Wiwie Harris, Head of YKIP Management board shared her reflection on 20 years of Bali Bombing:

Twenty years ago, on October 12th 2002, a horrifying tragedy struck our beloved island of Bali; the bombing of two of the most crowded hotspots in the heart of Kuta’s tourist district. This terrorist attack is an abominable act of violence against humanity and was strongly condemned worldwide. The attack not only led to 202 casualties and hundreds more injured, but even more far-reaching physical, economical and psychological damages to the devastated community, especially the families and children left behind.

But not all hope was lost, for there is always a silver lining to every tragedy. The atrocious event brought upon a wave of empathy and generosity from so many compassionate people worldwide. The eye-opening realisation that any of us could have been a victim of this violent attack led to an endless flow of support and donations for the victims, as well as those directly or indirectly affected by the event. This unifying spirit of benevolence and compassion is what led to the birth of Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi (YKIP) only a few days after the tragedy.

Along with providing direct medical assistance to the victims, YKIP together with Yayasan KIDS, on June 23rd 2003, launched a scholarship program which enabled 61 children of the victims of the Bali bombing to continue their education. YKIP continued to champion this program to this date, even after Yayasan KIDS was dissolved in 2013. We are more than proud to announce that we have helped 52 children of the victims complete their education, and another 9 of them are currently pursuing higher education. We expect our youngest beneficiary to graduate from college in 2026. In 2004, YKIP expanded the scholarship into three different programs; KEMBALI, Kembali Vocational and KEMBALI University, and to date, we have helped 1,212 Balinese students continue their education – all thanks to the support of our magnanimous donors.

Humbled as we are by our sponsors’ generosity, we are also incredibly heartened by the strength and resilience of these children who continued to wholeheartedly pursue their education in the face of unspeakable adversities. Their unbreakable spirit has been YKIP’s undying source of inspiration and strength to grow our education scholarship programs for the past 20 years and provide opportunities for education for even more Balinese children.