History and Founders

The Window to the World Project School is a school pioneering education renewal with education for the under privileged. This unique combination developed over time due to circumstances and the input of the people that contributed to the project. The offered programs and teaching methods are based on well-researched concepts wherein all these different people and organizations played their part.

The origins of the Window to the World School
Cooperation with the AJK Foundation
Library and kindergarten with help from the Herman van Veen Foundation
Changing times
Opportunities for over 1500 children
Finally coming home after working from different premises

To understand the motivation of the people who built up ‘Window to the World’ it is important to know that all these people shared one connecting belief, which is the belief in the importance of education, and our children’s right to receive education, as informed and consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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The origins of the Window to the World School
The groundwork for what became later the ‘Window to the World School’ was laid in 1998 by Conchita de Jong, who developed a plan for a Project School offering an extended education program to fill the gaps in the Indonesian Education system for the students she was working with at ELSI language Institute in Bandung. Her fear was that graduating students were not educated according to International standards with all implications for the country. 
In nine teen ninety nine she teamed up with Decky Aldrin, an Indonesian musician, and together they further worked out the plan for a Project School to teach children important subjects like Indonesian comprehensive reading, English and computer skills, which were not a part of the Indonesian curriculum at the time, with a strong emphasize on art and music, for children in North Bali.

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Cooperation with the AJK Foundation
In 2000 they met with Maarten Sikking, a Dutch former hockey International and member of the Dutch based Alfred Jodocus Kleding Foundation. Together they shared the idea that young people from the north Bali region were strongly disadvantaged by the lack of relevancy in the schools programs. With help from the AJK Foundation the first part of the project was set up, called ‘Bali English School’.

Although only 100 kilometers away from the capital of Bali and the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas of South Bali many people in north Bali are still living under the poverty level and to make matters worse the Bali Bombs of 2002 made the small scale tourism business in the area collapse which brought economic development to a standstill for many years. It was during those years the ‘Bali English School’ was really an anchor for children and young people of the area to go to and spend time, learn and play while their parents were struggling to make ends meet. It was a sad and harsh time for the whole island.

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Library and kindergarten with help from the Herman van Veen Foundation
Two years after the Bali English School opened its doors the first library for children in Lovina was set up, soon followed by a kindergarten. This was accomplished with the help of the ‘Herman van Veen Foundation’, now Lot's Foundation. The two close friends, Maarten Sikking and Herman van Veen had known each other for many years and were both involved in supporting social projects through their work for the same foundations. The Herman van Veen Foundation would become the main sponsor for the ‘Window to the World School’ until 2007.
Herrman van Veen is an internationally well-known Dutch stage artist who, since 1965 has toured the world with his music performances in theaters. Herman van Veen is also a script writer and the spiritual father of cartoon character Alfred Jodocus Kwak, a duck who is traveling his world questioning injustice and looking for ways to address this. From a young age Herman van Veen was involved with the work of UNICEF and later became a UNICEF ambassador. Herman van Veen has for long been creating ways to bring the world’s attention to Children’s Rights. Both Maarten Sikking and Herman van Veen would be patrons to the project school during these founding years and  Alfred Jodocus Kwak, Herman van Veen’s  social duck cartoon character would be lending his name to the Foundation which became the legal body behind the project;  ‘Alfred’s house’ or ‘Yayasan  Rumah Alfred’ in Indonesian.

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Changing times
Times are changing, needs change, communities develop and projects develop along with them, and after a couple of years the name of the Bali English School was changed to ‘Window to the World’ School.  This came from our belief that it is important to give students a broader perspective of the world than they would otherwise have, through programs which are focused on expanding our students view and understanding of the world, but with respect of our local traditions.

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Opportunities for over 1500 children
Over 1500 children have participated in the project since its inception. The first generation of 'Window to the World' students are now studying at UNDIKSHA University in Singaraja and doing really well. Great work was done by the founding teachers and founding foundation members: Dewi Sutami,  Heronima Rosalina, Bernadeth Erlinia Ambrasary, Jude Benson, Ni Luh Sri Adyani, Ni Luh Asrini, Komang, Theodora Arimbi, Eka Masita, Muhamad Jafar, Kadek Surya, Rysya Aulia, Conchita de Jong and Decky Aldrin. They all kept working on developing a program that was beneficial for the students year after year.

When the project took off the target group was primarily the economically disadvantaged families in the area and the education was offered free of charge. Free of charge turned out to be ‘without commitment from the parents’, so this was changed into a system wherein people pay according to what they earn. Also, with the quality of the offered programs developing, the interest in the community for the school was growing from better-educated, higher income people, as well as expatriates. After all, for them there were also no facilities like a library, or computer courses, or good English courses for children. And kindergartens with real kindergarten programs are still a novelty in the country today. In fact, it turned out that the children in need were a much larger circle of people then only the economic needy people of the area.

Most children in the local area were also disadvantaged but in a different way. They had no access to good kindergarten education because it was not available, but they had the financial resources to pay for an education. So the school opened its doors to all children of the community. Now, ten years later, this has turned out to be a very fruitful combination where children from all walks of life, different religions and different cultures come together. It is a true enrichment experience for all. This diversity has led to greater knowledge and understanding between people of different social backgrounds, but also has helped the school to take a step towards greater financial independence. The school still has a broad artistic curriculum with attention to performing and visual arts. Many helping hands and guest teachers from all over the world have come to work with Window to the World, in one way or another. All these people helped the school to become what it is today; a dynamic community school which is a very rewarding place to study and work.

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Finally coming home after working from different premises
Thanks to the great generosity of a number of sponsors, Window to the World has so far operated from a number of different premises, free of charge. From 2001 to 2008 the extended education program and the library were located at the premises of Imanuel Jakarana's scuba dive centre, Spice Dive, in Kaliasem, Lovina. The kindergarten lost its original home in 2008 and found shelter for six years in a spacious building and garden in Kayupituh, Lovina thanks to the generosity of Satya and Sanny Burger.  The lease of the current building expired in 2015 and a permanent building was urgently required. 

Rotary Club of Bali Lovina teamed up with Rotary Club Enkhuizen, The Netherlands, through the inspiring intermediation of Enkhuizer' Rotarian Rob Beemster, to raise funds for a building for Window to the World that opened its doors for the first students in May 2015. Rob Beemster, with his never declining positive energy and enthusiasm managed to move mountains and connect dozens of people in his attempt to raise the necesarry funds for the building project. Djelko van Es from Architectuur&Advies signed up for the design of the building. Rotarians Robbie Drexhage and Lia Deniati from building company Lovina Villa Property took care of the organization and carried out the building of it.

After having been on the road for almost two decades and with the incredible inspiring input of hundreds of people, Window to the World has come home.