Karma Group, the award-winning international travel and lifestyle brand offering extraordinary experiences and exclusive curated entertainment in the world’s most beautiful locations, including in Indonesia where Karma Group now operates more than 10 properties, mostly on the island of Bali.
Bali which is a world class travel destination and has its economy almost entirely built upon its tourism industry has of course been hit very hard by the pandemic which has been going on for more than a year now, and has seen international tourist arrivals spiraling to almost zero, even until now.
Although not spared from this global economic downturn, as part of its social responsibility under the ‘Karma Cares’ program, Karma Group has continually supported activities to help its staff and local community in Indonesia during this pandemic.
One of the golden keys in handling this pandemic is to support a widespread vaccination process, and Karma Group under the ‘Karma Vaccines’ program is proud to be one of the very first hotel groups in Bali to ensure that all of its staff has been vaccinated.
In total 1200 staff and their families have been vaccinated, as well as 600 local residents to ensure that the entire community around its resorts are properly vaccinated against Covid-19. Another key factor in handling the pandemic is ‘Testing and Tracing’, and so far Karma has covered the cost of regular Covid-19 testing for all its staff and their families, with a cost totaling more than US$100,000 since the start of the pandemic.
Since June 2020, Karma has been giving thousands of food vouchers to their staff on top of their payroll/monthly salary. This food voucher is worth Rp600,000,- cash per voucher and is given to staff members every month on top of their monthly salary. With this voucher the staff can buy more food supplies i.e. rice, oil, etc for their families. Whether they are working or not, Karma Group staff are still being paid a decent salary.
Most Karma properties in Bali are located on the south side, around the Ungasan and Jimbaran area. To help the community and people who live around those Banjars, in July 2021 Karma gave hundreds of rice bags (each one filled with 5kg of rice) to 4 Banjars, (Banjar Wijaya Kusuma (Ungasan) – Banjar Kerta Lestari (Ungasan), Banjar Sari Karya (Ungasan), and Banjar Ubung (Jimbaran)).
Following the second peak of Covid-19 outbreaks in Indonesia during the month of July and August 2021, local healthcare facilities saw shortcomings, including in Oxygen supply, which is much needed in moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 infections.
The Udayana University Hospital, which is situated in the Jimbaran Hills between Jimbaran and Ungasan, where Karma has three resorts and a large operational office, was in much need of additional Oxygen. To fulfill this additional need, Karma Group acted and donated several Owgels OZ-501 GWO Oxygen Concentrator 10 L. with German Technology.
The units were presented and accepted by Doctor Arya as Vice President of Udayana University Hospital. Exceeding CHSE Covid-19 protocols, Karma Group has also acquired a couple of oxygen concentrators to hold in reserve for its staff and guests. In an emergency, they can be sent to the hospital with their own Oxygen Concentrators. No need to wait for one to become available.
Through its ‘Karma Cares’ program Karma Group hopes to help save lives in Bali.
As stated by Karma Group Chairman and Founder, John Spence, “Bali is a special place for Karma, we would love to keep supporting the community, giving back to those who have contributed to our success.”