Humbling experience

The local villager we saw were poor but they were so generous with what little they have.
When they thank you, they do so with so much sincerety and appreciation I wanted to cry.
They would provide us lunch (which we didn't ask for), give us fruits from their little plantation, invite us to their very bare houses. Yet many of them are malnourish.
The community spirit "Gotong-Royong" is strongly evident. They respect and help elderlies, they don't raise their voice, neighbours are like family, everybody knows where everybody lives, etc. That warmed my heart.

Most cases we saw are patients with respiratory problems, body aches, skin problems (rashes), chicken pox, scabbies, measles. These ppl do not have access to proper medical treatment
For those with skin problems, many live with animals in their house...cow, chicken...so i don't know if they would recover properly.
Their living condition is in such a sad state.
Yet, they are very contented ppl...that's the part that humbled me

The thing I like about going on these trips is besides helping them, I also get a taste of other realities. I learn many things...how we always don't seem to have enough and we keep complaining and keep working to get more and more money and in the end we have very low quality life
We forget to be human.
We become machines...unconsciously.
These trips remind me to be human again....

Mission ended...and I am back

I returned home yesterday Friday 23/06 around 4.30pm. I had mixed feelings about being back. On one hand I am happy to be with my family again but on the other I miss working with the PMI (Palang Merah Indonesia) guys and interacting with the patients....and I so miss the kids of Desa Gondangrejo in Windusari who taught me Javanese and asked me loads of questions about S'pore. The kids were so curious about S'pore and even asked me for my address and phone number! A very curious lot and very adorable too. I wonder if they'll write to me :)

On the last day of work, the team setup a mobile clinic in Gondangrejo. We were there from around 9am to about 4pm and saw about 250 patients if i remember correctly. Most of the patients were elderlies like Tok Yam. They walked to the clinic on their own...some with walking stick and many were bent. Some lived quite far from where the clinic was so even though we have hit the target of 200 patients, we continued to see the rest. I am glad the doctor did not turn these people away and I am glad at that time the Team Leader was not around. Coz I bet that if he was, he would have told the people very bluntly that clinic is close. My heart hurts everytime he does that because some of these people walked a long way to get to the clinic, some are really old and some could only get to the clinic in the evening after working in the fields. I am very disappointed with the Team Leader. I think he has set a very bad example for the rest of the team. He is a proud man, unsociable with the patients and very political. I can't believe he was actually trying to outdo the previous team in terms of number of patients seen! Who cares how many patients you get. You just help whoever that comes along! He has this i-come-from-a rich-place-higher-standard-of-living kind of attitude when he deals with the patients and I feel that it rubbed off on the members of he team who were on a mission for the first time. I feel that they were impersonal in their service to the locals. These are poor people who have no access to good medical treatments. There are no clinics in their village. Since we are there to help, lets help. Even the doctor was willing to carry on!! He even did house calls after the clinic closes. He is an example of a good doictor. He communicated with the locals and showed real care and concern. Most of the people we see suffer from respiratory problems (probably from the ash in the air they breath), Muskuloskeletal(body aches and pain) and dermatitis (skin problems eg rashes). There were several cases of Chicken pox, measles and even scabbies! I have never seen scabbies before and it is bad. For scabbies patients, I helped Thelma to give healthcare talk. I explained to them in bahasa Indonesia on care and treatment; how they should clean themselves, their clothes and bed and apply the lotion we gave. Even all the people who come into contact with them need to be given the same treatment. I felt so sorry for these people and the people around them. The disease itself is horrible and yet the villager live so close to each other and with chickens and cows! The disease is bound to spread and if they are not careful, it will recur. In general, the locals are smaller compare to S'poreans of the same age. 10year olds look like S'porean 5 year olds! Several elderly people had goitre.

I remember this elderly lady who came by the clinic at Jumoyo IDP camp. I was helping with interpretation at the medicine dispencing table and after receiving the medicine, the lady paused and said something in Javanese. I couldn't understand so I said "Sudah bu, terimakasih". But she still sat there and started to feel her sarong. Later I realised she wanted to pay and was probably asking for the price! I was shocked. And quickly I said "Gratis Bu!" (Its free Madam). Thankfully she understood and smiled and began to thank us and I think she actually prayed for us. She was speaking in Javanese and I could only understand those words that sounds like bahasa Indonesia.Then she salam us and thanked us some more. Her smile, her whole face showed such sincerity and deep appreciation for our help that it touched me. She was really thankful. And yet, its not like we did something out of the ordinary for her. That was a very humbling experience.

Another time, Thelma and I had to go to the loo and we decided to use the toilets in the school next to the Jumoyo clinic. While waiting for me to finish what I had to do, a catholic teacher saw Thelma's cross pendant and started talking to her. When I came over, the teacher thought I was also Catholic. I told her I was Muslim and she gasp for a second and then hugged the both of us. She started talking about religious tolerance and how our religions really refer to the same God and that its only our path to God that differs. She was truelly happy to see a Muslim working and being friends with a Catholic. Something we took for granted for in S'pore.

Even the PMI volunteers taught me a thing or two. Most of them are unemployed. Not because they don't have paper qualification but because there were not many job opportunities around. Instead of doing unworthwhile activities, they voulunteered with PMI. Many have been doing it for years. In general, they are very caring people who are doing their bit to help their fellow countrymen. Amongst them is Teguh Setiawan. He is always cracking jokes and cheering us up. I believe he is an intelligent person. He is a qualified (hospital) lab technician who was involved in setting up a lab in a hospital in Jakarta. He was even in S'pore Gleaneagles Hospital as part of learning project sponsored by the Jakarta hospital. But his career in Jakarta was shortlived as his mother was missing him so much she fell ill and he had to return to Central Java. From then on, he has been trying to get a job in Central Java while volunteering with PMI. He was involved in the search-and-rescue and clean-up in Meulaboh, Acheh right after the Tsunami. A very optimistic person, he says in everything that he does he learn something. And the good thing about where he is now is he is stress free. No schedules and free to manage his time and get to make new friends. He is second of 3 siblings. Both the first and last child are married. He is not because he is still trying to make his parents happy. He didn't elaborate but I guess by that he means he wants to give them a comfortable life. One other thing that Mas Teguh told me that made me think was, " with every disaster, unfortunately, the level of faith the villager have in Islam does not increase. What increases is their believe in mystics."...Interesting huh

Teruskan berjuang dan terus berdoa, Mas Teguh! Aku doakan Allah memberikan yang terbaik buat mu dan keluarga! You have taught me a lot. Thank You.

Thank You, the people of Kaliurang, Windusaria and Kembang Kuning. You have been so generous with what little you have. Thank you for all the invitations to your house, the buah salaks, food and drinks, your smiles and your help. May Allah protect you and grant you all that is best for you.

~Juliana (PMS Volunteer)

Me in Central Java

I am on a mission with S'pore Red Cross team3. I am well. Recently we experience slight to moderate levels of ash in the air but overall, situation is o.k. The people we met are really warm and most friendly. Community spirit is very evident and strong. You see young people helping elderly strangers with sincerety amd respect It was a very pleasant surprise to see this amongst the Javanese. Something you (extremely) rarely see in S'pore.

My only problem here is I don't like the team leader. Egoistic, proud and political guy. Never again do I want to go on a mission with him. Its sad because we are here to help people and you have this guy who seem to have his own agenda. Thank God, I have Thelma in the team. She is a very senior nurse with a nursing home and we get along well. The other 3 nurses in the team are cliquish coz they were from same batch in NYP. The doc is quite selenge and....young la. By this I mean he is immature la...but at least he mixes with the locals well. And he ries to have fun. But many times he will get Team Leader frowning at him. Poor guy...
Thelma is similar to Sharifah, a retired nurse whom I went to Acheh with last year. I had such a great time with Sharifah. She is in her 60s but she is so much fun. She does not behave her age. There's always something interesting happening when she is around. Always managed to "bond" with the right people to get what she want..shopping, tour of city, etc...hehe. Hey, we cabn't be working all the time. We are only human. We need breaks what.....
She and Thelma have so many stories to tell....and I love every one of them :)

See ya 'all soon.

I'll be GOING!!!!!! ....finally

* Please DO NOT inform any family or relatives about me and Red Cross' trip!!!! *
..please I beg you...PLEASEEEE!!

I got a call from Red Cross yesterday saying that my trip to Yogyakarta on 10th June, Saturday is confirmed. I'll be gone for 2 weeks. Yipppeeee...!!!!! Thanx to all who helped me cheer up the last time. It worked and true enough..patience pays. So now its pack, pack and pack.