As usual, there was a flurry of activity this month, but nothing compares to the main event – the moment we have all been waiting for since the school year began last July. The buzz began back in February when students were measured for their graduation robes and the buzz kept getting louder through the month of May! The graduation on 25 May 2019 was a momentous occasion for students, staff, the SHF administration, and all SHF supporters and partners.

With eleven months preparing students as hospitality professionals and weeks and weeks of preparing for “the big day” – students and staff found this to be somewhat of a bittersweet occasion. Close bonds have been formed between the students and staff, and a constant reminder that our time together is coming to an end has been in the air. With eleven months preparing students as hospitality professionals and weeks and weeks of preparing for “the big day” – students and staff found this to be somewhat of a bittersweet occasion. Close bonds have been formed between the students and staff, and a constant reminder that our time together is coming to an end has been in the air.

But with every end comes a NEW beginning and the bonds that have formed here will never be broken. We are the Sumba Hospitality Foundation family –growing stronger every year, improving lives of Sumbanese youth and their families and communities, ensuring sustainable tourism and development, and creating a new generation of global ambassadors in sustainable hospitality. We are so pleased to have you as one of the family! Congratulations and many blessings to our 59 new graduates! We are so proud of all that you have accomplished and look forward to seeing great things from you in your internships and beyond! Here’s to YOU!

Saying good-bye to Cohort 3 must mean that Cohort 4 is just around the corner. 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 monthly personal contact with one of our amazing students. If you are interested in sponsoring a student for the coming year (June 2019 – May 2020), please contact us at donations@sumbahospitalityfoundation.org. 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 donations@sumbahospitalityfoundation.org with any ideas you may have. We are grateful for the support of our benefactors.

SHF was proud to host our visitors from nearby Bakti Luhur Vocational School. Over 145 students and teachers took a campus tour and visited with our students and staff in each of our Core Modules to discover the wonder of hospitality vocations. Students and staff from all departments at SHF were happy to welcome and enlighten these visitors, who themselves are studying hospitality theory in their high school vocational program. Some of these students will apply in the coming years for entry into the Sumba Hospitality School by SHF. SHF is pleased to work in collaboration with all hospitality partners on the island of Sumba and beyond to ensure sustainable tourism that is not only environmentally friendly but a significant benefit the local communities on Sumba.

We were so pleased to welcome officials from the island of Timur, also in the Nusa Tenggara Timur Province. The Bupati (Regent) and his wife and other officials from Belu, on the island of Timur honored us with a visit. The goal of our cooperative effort is to promote sustainable tourism not only on the island of Sumba but also within our Province and beyond. SHF recognizes the need to ensure sustainability in all development projects so we continue to reach out beyond the borders of our beautiful island to promote and seek collaborations to ensure environmentally sustainable projects that benefit and enhance the lives of the locals and their communities.

Our amazing Spa students have completed their 11-month training and will soon be venturing to Bali for their internships at some of the top Spas in the world. But a new group of students will be arriving soon and will receive excellent theoretical and practical training. It is amazing that our students can master these skills through our coveted partnership with highly rated Jamu Spa School in Bali. Our students receive extensive training in not only specific treatments, but also other areas like anatomy and physiology, organic spa product preparations, and the like. Further our students have extensive hours of practical training to perfect their skills.

Earlier in May we welcomed back our last group of students who had completed their two-week cross-training at the world famous eco resort, Nihi Sumba Eco Resort. Yari (Culinary), Indah (Spa), Rinto (R&B), Yuni (Housekeeping), and Albert (R&B) left for Nihi Sumba on 20 April and returned 4 May 2019. When Rinto (R&B) returned, Nihi informed us that they would love to have him continue as in intern in June. This has been such a valuable experience for the students. They return with new skills, more maturity, and more professional skills. We look forward to a continued relationship with Nihi Sumba well into the future.

Our spa offers a wide-range of massage treatments, including Balinese, Swedish, and Aromatherapy massages, along with other services, like facials and hair and nail treatments with all natural products that will pamper your body, soothe your spirit, and relax your mind. Our Spa is an integral part of our Maringi Eco Resort and is served by our amazing students from the Sumba Hotel School. Come and enjoy an hour (or two) of sheer bliss while staying at our Resort or if you are just in town for a time.

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.

The one and only TF1, a well known French television channel, filmed a documentary about Sumba island and included an 8 minute segment on one of our students, Victoria, and her experience at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation.
Please watch this amazing documentary!