random donations, initially is $100,000. I’d like to think the sewing project can also raise $100,000 – that just leaves a measly $800,000 left to raise! We are hoping that the balance can be achieved through corporate sponsorship and fundraising events.

 

How is the 20kg in 20 weeks challenge going?

Thanks for asking LOL. For those who don’t know about this, I decided three weeks ago to take on a challenge to lose 20kg in 20 weeks. Firstly, because I keep putting it off, and I shouldn’t and secondly because I don’t think there is anything that would be more offensive to starving children than to have an overweight woman helping them. I made the challenge public so that I would be accountable and the upside of that is that I’ve had some great folks join me in the challenge also. Currently almost at the end of week 3 the total weight lost is 5.4kg – so it’s going well, so far, but I expect it will get harder!

 

OK, Those are the main questions I’m being asked. If you have one please feel free to post it in a comment below and I will answer it on the blog.