For most people, when we mention Renon in Denpasar, Bali, they would imagine an area of beautiful large houses, many authentic Indonesian restaurants, government buildings, and a shopping complex, Plaza Renon. Renon Square is number 11 place of interest on Tripadvisor, where Bajra Sandhi monument is located. Lands in the area are considered the most expensive and prestigious.
It's very common in the island, there are alleys between large buildings, known locally as "gang" /ˌɡəNG/, not to be confused with gang /ɡaNG/ in English. We went to the alleys on Tuesday afternoon, on September 8, 2020 to meet people who aren't very fortunate. There are some information from our volunteer about an elderly who recently lost his wife and job, and some other elderly who lived alone and depend on their neighbor for food.
Caption : Children we met in the alley, playing with their parent gadgets.
We parked our car on the street and walked about 200 meters to visit the widower, he was not at home. We went next door, met a lady who owns a small shop. She told us that he recently got a temporary job after over a month staying at home. He used to work as a mechanic to fix sewing machines. We wanted to visit to know him and give a bag of staple food. The neighbor offered us to leave it with with her.
She asked us if we came especially for him or we can help others in need. She informed us that there's a elderly woman in that area that desperately needs help. The elderly woman is over 70 years old but she's active and usually at this hour, she walks around the street in that neighborhood to find leftover food. The neighbor husband took us to the elderly woman's house, it's a very small studio without a bathroom. (See the video below, it's raw, unedited, to show the real experience.)
She was not at home that day and we left a bag of staple food to her grand daughter. You can help, donate here.
Caption : The neighbor in her shop.
Caption : The grand daughter receiving a bag of staple food. $10 staple food can help people live for 2 weeks.
Caption : The elderly woman studio, the sleeping woman is her daughter who wasn't feeling well that afternoon.
Caption : The laundry area, where they get their fresh water which is pumped out from the ground with a mechanical old pump.
Caption : Our volunteers walking pass the widower house (number 16).