Pasar Malam means 'evening market' in Indonesian language. They are often held in the Netherlands, just like in Indonesia. The lively events attract many visitors that have a connection to Indonesia. The Heliconia Scholarship Foundation visited four Pasar Malams in 2011 and one in 2012. We shared about our mission and held 'Heliconia lotteries', in which we raffled a Heliconia plant. V.D.E. Plant in Woubrugge is the only Heliconia grower in the Netherlands, and kindly donated a beautiful plant for all events. Stichting Stellar Events provided us with a free booth for most of the events. Many thanks to our sponsors! Read about the individual events below.
Pasar Malam Asia in Apeldoorn
The Heliconia Scholarship Foundation had its first major promotion event in the weekend of 1 to 3 April 2011, at the Pasar Malam Asia in Apeldoorn. Raffling the Heliconia plant was a big success. We sold 364 lottery tickets and raised a total of €787,95. Many thanks to all visitors who supported us! Mrs Ali-Bouhuys, the organizer of the event, picked a lottery ticket on stage on the last day of the event. Ben and Marian from Eerbeek became the lucky winners and now have the unique Heliconia plant at their home.
Pasar Malam Den Helder
Our second Pasar Malam was in Den Helder, from 11 to 13 June 2011. We had met the organizers of the event (Stichting Stellar Events) at our first Pasar Malam in Apeldoorn, and they now kindly offered us a free booth at this market in Northern Holland. The event was a success. Just like on the previous pasar, we raffled a beautiful Heliconia plant and after three days of promotion, we had sold 351 tickets and raised a total of €873,06. Many thanks to all visitors who supported us! Mr and Mrs Ter Lage from Den Helder won the lottery. We brought the Heliconia plant to their home.
Pasar Malam Alkmaar
From 17 to 18 September 2011 we were present at the Pasar Malam in Alkmaar. Stichting Stellar Events offered us a free booth, just like in Den Helder. V.D.E. Plant Woubrugge once again donated a beautiful Heliconia plant for the lottery. This pasar was also a nice success. We collected €481,- in two days. Erik and Ria won the lottery and now own the tropical Heliconia plant. Many thanks to everyone who supported us!
Pasar Malam Leek
Our last Pasar Malam of 2011 was in Leek, from 11 to 13 November. Again we were offered a free booth by Stichting Stellar Events. Unfortunately, this pasar was less successful than last times. There were not as many visitors as usual and our car broke down on Saturday, so we had to skip one day. Nevertheless, we collected a nice amount of €270,-! Mrs Homan from Leek became the winner of the Heliconia plant with lottery number 214. Many thanks to all visitors who supported us!
Pasar Malam Den Helder
In 2012 we visited one Pasar Malam in Den Helder, from 26 to 28 May. Just like last year we got our booth for free from Stichting Stellar Events. Apart from the Heliconia lottery, we now also had home-made bags and necklaces for sale. We received the items from Matroesjka, a social project that teaches mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds new skills, so that they can gain self-confidence and (re-)enter the labour market. We collected €707,- at this pasar. Ceremony master Milly drew a number on stage at the end of the weekend. Rianne from Den Helder was the winner and now owns the tropical Heliconia plant. Thanks to all visitors who supported us!
End of Pasar Malam fundraising
The Pasar Malams generated income. However, after 2012 we decided to focus on other forms of promotion. Promoting at the Pasar Malams was very labour intensive, because we had to approach every single visitor for the buying of one lottery ticket, a one-time donation. We now want to focus more on raising recurring donations. The markets yielded only a few monthly donors. However, on the pasars we did spread our message and were able to finance the entire study of one student, so we are still happy with the results!
