Horsham pop-up shop to support Balinese struggling under pandemic

Until the end of Christmas, Jillian Wright will run a pop-up second hand goods store out of 13 Bennett Road Horsham, beside the milk bar.

Ms Wright, who operates the villa business in Ubud alongside her son, returned to Horsham in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

She said she immediately saw the impact closed borders and airports had on the tourism-based Bali economy.

"People in Bali, like most developing countries, live hand-to-mouth. When your income stops - that is it, there is no back up," she said.

READ MORE:

"I put my staff on half wages because the airport just closed."

"Indonesia does not have the infrastructure Australia has, so therefore they do not have the means to support their population when it comes under stress."

Beyond running the hotel, Ms Wright - a teacher by trade - founded a childrens learning centre in Ubud.

The centre, similar to a neighbourhood house, provides education to Balinese children who often miss out on schooling past grade three due to the costs involved.

The pop-up shop will sell an assortment of household goods, from kitchen and dining items to Christmas decorations and books.

Ms Wright said the profits raised from the shop would go to people in Bali who she knows first-hand have faced financial difficulties due to the pandemic.

"In Australia we have JobKeeper, JobSeeker, charity organisations and quite a lot of social infrastructure that we can help each other through," she said.

"The government help in Indonesia is minimal. On the island of Bali, the government sends a truck around to the villages once a month with some eggs, oil, rice and coffee - the staples. But you are expected to fend for yourself."

Ms Wright has asked people to consider buying something from the shop, giving back to the people whose generosity was felt by many Australians on a holiday in Bali.

"It's a win-win. People say they want to downsize and declutter, and most of the people in Indonesia don't even have storage," she said.

"I want to stress the impact on the people who receive this help. The Balinese say to me that they are overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.

"The kindness of strangers is a very powerful thing.

"They say to me 'you mean that people in Australia who haven't met us will give something to help us'. That is the kindness of strangers, and they feel like we are good people for doing that."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up here.