Tsunami Orphans send a greeting of peace with Ibu Robin in Aceh
In the Spider’s words... “I don’t know how... But I’ll help” Wilbur says, “But you’re so small and they’re so big.” Charlotte replies, “That may be so, but I’ll think of something by morning, now you get some rest.” Later Wilbur asks, “Charlotte, should I be worried?” She simply says, “Of course not. What good would that do?”
~~~ E. B. White… Charlotte's Web
ACEH…
Upon my return from the Bumi Sehat Tsunami Relief clinic in Aceh, I sent these words to Midwife Katherine Bramhall. Katherine has been right beside me, even when she is 'home' in Vermont, and I am in Aceh or Bali; she is raising funds, finding ways to get the (NEW CHAPTER) vitamins into Indonesia… she works everyday toward infant survival and safe motherhood for Indonesia. And Katherine is just one of so many many strong good hearts out in the world who are making this service, this miracle possible. I so am really trying not to worry anymore.
Many of you are wondering how the healing of
Aceh is going… It is coming along, in baby steps, and I have come to trust baby steps. The clinic that SE Asia and Ubud Rotary built is busy and beautiful. We were warned that installing a solar power system would just not work, that the maintenance would be impossible. Yet, being where we are in the Tsunami zone, PLN electricity was still a long time coming. So, David Kuper of Ubud Rotary, believing in sustaining the Mother Earth, backed me up on the decision/dream to light the Bumi Sehat clinic with the power of the sun. Many many a night, when PLN and gas generators fail, one can look up and down the west coast of Aceh and see one well lit building, the Bumi Sehat solar powered clinic! Maintenance is not a problem, as Pak Sudung of our permanent team is well trained in keeping it all working well.
I wish everyone reading this could experience the joy I do when team Bumi Sehat Aceh works in the vegetable garden there. Thanks to 108 people who bought tree certificates, we have planted a fruit orchard in Aceh! Three of our team members, Sudung, Marlin and Adi will soon be taking the IDEP Foundation Green Hands Field training 50 km outside of Banda Aceh.
This means that our dream of a medical relief clinic that is sustainable and Mother Earth friendly is fully blossoming.
Global warming seems to be affecting the Aceh coastal regions, as all over Samatiga we see new houses built for Tsunami survivors, ankle deep in water. These homes were purposely built on raised land, to avoid the high tides, but alas… the water comes higher and higher with each moon. Roads are constantly flooded. People are constructing little sleeping shacks on stilts, and each rain brings hardship. We are blessed that the Bumi Sehat clinic land remains high and dry. This may be due to the fact that we are just beside a small lake, and the water drains into the wetlands, leaving us well out of the mud. And yes,(Ibu Paula – who purchased the land for us) there are fish in the little lake, blue herons, wild ducks, kingfishers and all sorts of small yellow birds to cheer the women in labor.
In Aceh our capacity building program for local midwives supported by Direct Relief International and BCC is in full swing. The bi-weekly pregnancy exercise, yoga, and nutrition education meetings are attended by pregnant women, by local area midwives, and traditional birth attendants.
In the beginning of April Bumi Sehat hosted an Exclusive Breastfeeding all-day workshop for 40 Acehnese midwives. The Bumi Sehat Exclusive breastfeeding film, sponsored by Body Shop, was aired. The ASI Esklusif Book (thank you Australian Direct Aid Program) was distributed. Our staff cooked a healthy meal for the midwives as an example of sustainable nutrition, it was a huge success.
Other Capacity building successes; our donor sponsored student midwives are blossoming. Yenni is in her second year and spends each vacation day at Bumi Aceh, helping and learning. We have added Dahlia a young Tsunami survivor who lost her father and all her siblings Her mother had borrowed money to begin Dahlia's midwifery education, when we found them there was no money for Dahlia to continue. Thanks to generous donors from Japan, her education is sponsored for the entire duration of her midwifery training. Suastini is moving into her advanced midwifery courses and her sponsor Ibu Janet of Gemala is so proud. Bidan Budi Astuti was also sponsored by Gemala to achieve her midwifery teaching degree.
Capacity Building Workshop with pregnant women, midwives and traditional birth attendants at Bumi Sehat Aceh
Other Capacity Building intensives: Two midwives from RS Bunda were trained in a two-week course by our Bumi Sehat midwives in January. Again we trained five midwives in a one-week intensive in March. In April we did the same training for a young Javanese Doctor. The focus of the in-residence midwifery trainings has been naturallY sustainable, culturally-sensitive birth practices that work in the field. Support of Exclusive Breastfeeding for 6 months, as per the WHO and Indonesian Government mandate. Our hope is to increase the ability of Indonesian midwives to help high-risk women and babies in times of crisis and/or disaster. With evidence of the (“SLOW TSUNAMI”)World Food crisis upon us, we feel this is essential training for the people who will help receive the coming generation at their births.
The NYC Rotary ambulance is in use at Bumi Aceh every single day and night. We are praying for an ambulance for Bumi Sehat Bali.
BALI…
Currently there is no emergency transport service available in Ubud, except the Bumi Sehat van, our one and only automobile. This van is used for errands, daily we shuttle home the new babies and their mothers (we don’t allow the newborns to travel by motorbike.) When emergencies happen we are on edge, as the van should be on-call whenever there are women in labor. There are always women in labor at Bumi Sehat Bali.
Back in Bumi Sehat's Mother office and clinic in Bali the birth rate is rising like the tides. This may be due to the fact that the government's program of subsidizing partial payment for medical care for the poor has been put on hold for our island. We are so busy that there are just not enough beds. The family of Jasmine Rue, a Bumi Sehat baby, has sponsored the construction of a new birth room. Work has begun and we hope to be moving in by next week. With between 40 and 60 or more births happening here every month, we desperately need the space.
Meanwhile the clock is ticking on the leased land that Bumi Sehat Bali sits on. We are half way to our goal of being able to purchase land. Then we will actively seek funding for construction of a new clinic and permanent home for Bumi Bali. Huge thanks to Michael Franti and Oppie Andaresta for the musical fundraiser, organized by team Bali Spirit and the amazing Megan, Esti, Jen, Rob, Kadek, and so many many more angels.
Bumi Sehat Bali Youth center update… Anyi Raimondi and Sara Estrin have joined Kadek Ariawan and Yanti in developing curriculum and teaching our English and computer courses. They are very excited about teaching English with the Save the Mother Earth Program, sponsored by Bali Buddha. One dark night Sara witnessed a motorbike going down, the driver did not survive. This motivated our team to develop a Motor Cycle Safety course. The one-day intensive for teenagers will involve each of them signing a Safety Contract in exchange for receiving a proper helmet. Sara is also serving as the midwifery team’s personal assistant, which means she does everything!
I must thank all of you for keeping the dream of Bumi Sehat alive, to name a few… Liz Sinclair, Jane Fisher, Frank Wilson, Bruce Grady, Pradheep Chhalliyil, Nita Noor, Lakota, Wil, Zion, Dr. Bobbi and Dr. Soma, Irene, Sara, Kayla, Oppie, Wayan, Chris and Lee Beckom, Katherine Bramhall… and all the amazing volunteers working behind the scenes, my gratitude for the way you keep the team going. Most notably, thank you… Rotary, Direct Relief, BCC, New Chapter Vitamins, the City of Cesano-Moderno, Alexander Langer Foundation, Sakthi Foundation, Body Shop, Australian Aid and Development, friends of "Heidi", YKI - John Fawcette Foundation, Howard Schiffer and the Vitamin Angels, Petra Schneider and IDEP, Michael Franti and Stay Human Foundation, the many people of Fairfield Iowa sending help, Bali Spirit, the Slaughter family, and so many, many wonderful volunteers and donors who support our service. Bumi Sehat survives on donations. Every walk-in “Angel” who brings us money to keep operations going is essential to our projects. When we transport a woman in labor for a necessary cesarean birth, she may not have a floor in her kitchen, but she has the Bumi Sehat “Angels” behind her.
We are happy to congratulate Pak Sudung and Eti on their marriage. May 11th please take a moment to bless Mimi, our Aceh translator, and Leman, Bumi’s amazing nurse... it is their wedding day. These couples met and fell in love while serving on Team Bumi.
When the beautiful new Rotary sponsored clinc in Aceh was under construction, people said that we were crazy to make a birth tub, for no Tsunami survivor would want to give birth in the water. Well… our midwives from Italy, Liza Forasacco and Maria Dalle Pezze, along with Bidan Mega and Bidan Yanti of Sumatra are catching babies in the water! Yes, it is a healing, and a miracle everyday at Bumi Sehat.
Allhumdullilah, Om Shanti, Blessings and Gratitude… As I write this a new baby boy, just born in a tub of flowers is having his first go at breastfeeding. This is how we serve and love this is how we are astonished each minute at Bumi Sehat.
~~~ Ibu Robin
List of Bumi Sehat "Needs" - in order of priority:
*Maintenance of current services ie operational funds for Bali Clinic, Aceh Clinic and Bali Youth Center.
*On going medical supplies
*Ambulance for Bali
*Purchase land for new clinic
*Find sponsors to build the new Bumi Bali clinic
Future (as soon as possible):
*Build the "Ark" a warehouse for disaster relief supplies.
*Consider opening a Bumi Sehat Birth Center in Timor L'Este where the maternal mortality rate is highest in Asia.
Bumi Sehat Bali Births so far in 2008 222
Feb: 67
March:44
April: 77 plus we have 2 more in labor and a few days to go in the month!
Donations via Paypal... go to our website: www.BumiSehatBali.org
Bumi Sehat Bali and Aceh Health Projects Field
Report 2006 - 2007
Prepared by Ibu Robin Lim
CONTACT DETAILS:(0361) 970 002 FAX (0361) 972 969
www.robinlimsupport.org
Robin Lim Support Organisation
2000 N.Court St #6D
Fairfield IOWA USA 52556
641-472-3880
As 2007 grew to a close, we at Bumi Sehat had much to be grateful for. This year Yayasan (foundation) Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth) was chosen THE #1 not-for-profit organization in Bali, OUT of over 700. The selection process was rigorous and all aspects of our projects, from patient care, to computer courses for youth, to recycling were analyzed, our administration was checked and rechecked to see if our licenses are complete and current, our financial books were reviewed and we were found to be corruption free. I must admit to being very, very proud of our staff both in Aceh and in Bali. Also, I feel full of gratitude for the donors, who make every aspect of our work possible.
The close of the year was not without sadness: Christmas week we lost four babies in our Bali Safe Motherhood/Infant Survival practice. Three of the four mothers had never attended prenatal care, for lack of transportation or just plain not knowing that Bumi Sehat existed, until the day they were in labor. Thus they did not have the benefit of our risk reduction model of care, and free prenatal vitamins. One baby was premature; she survived only 24 hours. Two other babies were born with health issues which made it necessary for them to go into hospital for neonatal care - they did not make it. Our last infant death of the year was a lovely anecephalic child. We knew something was not right in the last weeks of Ketut's pregnancy, and accompanied the family to an ultrasound check with our back-up OBGYN. The mother and father had accepted that their child had a profound birth defect, and would not survive long outside of the womb. It was a beautiful and heart opening birth. Baby Kadek lived 4 days, she died in her parent's arms, feeling their love. At her birth we sang the Gyatri mantra, at her death her family also sang this same healing song to the soul. Anecephaly is a neural tube defect, most often caused by malnutrition. All our lost babies were casualties of poor prenatal diet, hunger, due to poverty.
In Aceh our maternal and child health staff faces the fact that so many of the expectant mothers suffer from high blood pressure, increasing the risk of pregnancy many fold.
An overview of patient statistics for Bumi Sehat 2006 and 2007 are as follows:
Aceh total patients seen; 21,523 this includes 978 emergencies or accidents requiring transport with our beautiful ambulance… thank you NYC Rotary for the emergency transport vehicle!
Our Bali health center saw 6,307 patients in 2006 and 8,350 patients in 2007. Number of babies delivered at the Bumi Bali Birth Center jumped from 364 in 2006 to 521 in 2007. Seems like yesterday 40 births in a month was busy, now we are receiving well over 60 babies per month. One rainy night we moved beds from our staff ashram to the office, to accommodate the birthing moms and babies. Imagine our administration staff's delight when they arrived in the morning to find 11 mothers nursing their healthy newborn babies. We have only 7 beds at Bumi Bali, but we have not turned mothers away There is always 'room at the Bumi inn.'
The Bumi Youth Center in Bali instructed 120 young people in English language and computer skills in 2006. IN 2007, 193 students benefited from our free courses.
The South Asia and Ubud Rotary clubs have completed construction on the new Bumi Sehat clinic in Samatiga, Aceh, and donated it to us fully furnished in October. Operating funds have been provided by Direct Relief International, BBC, Zimmerman Foundation, Body Shop, Alexander Langer Foundation, plus friends of Bumi Sehat all over the world, Paula B., Leon and family… special thanks. The Sakthi Foundation has made it possible for us to have a 501C umbrella organization in the U.S., thanks to Pradheep, his family and to Bruce, aka "Bumi Angel."
Our wonderful breastfeeding book "ASI Esklusif Dong" was published, 10,000 copies PAID FOR by Direct Aid Programs of the Australian Consulate. This book on in Bahasa Indonesia will save lives. Good going Liz for writing the grant application.
I cannot thank our volunteers from all over the world enough. David and Asri of Ubud Rotary… heaven knows you worked so hard. Melanie, back in England now is so missed. Frank, Irene, Nita, Eka, Sandi, Raka making up the financial team. Liz and Jane, fundraising support, Katherine for asking New Chapter to give us Perfect Prenatal vitamins for all of our pregnant women… and so much more. The international midwives and doulas one and all, who have come to us with helping hands and open hearts, thank you. Bless you Dr. Bobbi for running the Acupuncture program, Dr. Frank and your team for coming to Aceh and coming back to do service in Bali, Dr. Soma for anchoring the pediatric outreach. Endang, Nancy, Mimi, Ibu Gandri, for translation support, Ida for coordinating our volunteers. Dr. Wayan in Bali, and Dr. Eman in Aceh for keeping your hearts and minds open to Healing ways of medicine. Special thanks to our brave midwifery and nursing team, Budi, Agung, Ketut, Kadek Dwi, Ayu, Mega, Feda and Christina, Leman, JoLinda, BangKit, holding hands with the traditional midwives, Ibu Bulan, Ibu Satria, and Mah Tih. Media support came from Lakota, Zion, Gede Robi, and songs from Michael Franti, and Oppie Andaresta. Every minute of help and support, is a healing. Our aim is to relieve suffering. With the Babies, our prayer is that each soul trusting the Bumi Sehat midwives to receive them into the world, will arrive with an intact ability to love. By preventing birth trauma, by loving and supporting the moms through a gentle and safer birth, in a land where hemorrhage after childbirth is one of the leading causes of death… we hope to keep the babies' hearts open and connected to their minds, resulting in optimum health. We believe that gentle birth can heal the Mother Earth, one baby at a time.
The future… Bumi Sehat Aceh has the infrastructure it needs to give excellent medical relief to the Tsunami survivors. Bumi Sehat Bali, our home office, is busier than ever, but does not have a permanent facility. In approximately five years, the lease on the land the clinic sits upon is finished. At this time the clinic is just too small to accommodate the numbers of patients, yet our policy is to turn no one away. So, clearly it is time to move and create a true home for Bumi Sehat Bali. Friends of Bumi have already donated money towards our security, yet we must raise a significant amount to buy the land needed and build the new clinic, staff housing, handicapped children's and youth centers, vegetable gardens, plus parking. In March, friends of Bumi have a fantastic musical fundraiser planned… we will keep you updated on that. Meanwhile, the need for an ambulance is clear. Currently, we use our one and only clinic vehicle for emergency transport, plus to run day-to-day errands. There is no other emergency transport available for the poor in the Ubud area. We are happy to be providing this service, honestly we sometimes borrow cars from friends to keep it going. We need a motorbike for running nearby errands. Currently we have driven one of our most loyal staff members, Sandi's, bike into the ground. Month-to-month operational expenses in Bali are provided by your generous donations from afar and also by walk-in friends from all over the planet. But there is always the worry that we won't make our bill payments. Faith and grace carry us along with your help.
The on-going donations of vitamins, baby blankets, hats and clothing are just amazing… thank you. Those of you who have met us at the Bali clinic, walked in and seen us at work, have been so generous, we are humbled. John Fawcette Foundation helps with medical supplies, which we just could not survive without. It is truly a Global Community effort here. I find myself in tears as I write this, tears of gratitude.
There is much talk of Global warming, and indeed, it is of great concern. In these times on Earth it is easy to be pessimistic about the future…. Our first Bumi Baby of the New Year 2008 came into the world breech, which leads us to believe; "Things are turning around." May it be so. Thank you for forging a partnership in this peace we so wish to create.
Om Shanti, Assalamualaikum, Om Shanti, Blessings of Peace, Happy New Year…
And Love, always Love, Ibu Robin Lim
A letter from Ibu Robin to Kate following her visit to Bumi Sehat January 2008
Dear dear Kate...
ibu Robin Here... Just to let you know that we had a baby girl, shoulder dystocia,
serious. Chanti and Ibu Ketut called me, I was asleep at home, about 3:30
am, I ran in my pajamas to the clinic. We got this baby girl out...
9 minutes she was stuck between worlds. She was dead.
I did CPR, Chanti called for homeopathy, a friend
who is a Naturalpathic physician was there at the time. I asked for
Bryonia or Brayta... Can't remember what I said... Because as she, our dear
Mother Mary takes over in these times between the star gate of life and death...
And the remedy was given and the baby jumped into her body.. She took a while...
But within two hours she was well on the breast, and just like any other baby...
As if no trauma had occurred... She is home now and perfectly happy and healthy...
No damage to her at all.
Kate – I share this with you because we felt your
presence was with us too... That Mother Mary sent you to us so we would be
confident in her remedies.
Thank you... Love, Peace., Ibu robin and Baby Koming too.
I was thrilled to receive this email as the remedy they actually used was BRYONIA -the remedy that saved my son's life at 15 months of age when he had a respiratory and cardiac arrest in the bath one evening.His twin, sister older sister by 2 years, and his Dad were present.I had tried to resuscitate him unsuccessfuly for some time and in the end got down on my knees with my child and prayed to God to save him.The message arrived in my head instantaneously "Give him Bryonia"
I ran down 3 flights of stairs to the kitchen ,put my hand in a big box full of medical stuff-medicines both orthodox and homeopathic, and out came a bottle of Bryonia which I immediately gave Tom,in between his teeth and his lower lip.He came round immediately to my complete amazement.The next (unwelcome) message came into my head.
"You are going to have to study
this and then teach everyone else,and about time you went back to church"As
a very busy mum with 3 toddlers under 4-( Tom is twin to Rosie and Helen 2
years older)working in the UK as a part time Health Visitor,teaching the children
Suzuki violin, and a large house to run-dog and cat!-cooking and baking everything
myself as the children were severely allergic to so many things,I decided
to ignore that instruction.But life kept directing me to do what I was told,
and when the twins were 3+ I started training to be a Homeopath at the College
of Homeopathy London UK in 1984.I studied for 4 years and was immediately
asked to teach and it went on from there............................To have
all this vindicated 23 years later by the same remedy saving baby Koming when
all seemed lost is a great honour,and I am so glad I did go back to my Catholic
roots,was able to be humble enough to be directed,and am still teaching people
but nowadays in the Southern hemisphere in Australasia.It is a great privilege.
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