Nicola Longobardi

Sandia is 16 years old and was born with cerebral palsy. She and her family live in a slum in Denpasar. The house owner is also the owner of a plastic recycling company. When the parents of Sandia migrated from Java to Bali, they started working collecting plastic. When Sandia's father collects plastic bottles on his motorcycle, her mother and sisters care for her. Her father cares for Sandia when her mother and sisters prepare the plastic bottles in the afternoon before bringing them to the collection point. Sandia spends her days at home surrounded by the love of her family.

Pak Suyanto, 54 (L), Ibu Saleha, 46, Sandia, 16 and Ibu Lida, 24.

Pak Suyanto and Sandia in front of their home. Bali 21/10/2022.

The slum in the suburbs of Denpasar, where Sandia and her family live. Bali 24/10/2022.

Pak Suyanto parks his motorbike. He woke up at 4 am and spent the morning collecting plastic bottles. Bali 21/10/2022.

Pak Suyanto takes care of Sandia during the afternoon when Ibu Saleha prepares the bag filled with plastic bottles. Bali 21/10/2022.

Ibu Saleha chats with neighbours. All the families in the slum work in the plastic recycling company of the landlord. Bali 22/10/2022.

Sandia, 16 years old, is affected by brain palsy. Bali 21/10/2022.

Pak Suyanto has an afternoon nap together with Sandia. Bali 21/10/2022.

Putu can not move from the bed. He spends his days holding the TV remote control in his hand. He doesn't care what the TV shows. He likes the sensation in his hand. When he returns from school, Made, the young brother, helps the mother by making offers for the ceremonies of the Balinese people. The father one day abandoned his family. Ibu Angga spends her days at home taking care of Putu. They live in a small one-room apartment in the suburbs of Denpasar. Without the help of a local NGO, they could not live.

After school, Made prepares offers for Balinese ceremonies to sell. Bali 20/10/2022

Ibu Angga feeds Putu on the bed where he spends his life. Bali 20/10/2022

Photos of both kids hang on the wall of the small apartment. Bali 20/10/2022

Ibu Angga begins preparing the lunch. Bali 20/10/2022

Putu likes to hold the remote control in his hand. Bali 20/10/2022

Ibu Angga teaches Made to draw. It is one of the things they like to do together on the bed with Putu. Bali 20/10/2022

Surrounded by family and friends, Dewa Made Dunia grew up living an ordinary life. But he wanted to find his independence. One day he thought in his village, there was not a barbershop. So he started to learn how to cut hair, first by watching some videos and then practising with the heads of his friends. Today he is the owner of his barbershop. Every day he opens in the afternoon and works till the evening. His shop has become the meeting point for many villagers who spend their time chatting before and after a haircut.

Dewa Made Dunia works on crutches. Bali 23/10/2022

Clients are waiting their turn for their haircuts. Bali 23/10/2022

Using a modified motorbike, Dewa can move independently. Meeting friends or just going to the grocery. Bali 23/10/2022

Dewa works till late during festival days because many people want a haircut. Bali 23/10/2022

Nyoman Warka is visually impaired, and his wife Ni Made Tangen is blind. They live with their son Wayan in Gianyar, Bali. Despite their disabilities, they found a way to live. Nyoman daily walks for kilometres delivering holy water, used during the ceremonies, from a profound source. He carries a bucket on his head to the families of the town where he lives for 3000 IDR per bucket. The wife prepares the offers used by the Balinese people during the ceremonies. After school, Wayan, their son, takes the parents to the clients and checks the money they receive.

Nyoman Warka, 56, refills the bucket with holy water. Bali. 25/10/2022.

Nyoman Warka, 56, delivers a bucket of holy water used by Balinese people during the ceremonies. Bali. 25/10/2022.

Nyoman Warka brings a stick with him to defend himself if a dog attacks him during work. 25/10/2022

A client meets Nyoman Warka on the street and orders a bucket of holy water. Bali. 25/10/2022.

Nyoman Warka, 56, walks 4/6 hours daily carrying the bucket on his head. Bali. 25/10/2022.

In the afternoon, Nyoman (L), 56, and Wayan (C), 11, the couple's son, join the mother, Ni Made Tangen (R), 41, to prepare the offers for the ceremonies in front of the home where they live. Bali. 25/10/2022

Wayan, 11, (R), helps his parents to deliver the offers produced at home. Bali. 25/10/2022.

I Kadek Ariana, 38, (R), when he was two years old, contracted polio, and now he can't use his left leg. Despite his disability, I Kadek has cultivated his passion for motorbikes. Today he is a Vespa mechanic famous in Indonesia. His Instagram account, Chaver Racing, has over 67,000 followers, and his Youtube channel has more than 56000 subscribers.

Kadek Ariana tests the motor of a Vespa in his workshop. Bali 27/10/2022

The apprentice takes a video of I Kadek for his Youtube channel and Instagram account. Bali 27/10/2022

Members of a Vespa club travelled from Jakarta to Bali to meet I Kadek in his workshop. Bali 27/10/2022

Kadek on his Vespa when going home. Bali, 27/10/2022

I Kadek Ariana, 38, (R), starts the Vespa in front of his home. Bali, 27/10/2022.

I Kadek with his family at home. Bali, 27/10/2022

In 2012 Ibu Gusti decided to open her house to those kids that couldn't attend school. Public schools often don't have specialized teachers for kids with special needs. So those kids often are left behind.

When receiving parents in need, Ibu Gusti doesn't offer only an alternative to the public school; she provides hope for parents. Hope to see their children socializing, taking care of them self and becoming independent.

The Yayasan Anak Unik School students are affected by different kinds of disabilities ranging from autism to Down syndrome.

Families pay a monthly fee based on their economic situation. For some families, school is free. Most of the money to keep this space open comes from donations and some public funding.

At the Yayasan Anak Uniq school, seven teachers care for 32 students.

The dream of Ibu Gusti is to build a new school on her family's land behind her house. It will take time, but meanwhile, her home will be open to help those families who knock on her door.

The school's pupils are affected by different types of disabilities ranging from autism to Down syndrome. Bali 27/02/2023

Parents and students at the entrance of the Yayasan Anak Unik in Bali. 27/02/2023.

The teacher explains the coming activity to the Yayasan Anak Unik middle-class students in Bali, 27/02/2023.

Chest of drawers with photos of primary class students. Bali 27/02/2023

Pupils of the middle class at Yayasan Anak Unik in Bali 27/02/2023

A teacher of the school Anak Unik takes one student to the kitchen. All the students gathered in the kitchen of the house of Ibu Gusti. Eating together is part of the program to learn to socialize. Bali 27/02/2023

The land in the backyard of Ibu Gusti's house is where she would like to build a new school for her students. Bali 27/02/2023

Students of different classes in the kitchen during the break. Bali 27/02/2023

A primary class teacher goes back into the class to take a pupil affected by autism to the kitchen to eat with other students. Bali 27/02/2023

Students of different classes and teachers in the kitchen during the break. Bali 27/02/2023

Parents pick up their kids at school. Bali 27/02/2023.

Two students in the teenage class are waiting for their parents to go back home. Bali 24/10/2022