“I hope there are more people like you!” says 23-year-old Elsa, a resident of Puni Asuhan Bethesda Orphanage in Batam. She was referring to Young SMOU (YSMOU) volunteers who came to visit her.

YSMOU had previously visited the orphanage in November 2017 and felt the calling to return once again to follow up on the children’s well-being and just to cheer up their day. Puni Asuhan Bethesda Orphanage, founded after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, is home to 49 children.

Prior to the planned visit, the working team visited the orphanage to assess what the orphanage needs were and in what practical ways the YSMOU volunteers could do to improve the home. So, it was with a better understanding that when 22 YSMOU volunteers turned up in Batam, on 31 August and 1 September, they had a clear mission in mind.