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‘Rock for Relief’ at Bali International School

By Peter Muir
01-Dec-10
‘Rock for Relief’ at Bali International School


Bali International School staff and students savor a brush with
Indonesia’s rock royalty during the school’s ‘Rock for Quake Relief’
humanitarian fund-raiser (photo: Peter Muir/BIS).
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On 30 September of last year, the island of Sumatra was rocked by a devastating earthquake that claimed lives and entire communities.
Students at the Bali International School (BIS) were shocked, and when they found out that our BIS French teacher had family there it brought the disaster even closer to home.
Within days, various members of the student body had organized bake sales and clothing sales to raise money to send directly to an organization called Quake Fund. Manned by volunteers already working in international disaster management, this group was able to use 100 percent of donated funds in order to buy tarps, buckets, and ropes, items desperately needed in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Last November some of the student bands arranged a fund-raising night at a local music club and by January 2010, with the help of teachers and local musicians, a ‘Rock for Quake Relief’ was held outdoors with some of Bali’s best-loved rock performers including Geek Smile and Navicula. The concert raised over US$1,000 in donations for the Quake Fund.
To mark the first anniversary, students Julia Edwards, Carina McWhinnie, and Pierre Moreno decided to once again rally the community and stage an event. This time, the idea was to limit it to the school community and allow the event to become a showcase for the talents of school musicians, models, and performers.
These three students took it upon themselves to liaise with outside sponsors in order to donate clothing for the show, rehearse with musicians, set stages, and design an entire event production, from posters and tickets to goodie bags and door prizes.
With the assistance of supervising teachers, the support of Navicula as the headline act of the concert, and with huge input from the local fashion industry, the event was an unqualified success on all levels.
Students took care of security, photography, costume changes, and DJ-ing. It was truly a professional show, a great event for parents and students, and an opportunity to demonstrate that Bali International School wholeheartedly embraces all aspects of IB philosophy.
The next day, the students were able present their special guest Kiwi Sudarsho, who had flown from Padang just for the event, a donation of over US$1,200, and the promise of more to come.
According to BIS teacher Kayti Denham, who supervised the student organizers in their efforts as a part of the school’s Global Citizenship Program, Kiwi’s presentation of his work with children in the earthquake-affected communities on the outskirts of Padang was very powerful.
“The photos of the living standards for the quake survivors made our students clearly see the need to continue their efforts in supporting this community.” Kiwi will return to Padang and initiate the next stage of his project of bringing art activities and art as trauma therapy into remote communities.
For more information on this initiative or on other aspects of the school’s Global Citizenship Program, email the author at [email protected] or view the blog at http://bisgcp.wordpress.com.
BIS is the oldest international school in Bali, and offers all three IB programs.




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