Although not the only thing going on at SHF this month, it was certainly the most monumental! On Sunday, 23 June 2019, SHF and many honored guests, welcomed Cohort 4 – 60 new students from the four regions of Sumba. As you may have read in out newsletters from earlier this year, the recruiting process for our students is quite extensive and began in December 2018. With nearly 800 applications for the coveted 60 student spots, the recruiting process was very challenging. We are pleased to welcome the best of the best. The students and their families arrived in their traditional dress, followed by traditional dancer performances. The welcoming ceremony concluded with a feast which included local food from all four regions of Sumba. Our new students are embarking on a challenging life-changing adventure. These beautiful young men and women said their tearful farewell to their families, graciously welcomed foreign and local SHF staff, and frankly, appeared almost scared to death – but we are confident that like those who came before them, they will be settled into their new SHF in a very short time.
If you would like to personally help one of our new students through their 11-month journey on the SHF campus we would love to have you participate in the student sponsorship program. With your donation, all students enjoy the benefits of your generosity, but you will be assigned one student who will personally correspond with your monthly. Sponsors personally witness the life-changing events happening at SHF through personal monthly contact with one of our amazing students. If you are interested in sponsoring a student for the coming year, please contact us at [email protected]. If student sponsorship doesn’t interest you, there are other ways to contribute, such as assisting us with purchases of student materials, meals, medical supplies and the like. Again, please contact us at [email protected] with any ideas you may have. We are grateful for the support of our benefactors.
Things are ever growing and changing at SHF. With the opening of our Maringi Eco Resort Spa and wellness center, which includes a yoga pavilion last August, we were able to re-purpose the former yoga pavilion into a beautiful new front office center, complete with a wonderful gift shop for our guest to find treasures from all over Sumba. The front office of our Resort simply had outgrown the growing staff and administrative offices so this relocation couldn’t have come at a better time. Guests will still be checked-in at our traditional Sumba House, the iconic welcome to your Maringi Eco Resort experience, but our newly repurposed front office center and gift shop will better serve all of our guests needs during their stay. On your next visit to the Maringi Eco Resort, please check out the array of gifts and souvenirs at our new giftshop.
We are so grateful and want to extend a heart-felt thank you to Mr. Bakker and his wife Annet for their donation of office supplies and time. Mr. Bakker traveled to SHF from the Netherlands bringing few kilos/boxes of office supplies to stock the SHF offices and help students and staff with much needed supplies. In addition to this generous material donation, Annet Bakker, a trained nurse, volunteered on staff for two months earlier this year. We are so blessed to have so many in our SHF family who so generously give of themselves or provide essential resources. As part of the SHF family, if you are looking for a way to contribute materials please consider contacting us at [email protected] And if you have a desire to personally serve as a volunteer please contact us at [email protected]
It is time to reset, restart, and renew. We have spent a good bit of time this month preparing for the entry of our fourth class on 23 June 2019. With all these preparations and celebrations, we had to temporarily close the Maringi Eco Resort for 4 weeks. Our last guests checked out the morning of Friday 14 June 2019 and we are now open for new guests since Monday 15 July 2019. Thank you for your continued support!
It is time to reset, restart, and renew. Every year between graduation and the start of the new school year – when we welcome our fourth class on 23 June 2019 – we must close the Maringi Eco Resort for a time. Our last guests will need to check out the morning of Friday 14 June 2019 and we will reopen for new guests on Monday 15 July 2019. We apologize for any inconvenience in your holiday planning and look forward to seeing you when we reopen in July. Thank you for your continued support.
Curious about working at an incredible foundation where you get to work with the happiest students in the world that will not make you want to leave?
Watch the video below to get a deeper look at what working for SHF is really like!
We are always looking for new talent at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation!
If you or anyone you know is interested please request more info at [email protected]
