In 2017, I travelled to Southeast Asia (Komodo Island) with the aim of photographing the famous Komodo dragon. At the same time, the volcano Mt. Agung had erupted on Bali (1 hour flight away).
After visiting Komodo, Padar and Flores, I travelled on to Bali. There I did not miss the chance to visit the volcano Agung at a safe distance. Thereby I passed by an evacuation camp. When I visited this tent city, it was explained to me that they get one cup of rice per person per day to eat.
Somehow this encounter did not let me go, so I spontaneously decided to visit this area again. It affected me very much that the people had to live in a small space and received only little food.
With an appeal via Facebook/WhatsApp, I described this precarious situation to my family and friends and asked them for a small donation. Within a few days, so much money was collected that I was able to bring 2 pickup trucks filled with food to the tent city.
I was very impressed by how disciplined the people were in receiving the food without any crowds. Everything was distributed fairly, even the rice was measured accurately....
According to an internet article in 2018, I came across the rubbish dumps where people live and vegetate. I just could not imagine it. After further research, I found an organization that supports these people and especially the children on the rubbish dumps. I wanted to get a picture on site and went to the dump the same day. There I met Feny, the headmistress. She teaches about 35 children in 2 rudimentary rooms. Afterwards she showed me how the people live and work at the dump.
Again I made an appeal to family and friends ...
... and since then I regularly fly to Bali to support the people a little.