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About Let’s Help Bali

OUR ORIGINS

The Yayasan Let's Help Bali was created in early 2020 just as the COVID-19 Pandemic was materialising throughout the world. By this point, Indonesia had become a coronavirus hotspot and the lives of its residents had been severely impacted. The idea - conjured up at 2am in the midst of a sleepless night - was simple: positively impact the lives of as many Balinese people as possible as they deal with the loss of jobs, the destruction of their economy and the devastation brought to them by COVID-19.

After this sleepless night, Amanda Rialdi quickly officially established Let's Help Bali in April 2020, together with her close friend Ellie Gee. The duo are Australian ex-pats who now call the beautiful island of Bali their home. The Yayasan began with the humble goal of feeding at least 100 local Balinese people every Sunday. This never happened. Instead, the goal was exceeded well beyond anyone's wildest dreams with over 400 people receiving food on their first day of operations.

Since then, Let's Help Bali has grown exponentially and, on certain days, the Yayasan has been able to provide over 1000 individuals with much-needed food and resources funded by the Australian public and local Indonesians. What began as a humble plea to friends and family for a $1.50 (AUD) donation to hand out individual meals to people on the streets has now flourished into a lifeline for people all around Bali.

COVID-19 IN BALI

The coronavirus has had a particularly devastating impact on the island of Bali and the Balinese people, where over 70% of the population relies on tourism to make a living. Due to the pandemic, domestic and international travel has been halted since early 2020, resulting in a 95% decline in international visitor arrivals in Bali. This devastating drop in tourism has had a significant impact on the lives of millions of Balinese – and Indonesians – who have relied on the tourism industry for generations.

Consequently, millions of Indonesia's 273 million people are without a job and many are unsure where their next meal will come from. With only four doctors and 12 hospital beds per 1,000 people, the countries hospitals are completely overwhelmed, which is only intensified by a major shortage in ventilators.

WHO WE ARE

Australian ex-pat, Amanda Rialdi has lived in the community since 2014. Originally, she relocated to Bali to marry her partner and now raises a family of their own. She is just one of many Australians who elected to stay in Indonesia despite COVID-19's struggles, in order to help the people in the community who have lost their livelihoods.

Amanda's relatives and friends in Australia encouraged her to return in early 2020 when borders between Australia and Indonesia were closing in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus. Amanda, on the other hand, considers Bali to be her home and leaving was never an option. Instead of leaving, she chose to help the people in her community in any way she could – by establishing Let’s Help Bali. 

Amanda and the Let's Help Bali volunteers spend at least 15 hours a day organising drops, orders and messages. This is due to the large number of Australians who send charitable donations, food packages and other necessities to help the Balinese people. Our non-profit organisation does an extraordinary job of connecting Australians with their 'Bali families'; the friends who they have met during their repeated travels to the island before COVID-19 shook the world.

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