SALAM Children’s Home was established in March 1979 by four independent Christian organizations to provide a way for disadvantaged children in small villages to go to school. These organizations were Saksi, Christian Life Foundation, Ambassadors and Mel Tari Evangelistic Association, forming the acronym SALAM which is an Indonesian word meaning “peace” and “greetings”.

A large proportion of SALAM’s foundation children became fatherless in the aftermath of the Indonesian Communist Coup in 1965. The vision of the SALAM Founders was to provide a nurturing Christian environment for those children who came out of this situation, with a focus on providing education, but also on serving their communities. Since then children have come from as far away as Sumba, Kalimantan and East Timor. They are not always orphans, but come because there is no alternative for schooling. For this reason most of the children return home during school breaks.

 

The children are from very poor backgrounds, many of which are single parent families. They are accepted into SALAM upon provision of letters from official authorities confirming their economic situation. Most of the children are determined to succeed and escape the poverty trap from which they have come. Many have indeed thrived and excelled in their studies, winning scholarships and becoming highly qualified professionals. Visitors are warmly welcomed to SALAM Children's Home. They must phone ahead to ensure there will be a translator on site. Those interested in volunteering for any length of time need to contact info@salambali.com

 

SALAM has local staff members who are onsite 24 hours a day and live in small houses with their families. The SALAM children live in dormitories. They come from various religious backgrounds and the Home respects their beliefs, but they are required to participate in all activities, including the various Christian activities. On a practical level, the children are given chores to help with the running of the Home, including cooking, cleaning, washing, gardening and looking after the various animals.

 

 

Email: salambali@gmail.com