Ethel and Vern had a longstanding love of Indonesia, since deciding during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics that they wanted to learn more about one of Australia’s closest neighbours. This led to them becoming founding members of the Australian Indonesian Association, and taking an active interest in Indonesian culture, history, politics and arts.

CARE Australia has worked with communities in Indonesia since 1967 to improve access to water, food, shelter and vital health services, and to assist in times of disaster, such as the tsunamis of 2004 and 2018. CARE works to defeat global poverty by supporting women to create lasting change in their communities around the world. Their programs focus on women because they know that when one woman breaks free from poverty, she brings another four people with her —a powerful multiplier.