History of the Tuka Orphanage

The Orphanage in Tuka began in 1958 with 10 children. The founding Fransiscan Sisters were Sr. Martini Greymans, Sr. Consolata Kalimah, Sr. Corona Murtati, and Sr. Eveline Soekilah. The Sisters lived in a small, simple home with the children near the clinic they had started. On the 8th of December in 1959 the home had it’s first formal Blessing. By 1970 the number of children had grown to 70. At that time, not all of the children stayed at the Orphanage. About 30 of the children lived at the Orphanage and the rest stayed with their families. On March 15th of 1998 the Orphanage became known as “SIDHI ASTU” as they received their certificate from the Indonesian government. After so many years of operation, a large number of people have come to know about this well established Orphanage. Some visit only once but many have returned with each of their visits to Bali.

Some of the children have full time sponsors but many are still in need of them. We should have a current breakdown of costs very soon on the “current needs” page. (as of July 13th 2010)

There are four Franciscan Sisters that run the Orphanage now with the help of  both paid as well as volunteer staff. The current Sisters are Sr. Maria Esther, Sr. Hubertine Ni Wayan Rika, Sr. Angelina Sr. Mutwani and Sr. Corry Artuti.