Community & Business
23 October, 2025
Gilgandra PROBUS Club News - October 2025
Our October guest speaker was Denise Gall
Contributed by Marg Schier, Publicity Officer
The October meeting of Gilgandra PROBUS Club was chaired by vice-president Brenda Walker in the absence of president Pat Thompson with a good number of members in attendance.
Tour director Denise Q told us of the afternoon production of ‘Music of the Night’ at the Dubbo Regional Theatre late this month and she needs names if members are interested.
Our October guest speaker was Denise Gall who together with her late husband Graham won a trip to Bali for one week in 2002.
They chose to extend their holiday to one month and Graham was determined to travel further passed the holiday resorts and see the other side of Bali.
They stayed in a hotel and noticed locals were so poor they took away empty bottles from the hotel to sell for money to buy food. They realised a lot of the locals lived in severe poverty at a local rubbish tip and that started them on a journey which has continued ever since then.
Returning in 2004, Denise and Graham started cooking meals with rice and noodles plus chicken, fish and eggs for 10 people and now this year it has increased to 350 meals each Friday. They also started a school for young children.
There is no government welfare in Bali and the things we take for granted in Australia do not happen there. The charity Denise and Graham started all those years ago is called ‘Helping Hands Across the Sands’. Three women from Australia decided to make Bali their home and one is the CEO when Denise is not there. Graham passed away in 2017, and Denise continued with his dream of building a school and playground at the tip for the children where at least one thousand people live.
It consists of four classrooms with seven teachers and children pay a gold coin per week to attend with 36 students this year. They have built seven houses for cancer patients to live in better conditions with clean water.
There are many sick people who pass away, and the group organises cremation and burials also at the tip.
Many of our local people and others from various parts of Australia donate to the charity which helps Denise and her team to carry on their good work. She has donated her own money continually also.
Negara Orphanage gives hope to many children who would otherwise have no support at all. On each trip to Bali, Denise takes 60kg of clothes, beanies, bras, hearing aids, and spectacles. One local woman makes and fills toiletry bags with items for women.
In 2022 they had a ‘Make a Wish’ for the 20th anniversary of this group and had a beach day for some children.
Our members were shocked, saddened and amazed at the story Denise told us of how so many people there have such few privileges in their lives.
I hope others may like to support this good work in the future for this worthy charity.
On behalf of all our members Denise, thank you for caring so much for so many.
