DONOR SPOTLIGHT – KEN KONIGSMARK
We recently conducted an interview with Ken Konigsmark from the US about how he found out about SoleFamily and what makes him consistently generously support us.
Thanks Ken!
1. What first inspired you to get involved with SoleFamily
I had been coming to Bali since 2008 and seen the struggles that many people live with just to survive day to day. Then in 2014, after living in Amed, hiking around the mountains to remote villages, and learning about the challenges of local fishermen and their families, the depth and breadth of difficulties experienced by so many people became personal. My friends there needed help and I tried, within my own means, to help others as I could but the need was always far greater than my capacity.
In 2022, my partner in Bali died, who even during his own pain and struggles with cancer found helping others, especially during COVID times, to be his biggest joy. I had promised him that I would continue our mission to help others but wasn’t sure how to best fulfill that promise.
But then, serendipitously, I noticed an article in the Bali Update Newsletter that described the SoleFamily online auction and did some online research of SoleFamily to learn more about them. That quickly led to emails and phone calls with Robert and Sarah and I knew that teaming up my efforts with SoleFamily would be the best way forward.
2. Why do you choose to support SoleFamily consistently
I know that the biggest impact and the most “bang for the buck” in maximizing help to those in need comes from my donations to SoleFamily. And to “continue the mission”, as I’d promised, motivates me to donate consistently to honour Taufik Hidayat by supporting all the good work that SoleFamily does to help others in nee
3. Was there a moment or story from SoleFamily that deeply moved you?
I had seen many examples of hardship in Bali but, wow, going on my first day of outreach visits with the SoleFamily team powerfully showed me the extreme difficulties of the Solebuddies and families that SoleFamily assists. Seeing these situations firsthand, knowing that these people struggle mightily everyday, and observing and joining in with SoleFamily to bring such compassioin and care to ease their lives a bit was deeply moving to me.
4. Which area of SoleFamily’s work speaks to you the most — food security, medical care, disability support, or something else?
ALL of SoleFamily’s work touches me deeply. I’ve been on several days of outreach visits and whether it’s providing food, medicine, transport, assistance with surgeries, or providing wheelchairs or other medical equipment, each situation is unique and SoleFamily’s work to provide for the unique needs of each person or family is so inspiring and uplifting. While it’s impossible to “fix” each situation, what I’ve witnessed is the care of SoleFamily bringing smiles, hugs, and deep gratitude from people whose lives are eased and bettered by the angel-work that SoleFamily does.
5. What would you say to someone thinking about supporting SoleFamily?
If you want to have an impact that directly benefits those living in the lowest of conditions while maximizing the bang for your buck then donating the SoleFamily should be your choice. I’ve seen how tightly SoleFamily manages their budget to enable maximizing direct care to Solebuddies as the overriding priority. For me, donating to SoleFamily achieves far more for many more than I could ever do on my own.
6. If you could sum up what SoleFamily means to you in a few words, what would they be?
Life-changing, life-saving, compassionate care in action; truly the work of angels on Earth
Feel free to add anything else but we need to keep it as short as possible. We want you to influence others to follow suit! Perhaps mentioning Myriad tax free donations and the impact.
I wish the many tourists visiting Bali could understand, see, and help alleviate the conditions so many in Bali live in. The disconnect between freely spending tourists and those in need is so staggering. Everyone should realize that even the locals with a steady job make only about $175/month or less and almost all have no savings to sustain themselves. So I urge everyone visiting Bali to please tip well, give generously, and look for opportunities to share with someone in need. They are all around you and you CAN make a positive difference in someones life.
I’m happy that tax-deductible donations to SoleFamily can now be made by citizens from Australia, the United States, and soon other countries in Europe through the Myriad Alliance network that facilitates global tax-deductible donations. (https://myriad.org/). Simply search for SoleFamily Bali on their website and you can make a tax-deductible donation!
