The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP) is a non-profit organisation established in 1998 by a British resident of Bali after an appeal for help by an isolated mountain community, forgotten by time and progress.Participatory community surveys in mid-1998 showed that thousands of people lived in abject poverty without water, sanitation, roads, schools, health facilities and electricity. Illiteracy was up to 100%. Malnutrition and iodine deficiency disorders were endemic, iodine being the essential nutrient for healthy child births, brain and body development. When interviewed in November 1998 to determine their priorities if EBPP could help, over 1,000 families requested children's education as a foundation for a better future. An inspiring and productive collaboration then began with the most disadvantaged communities.