The Humanity Forum

Hydrocephalus Sisters

2011-10-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Last week, 3 of our volunteers decided to visit Semarang for a short and leisurely stopover trip. As they mentioned this trip before leaving, we instantly thought of Wisma Kasih Bunda (WKB), our partner in helping needy kids with hydrocephalus, and how it was a good idea for them to visit WKB and pass some “goodies”.

The visit went well as they met 2 of Yusra’s new friends, Nur Lia Rizky & Aureta Ramadania, the new beneficiaries of Yusra’s Friend Fund. Right after the visit, our volunteers sent a photo from their Blackberry. I thought, that was very nice of them, squeezing their leisure time to visit these 2 less fortunate kids with hydrocephalus symptoms.

Yesterday, they passed us the rest of the photos and we were shocked and saddened to see a familiar face in the picture. It was Fitri’s mum! Fitri came to WKB to seek treatment for her hydrocephalus last year. Apparently Fitri has a little sister- Nur Lia! Just like Fitri, Nur Lia also has hydrocephalus symptom! Oh my… 2 little sisters… both with hydrocephalus :(

How I wish we met them earlier, so we could have done something about it. FYI, we met Fitri and her parents 1 day before they could go back to their hometown, after staying in WKB for more than 1 week for shun insertion operation. Fitri was not one of the beneficiaries of Yusra’s Friend Fund as her operation and treatment costs were already taken care of, before THF knew WKB.

Hydrocephalus, in which we’ve been involved for about 1.5 years, is not something new. It is a symptom that is commonly found among poor communities and caused by many factors. You could read up more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocephalus
http://www.singhealth.com.sg/PatientCare/ConditionsAndTreatments/Pages/Adult-Hydrocephalus.aspx

The key to treating Hydrocephalus is early intervention. The earlier you do, the more brain cells you will save. We really hope one day we could create a hydrocephalus awareness in poor communities in Indonesia and in South East Asian countries where we focus on.

May God bless these “gifted” kids and give their families strength and patience.

For Humanity and Beyond,
Willy T.

Fitri, when we visited WKB for the first time in March 2010.

Fitri and her sister Nur Lia at Wisma Kasih Bunda Semarang, early October 2011.

Nur Lia and her mum with THF volunteers at Wisma Kasih Bunda Semarang.

Yusra's 2 new friends, Nur Lia & Aureta, with their parents and THF Volunteers at Wisma Kasih Bunda Semarang..

Yusra received a visit from friends of Guam

2011-10-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hafa Adai everyone,

"Hafa Adai" (read "Half-A-Day") means "Hello" in Chamorro, a native language of Guam Islands. You will probably wonder what has this got to do with our dear friend Yusra? Well, to tell you the truth, it has a lot.
During our fund raising early last year 2010, we were contacted by Sunardi who lives in Guam. He and his friends in Guam answered to our appeal and managed to raised US$2,600.00. How wonderful! Despite the distance, they put a lot of effort, attention and love towards Yusra.
Last week, Sunardi and his family paid a visit to Yusra's family. Here's the story:

The day has finally come! It was September 29 when my family embarked on a 3.5 hours journey from my wife hometown (Payakumbuh) to Kayu Angik to visit our little friend. We would have never found Yusra house if not for the cellphone number of Yusra parents given to me by Willy (The Humanity Forum) before I left Guam. We got lost a few times as direction given was vague. We were met by Yusra dad in the market near the house and he led us on his motorcycle to his house which seemed like in the middle of nowhere.

It was indeed a humbling and enlightening experience to have finally meet Yusra- my little hero! He has grown longer and sadly the size of his head has not gotten any smaller. I can’t imagine how hard it’s for his petite mom to carry him with all the excess weight from his head. He was very alert, healthy and I did not notice any scabs or infections on his head. The family told us he’s eating well and has a good appetite. Repaired has also been done on their house which previously suffered damaged from the earthquake. Tears were flowing from some of Yusra family members as they were touched by our visit and concerns. Before we parted, we handed Yusra mother a small token of monetary donation. The family also wanting me to thanks all the kindhearted donors in Guam which have made a difference in their life from so far away.

Kudos to Willy and The Humanity Forum team for all the good works! Through the kindhearted people of Guam we raised $2,600 in helping Yusra and other less fortunate children with hydrocephalus. Meeting Yusra reminded me of how lucky I am and the importance of spreading the goodness to our less fortunate brothers & sisters!

Sunardi Li

Sunardi's boy, Sunardi, Ibu Zul and Yusra

Yusra with his new toy

Mrs. Sunardi with Yusra

Thank you for all your attention and love, Sunardi & family, and all friends in Guam.
May God bless you all abundantly.

For Humanity and Beyond,
Willy T.

Clean Water for Pagai Selatan, Mentawai

2011-06-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

The giant tidal wave that hit Mentawai in 2010, has left the western coast of Pagai Selatan, Pagai Utara and Sipora islands destroyed. Almost nothing was left. Such a massive destruction has left more than 500 people died and 6,904 people displaced. After realising the impact, local government with strong endorsements from central government, decided to move all the IDP into new settlements, places that are away from the coastal area.
Without any doubt, this will not be an easy transition for these people who were mostly fishermen and farmers, particularly when the new settlement only come with one single thing: a bare piece of land.

Team9 & The Humanity Forum are committed to help these people and have planned out a 3 YEAR REBUILDING MENTAWAI PROGRAM. With great supports from our donors, friends and partners, we are confident to roll out this plan effectively.

TFC (Tangki Ferro Cement) Water Tank Program is one of our main programs on REBUILDING BASIC NECESSITY which is the phase one of whole program. After 2 months of preparation, this program was effectively executed from early March to middle of May 2011.
41 water tanks with 9,000 liter capacity each were successfully built and handed over to the people of Pagai Selatan. This might sound like a large numbers but for they are far from enough for 2,557 people who live in that island.
We hope that we could provide more of these water tanks in Pagai Selatan or even to Pagai Utara and Sipora islands.

For more photos, kindly visit: facebook.com/thehumanityforum
or directly to the album: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150281341546352.377032.42944106351

View TFC Water Tank Program by Team9-THF in a larger map

If you are interested in supporting Team9-THF’s Rebuilding Mentawai Program, please contact us:
willy@thehumanityforum.org
cynthia@thehumanityforum.org

Mentawai Updates: By Dr. Tonka through SMS (Nov 21, 2010 latenight)

2010-11-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Compiled by Cynthia.

This evening all of sudden I got text from dr Tonka but it wasn't a new message
I just realize that Team9 must have connection somehow on the field.

I connected to dr Tonka right away. Everything is OK with the team (even after the earth quake yesterday... dont worry). He told me that he is taking a stroke patient to Sikakap and for a fact, there is no doctor in Sikakap Puskesmas (local clinic) either... the medical situation there is quite sad. No proper medical help in Mentawai at the moment, even at Sikakap (Don't ask in Pagai Selatan... totally no medical team out there) Team9 is the only one and will be the only medical team until the mission end on Nov 30.

Team9 is working closely with Romo Pey on the field collaborate with other NGOs too. Mingle with the others to achieve the goal with maximum result.
Anyway, here is the day to day highlight from the field reported by dr Tonka Team9.

Tuesday, Nov 16 2010Traveling time: Jakarta - Padang - Sikakap

Wednesday, Nov 17 2010Arrived in Sikakap at 5.30 AM and fetched by Sr. Josefia with a truck.

Thursday, Nov 18 2010An attempt to go to Purourougat but the road condition was just too bad. Only the our stuffs could be transported, together with Fr. Pey. We returned to Sikakap in the evening and will try again the next day, early in the morning.

Friday, Nov 19 2010, Day 1 @ Purourougat (KM37)We managed to reach Purourougat but Rinno and Pak Rahmat had to stay in Sikakap to settle some stuff.
When we reached Purourogat, we sorted out all the logistical stuff with all team members. Then we took a rest. Communal Kitchen started serving right away.

Sorting out stuff inside Team9's station @ KM37, Purourougat.

Team9's Communal Kitchen @ KM37, Purourougat

Sabtu Nov 20 2010, Day 2 @ Purourougat (KM37)Day 2, Psychosocial Response and Medical programs kicked off. Communal Kitchen was already on operation since day one, assisted by local women from the relocation camp. They cook the meal then distributed by other local volunteers to evacuees’ tents.
At the mean time, our Water and Sanitation Team was still busy loading stuff, due to the transportation problem. The road transportation to KM37 is equally dangerous to the sea one, muddy with a high possibility of getting stuck, particularly when it rains.
Coordination meeting with several other NGOs took place today. Team9 was represented by Kak Charles.

Coordination Meeting with other NGOs @ KM37, Purourougat.

Dr. Ruce in action @ KM37, Purourougat.

Minggu Nov 21 2010, Day 3 @ Purourougat (KM37)Day 3, our water and sanitation team has arrived with some of their stuffs. Tomorrow they will start building. Our medical team in Purourougat, at this point of time, only have Dr. Ruce with one Anesthetic nurse from Yos Sudarso Hospital, Padang. While myself, Dr. Tonk, was assisting a stroke patient to Sikakap, accompanied by a nurse from ICU (from Yos Sudarso Hospital).

All Team9ers are fine, because our food supply has been well managed by Mbak Peni (from our Communal Kitchen Team), and everyone was asked to take “Neurobion” on daily basis to keep fit. We all are reminded to take anti malaria medication, daily.
Team9 is in good spirit and passionately running their missions.

Unloading materials for Team9's Water & Sanitation Program.

Reports by
Dr. Tonka @ Purourougat (KM37)


Dr. Tonka in front of temporary shelter @ KM37, Purourougat.

Extend you hand through Team9, now!

Day 3. Mentawai Field Reports via SMS by Sondang

2010-11-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

Sondang is the leader of Team9’s Psychosocial Response Team. She comes from a reputable psychosocial non-profit organisation, Pulih Foundation.

Sondang with Mentawai kids.

Indonesian:

1. perjalanan dari padang ke mentawai dengan ambu2 pada tanggal 16 nov jam 5 sore cukup seru. tim harus berebutan dg penumpang lain, kehujanan, plus harus melempar barang2 logistik (36 kardus: obat, bahan makanan untuk dapur umum, perlengkapan untuk children program, dll) karena ambu2 sudah mulai jalan. alhamdulillah ombak cukup tenang sehingga tim bisa tiba di sikakap jam 6 pagi.

2. tgl 17 nov: tim 9 (termasuk pulih) & 1 tim lain dari perusahaan tambang dan energi (tim pak mulyana) bergerak di bawah naungan paroki sikakap dan caritas padang. rencananya tgl 18 Nov akan menempuh jalan darat ke km 37 (lokasi baru penyintas porourougat, asahan dan beberapa dusun lain). tim pak mulyana didukung juga oleh seorang psikolog dan akan melakukan kegiatan dengan anak. logistik mereka akan digabung dengan logistik tim. rencananya tim pak mulyana akan berada di mentawai selama 1 minggu.

3. Romo Pey akan mengantar dan memandu tim gabungan sekalian bantu sosialisasi dan koord tim dengan warga. untuk sementara tim akan bertempat di gereja km 37 dan kegiatan akan difokuskan di km 37. oleh karenanya keberangkatan ke dusun limu akan ditinjau kemudian. para pengungsi ini 'dipaksa'pindah ke km37 diduga karena adanya kunjungan dari pejabat negara. padahal kondisi km 37 tidak layak, hingga kemungkinan pengungsi akan pindah lagi. tim akan mengikuti para pengungsi.

4. menurut Romo Pey, warga setempat memiliki ritual berdukanya sendiri, dan hal ini membantu mereka cepat kembali melakukan akivitas harian mereka. Akan tetapi anak-anak tidak ada kegiatan dan belum ada guru. dari sisi budaya, budaya mentawai mirip dengan nias. banyak pengungsi yang tidak bisa bahasa indonesia hingga diperlukan penerjemah.

5. kondisi km37 tidak ada listrik, signal, dan sulit air bersih.
sebelum tsunami, kami memeperoleh informasi tentang minimnya akses pendidikan bagi anak2. di daerah pagai selatan, sekolah hanya sampai kelas 3 SD, jadi ketika siswa ingin melanjutkan pendidikan mereka harus ke Sikakap. selain itu tinggi pula kasus cacingan pada anak2.

6. kondisi terakhir agak kacau. Bahan pangan minim bgt di km37. Dapur umum dikoord oleh tni dan kayaknya kurang koord hingga kurang makanan. dapur umum hanya buka 1 atau 2 kali sehari. Atau tidak buka sama sekali. harga2 sudah mahal. Beras 10rb per liter di sikakap. krn food supply sulit, pengungsi dan anak hampir tidak pernah sarapan. bahkan selama ini hanya makan atau 2 kali sehari. pengungsi tampak semakin tertekan dg keadaan yang kacau ini

Passing cans of sardines by throwing.

Pulling all the supplies by ropes.

English:

1. The trip from Padang to Mentawai with Ambu-Ambu, 16 Nov 2010 5PM, was quite an experience. The team needed to struggle to get into the ferry among other passengers. It was raining and we had to throw a lot of our stuffs (36 boxes: medicine, food stuff for communal kitchen, child program materials, etc.) in to the ferry because it has started leaving the pier. Thanks God the sea was quite calm hence we could reach Sikakap at 6 o’clock in the morning. 

2. 17 Nov 2010: Team9 (together with Pulih Foundation) & another team from a mining and energy company (Pak Mulyana’s Team), are moving under Sikakap Parish and Caritas Padang. The plan is to go to Purorogat, Asahan and a few hamlets, tomorrow 18 Nov 2010. Pak Mulyana’s team, which will be supported by a psychologist, will create some activities the children. Their logistics will be combined with our team. Pak Mulyana’s team is planning to stay for 1 week in Mentawai. 

3. Fr. Pey will send and guide this combined team. He will also help us in socialisation and coordination with the locals. In the meantime, the team will stay put at a church in KM37 then all our activities will focus on that location. Because of this, our trip to Limu will be reviewed again. All these evacuees were “forced” to move to KM37 assumably due to a visit by national “big shots”. As a matter fact, KM37 condition is not liveable. There is a high possibility that these evacuees will soon move again. The team will follow them. 

4. Based on Fr. Pey, the locals have their own funeral ritual and this will help them to get back to their normal life soon. However, the children do not have activities and there isn’t any teacher there. From cultural perspective, Mentawaian’s is quite similar to Nias culture. There are a lot evacuees who do not speak Indonesian hence translators are required. 

5. The condition of KM37: No Electricity, No Signal and lack of clean water. Before the tsunami, we received some information about the lack of education access for local children. In Pagain Selatan Island, the children could only study till grade 3. If they wish to continue, they need to move to Sikakap. Besides this, there are a lot of cases of intestinal worm among the children. 

6. The latest situation is quite chaotic. KM37 is lack of food supply. Their communal kitchen which was coordinated by the army, was not well managed and caused insufficient supply of food.Their kitchen only open once or twice a day. On somedays, they don’t even have it. The food prices are very expensive. 1 liter of rice costs them Rp. 10,000,-. Because of this, the evacuees and the kids almost never get their breakfast. They could only have 1 or 2 meals a day, that’s all. The evacuees seemed depressed from this chaotic situation.

Extend you hand through Team9, now!

Udpates from Kak Elly (7 Nov 2010)

2010-11-11T03:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends in Humanity,

Our apology for the late updates. We've been extremely busy with all mission preparations and coordinations for Mentawai. As for Kak Elly in Merapi, she's been EXTREMELY HECTIC! 40 command posts are under the care of Team9 & friends. They are now serving about 28,000 evacuees! Imagine cooking for that many people, 3 times a day. God bless Team9, all the volunteers and evacuees.

Here's the email:

Dear All,

Thank you for all the prayers, cares and text messages for our safety around Merapi. God has protected us and give us chance to continue doing this mission

This is the story from November 4^th (night time) until today (which was quite exhilarating) 4 November 2010.

Pagi ini diawali dengan berhentinya aliran air PAM. Aku pikir, hal tsb disebabkan keringnya mata air di atas akibat meletusnya Merapi. Jadi nantinya harus disuplai air dari kantor (bisa dari Pakem atau dari km 7).

November 4, 2010

This morning was started with the PAM (centralised water supply) stopped flowing. I thought it was caused by the water source was dry due to the Merapi’s eruption. So we need to supply the water from the office (from Pakem or the KM 7)

Actually since morning we can heard sounds (like thunder but from far away) coming from Merapi. But due to the many demands from the refugee camps that haven’t been served, so that morning we went to shopped for grocery at Pasar Beringharjo (Beringharjo Market). In the afternoon, the post at Dian Mandala looked like a very busy market, the employees that became volunteers were helping to pack the help (food and things) for the refugee camps.

We made the following care packages:

- Toiletries package (towel, soap, shampoo, tootpaste, toothbrushe, and comb)

- Baby care package (towel, soap, shampoo, baby oil, a set of clothing, and 3 pieces of pampers)

- Grandma care package (blanket, long cloth, balm, cloth mask, medicine/traditional herbs for fever/headache – 2 sachets)

- Grandpa care packaged (sarong, Ginger coffee- 2 sachets, medicine/traditional hers for fever/headache – 2 sachets, cloth mask)

- Women and Teen girls care package (bra, underwear, sanitary pads)

- Refugee camps care package (blanket, medicine, instant coffee, instand noodle, cooking herbs/supplies) à according the numbers on each camps

After finishing all the data input and everyone went back, the KDK team (me, Ikun, Peni and Niluh) went around to check the situation on every camps which changes daily. Our route that day: from Pakem towards Klaten. There were quite a lot of camps that we passed: SD Kiaran Pakem, Balai Desa Wukirsari, Balai Desa Argo Mulyo Cangkringan, Dusun Cepit Cangkringan, Dsn Bawukan Manisrenggo Klaten. Some camps that we didn’t visit were because they were official TPS (relatively their needs are already fulfilled )

Lastly we dropped by at 2 refugee camps: Balai Desa Widodomartani and Asrama Haji Umbulmartani at Ngempak Sleman subdistrict. Although there were also another official TPS, but those two has just recently operated and just receiveing all the refugees that had just been evacuated from TPS Kepuharjo and around (due to the order to empty the area until the 15^th KM).

Widdormartani refugee camp was in the dark since they were still in the process of installing a electric generator. All the refugees were all gathered in the hall. This camp is filled with around 1,100 people and will get another additional 2,000 people.

At Umbulmartani refugee camp, one by one, the refugees were starting to arrive by some kind of transportations. Mostly they didn’t bring a lof of stuffs with them, just one or two plastic bags (medium size) or one or two indomie-sized boxes. My heart cried seeing how unprepared they were facing an unknown evacuation time like these. Since the last location was near the office, so we quickly went home to pack some stuffs fro the new refugees that just came, and went straight back there. I only reached home around 10.30pm, my husband and my son Lukman were home and gathered at the family room.

While resting and watching the news, the thundering noise was getting louder. This time it was followed by shaking like an earthquake but it went non-stop. We were all worried and started to pack clothing and other stuffs in our own bags. We still thought to stay on and wished that the thundering noise will subside. But then the lights all went out, which signalled that all the facilities had been stopped altogether. The emergency sirene rang loudly that signalled everyone to leave the location as soon as possible. That time, the sand rain (at the beginning, there were dry) started to come down, and getting heavier and mixed with water soon after.

We decided to evacuate temporarily to the office (which was located in the 7^th KM). From the North, the students motorcycle were passing by non-stop in front out the house. Not long after, the cars started to pass by. We walked towards the Kaliurang street, when we reached the intersection, all the vehicles from Pakem was filled up already. Normally that road was a 2-way street, now all the lanes were moving toward South with 4 lanes filled with cars. The ride trip going down was really scarry. Remembering those moments still gave me some goodsebumps. Slowly the cars were moving downwards. The rain started as brown coloured mud, the car wipers still busily cleaned the mud away, but then the mud started to dry. When the wiper water was finished, we started to pour mineral water (then we had only half of small bottle in the car). Haven’t reach 1 KM yet, we were trapped in a traffic jam, all the empty spaces were filled with motorcycles.

The rain was getting heavier by the minute, the mineral water was gone, so we had to open the window to wipe the front window with our hands or cloth, even though it was for a tiny opening just to see the road ahead. All the windows on left, right and back were all covered with thick sand. Meanwhile, there was a friend who lived in another block asking for help. He need to evacuate with 3 families of 16 people (including 2 babies and 3 toodlers), and we had only one car (until I didn’t know what to say to him). Wanted to pick him up was impossible, since our car was on the other side of the road. At the end, I can only promise, if we reached the office, we will find someone and a card to pick them up

Even though I was nervous, I felt a bit calm, since all the cars and motorcycles are q-ing in an orderly fashion. We finally reached the bright (around 2KM from our house) and was stuck there for almost 1 hour without knowing what was the cause, since it was a one way street, wasn’t it supposed to be no obstacles? The rain was getting heavier, all the windows were covered totally. In front of our car, there was somebody who got off from a car and asked our car to move to the left. I didn’t agree since there was another on the left side (wanted to open the window, but cannot since it was jammed already, wanted to open the door, afraid will bump the motorcycles). There was a feeling of I can’t do anything at this point.

Finally there is a good man who poured water to our windows. I was so reliefed that we could see the road ahead again. Slowly the traffic was lessed. Apparently there were some army trucks, ambulances and volunteer cars on the other side, no wonder it cause a traffic jam. When we were going down the mountain, never thought there were people who was going up.

Then suddenly more youngsters started to pour water to our car wndows. So much thanks to those people. The 7KM distance from our house to the office was spent in 90 minutes by car. We were thinking once the rain subsided, we would go back to the house, but the Merapi erupted once again, so that night we stayed at the office.

The story had to stop now, since the office boy said the Merapi is going to erupt again. Hopefully it will die down soon so I can tell you more J Please pray for us and also the tens of thousands villagers who were pulled out from their calm life. Thank you for all the friends who had send money and logistics. Generally the money was spent on all the packages above, rice packets, vegetables and other according to their needs. Goods (usually by requests) had been delivered. Awe also received help for the volunteers in the form of Nu Green Tea (drinks) from Herman Suradja- AAL. Thank you once again, all the volunteers are very happy with the attention and care.

regards,

elly

Merapi Updates

2010-11-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Till this morning, Merapi kept erupting.
After a few days in the locations, we’d like to update the situation:

TPS (Tempat Pengungsian Sementara, Temporary Shelter) There are 2 type of TPS, official and self funded.

Official TPS
- They normally have sleeping halls, public kitchen (managed by soldiers and Social Department of Indonesia) - They distribute food regularly
- They are regularly covered by TV stations. Hence there are a lot of “sponsors’ banners” there which make the whole place look more like exhibitions/bazaars rather than evacuation shelters/camps.
- All donated goods must go straight to the warehouse. They cant give them straight to the evacuees, unless you are bringing something that is enough for 3000-6000 people.

Self-funded TPS
- Normally setup at night during the sudden evacuation or when the official ones are too full and so on.
- Not as crowded
- Minimum supplies
- When we ask them what they need from the contact persons, they always have a long list of required goods, from communal kitchen needs/packed rice, sleeping mats, blanket, bathing kits, clothes, baby milk, women’s undergarment, sanitary pads, masks and eyedrops.
- Usually all guests are warmly welcomed. All donations are received right away and could be distributed right away to the evacuees.

Command Post (Posko)
There are a few area near evacuation shelters that provide poskos which mostly support self-funded TPSes. They normally have an open warehouse for keeping donated goods/aid, which will be distributed according to camps’ needs.
Furthermore, they are always willing to accompany all guests who are sending their donations to the camps.
In Muntilan, we are working with 2 poskos, GP Ansor and SMA Van Lith

Evacuation Locations
Evacuation camps are spread into 4 locations: Klaten, Sleman, Muntilan and Boyolali
Considering Sleman areas have been well managed by the government, we decided to focus our work on Muntilan area and then later spread to Boyolali area. In Sleman, we only cover 1 self-funded TPS at Wonorejo.

Evacuees
All evacuees datas from self-funded TPS could be obtained from self-funded poskos, which then get double-checked at each camps. Commonly, their numbers are not precise as nobody would have enough time to get the full individual data of each evacuees (Family data (KK), age, genders, hamlet names, etc.)
The problems that we are facing is the ever changing camp situation. It changes everyday day as the evacuees always like to find their other family members which could be in other camps. Sometimes, the camps themselves need to be moved due to eruptions and heat wave.

To be continued…
This morning, we are going to supply some goods to Boyolali and Wonorejo camp.

Warmest Regards,
Elly

Email from Kak Elly at Merapi, Nov 3 2010

2010-11-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Thank you for supporting us in helping evacuation camps at Merapi. (My apology, I could only reply emails in the evening after returning from the camps).
When you ask us on what is needed for the evacuees, well, we wont be able to tell you right away. Everyday, the map of evacuees and the condition of the camps change according to the situation of Mount Merapi which is still active.
When the volcano erupted and spew ashes and heat wave, all the evacuees from the high-ground camps with move to the lower-ground camps, joining other evacuees who are also trying to look for temporary shelters (school, mosque, village office, etc.)

We, KDK (Yayasan Kerabat Desa Kota Indonesia) with other local and international NGOs, we decided to collaborate with a command post in Muntilan and Boyolali with the address of:
Jl Talun km2, Tegalurung, Banyubiru, Dukun Muntilan
Contact person : Bok Ahmad Majidun (hp 081 2295 4687)

Below are the lists of goods that we need for the evacuation camps in Muntilan and Boyolali:

1. Food: rice, cooking oil, sugar, coffee, tea, spices (salt, garlic, shallot, pepper, chili, tomato, etc), salted fish, vegetables and fruits.
2. Dried Food: meat floss (abon) & salted egg.
3. Personal Hygiene Kits: sopa, tooth paste, tooth brushes, shampoo, combs, detergents, towels, undergarments (underpants and bras) and sanitary pads.
4. Sleeping Kits: sleeping mats or foldable mattresses, mats and sarongs/blankets.
5. Light Medications: “Minyak Kayu Putih”, “Tolak Angin”, betadine, tensoplast, eye droppers, minty balm (balsem) for old folks.
6. Baby/Infant Stuff: soap, shampoo, towels, “minyak kayu putih”, “minyak telon”, clothes, (tops & pants) and diapers.

Quite a lot of huh? Of course we don’t expect all from you but you could choose whichever one that you wanna support based on your budget.

There are 3 ways for passing us the donations:

1. You could buy the goods from your own hometown and then deliver them to our command post. This is infact one of the best ways as they are quite expensive and the stocks are very limited in Yogyakarta. Things like masks.

2. Donors could bring cash to Yogyakarta and buy them there or at nearby towns. This method is recommended for large and heavy items: mineral water, kitchen utensils, rice, etc.

3. You could simply transfer your money to whichever NGO that you wish to support (Team 9?). The NGOs then will buy the goods according to their needs at that point of time.

That’s all for all the required stuffs for the evacuation camps in Merapi. If there are anything else that you need to discuss, kindly contact us through email, mobile or sms.

For Humanity,
Elly

Merapi. Day 4 (29 October 2010)

2010-10-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Thank you for your donations. Only God could payback all your kindness and support.
May be some of you would wonder why I type up the journal from Merapi early in the morning. This morning, around 2.30 AM i was woken up. Aan and Lukman were woken up as well. They said there was a rain of ash. Then I went out to see. Yes, it’s true and I could see the ash about 1cm thick. My surrounding looks gray. I couldn’t see Merapi anymore and my eyes hurt.

I was a little panicky. I quickly packed some clothes, all important documents and switch on TV. But Aan said “It’s ok. It’s only the rain of ash. The eruptions happened about 1-2 hours ago.” I feel a little better but still very concerned with the situation of the refugees in the camps. So I couldn’t sleep and decided to do something like, checking emails, facebook and did some writings. So, that’s the story.

Let me share some info about what we have done since the eruption on 26 October 2010.

27 October 2010
I called Johnny this morning to explain about the situation and asked him for more funding. Once we received green lights, we made packed meals/rice (120 packets for morning and 120 for afternoon). Then we send them to a command post at the Pakem Church which then transferred to Hargobinangun refugee camp at Pakem (about 7 km away).
At Hargo, the situation is quite chaotic, full of people. Then, I decided to move up further, to Oasis Disaster Post that was still rather quiet. 2 big tents were prepared to handle the overflowing people from Hargobinangun.
From one of my volunteer friend, YEU, I received some information about Yogyakarta’s camps. Most of their cummunal kitchens are handled by Indonesian soldiers. However, for Magelang area, they are not covered yet. I write down all the data, addresses, mobile numbers that could be useful for us.
In the afternoon, I called up Aan and all 500 packets of rice were ready. Then we sent them out to Mantilan right away.

28 October 2010
Kuncahyo (KDK Team) and I went to Mr Ahmad’s Command Post in Muntilan. Not long after that, Miss Nari from Dian Mandala (Aan’s Office), Mr . Renee and Mr. Leo from Diakoni Salatiga (NGO)
All four organisations agreed to team up to distribute aid from “one gate”, so we can ensure the effectiveness (appropriate needs & target areas) and avoid overlapping. After we did some surveys together, we decided to take on 5 locations of refugee camps. For our public kitchen, we are going to create a big tent, equipped with water tank and will be kept neat and clean at all time. KDK will supply rubbish bags, for plastic waste. In our survey we saw 2 refugee camps that uses their own funding and resources without getting any supports from others. They can only get food from people around the camp. They are located at PL high school.

29 October 2010
We went around to a few camps with a Rotary team. They drop quite a number of aid. We found another 2 independent refugee camps. Bringin I & Jamblangan. At Bringin I, we saw a lot of kids. There were about 120 of them out of 655 refugees. At Jamblangan, there were 384 refugees and they did not have anything yet as they just moved from the overcrowded Bringin I camp.
Then our last stop was Ketonggeng. There were 2700 refugees staying in Madrasah (Islamic schools), villagers’ houses and others. There were 2 public kitchens there. The first one was handled mostly by local men to cook “wedang” (drinking water). The other one is handled by the ladies who cook meals for 2700 people! (I really cant imagine how it feels to cook for that many people, 3 times a day!)

30 October 2010
After the rain of ash and sand last night, I really dont know what would happen….
We’ll see it together. One thing for sure, your donations and support will brighten up these refugees’s days.

Thank you brothers and sisters….

Warmest Regards,
Elly

Merapi. Day 3 (28 October 2010)

2010-10-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Day 3. I went to survey a few command posts in Muntilan area because Kaliurang way was already crowded. The condition and facility are relatively adequate. We (Kuncahyo, Jito and I) went to Relief Post in Banyu Biru to meet Mr. Ahmad Majidun. I got his contact from some of the volunteers in Kaliurang Post. In there, we also met other NGOs., Mr. Leo & Renee from Diokanie Katastrophenlife of Salatiga, Miss Nari, Miss Putri and Mr. Ito from Dian Mandala and APKI.

We decided to collaborate to hand out all the relief from “one gate”, under the coordination of Mr. Ahmad’s Comand Post. There will be 5 camps that we are going to support on the first stage (3 days). These 5 camps are relatively un-supported, only from several lay people and a college:

1. Camp of SMP Pangudi Luhur Mandungan - Srumbung (326 people)
2. Camp of SD Sikepan - Srumbung (648 people)
3. Camp of SMP Muhamadyah I - Srumbung (450 people)
4. Camp of SD Ketunggeng and MI Ketunggeng (1600 people)
5. Camp of NU office - Palbapang (about 300 people)

We are planning to support them with:
- Public Kitchen: Setting up tent. Supports of kitchen utensils and food raw materials (rice, vegetables, sugar and tea)
- Water Tank. Size: 500ltr with daily supply of fresh water.
- The management of command posts and refugee camps: Data collection, distribution and reception methodologies
- Aid for refugees: Milk and baby food, blankets, sleeping matt, light medications, bathing equipments, detergents, clothes, sanitary pads, clean underwear, etc.
- Camp’s needs: brooms, “lidi” brooms, dustpans, cloths, dust bins and rubbish bags.

There will be some more volunteers joining us, Team 9. This afternoon, one of the KDK Jakarta’s volunteers, Miss Peni has arrived. Tomorrow morning, there will be 2 more volunteer cooks and 2 alumni from Parahyangan university. Mahitala (an NGO) will also send their team. The numbers are to be confirmed.

Warmest Regards,
Elly

Merapi. Day 2 (27 October 2010)

2010-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Today’s Info:
We’ve distributed 240 packs of rice (120 for morning, 120 for evening) for Hargobinangun Command Post. (FYI, there are shortages of 1500 packs rice for each morning and evening in that command post)
Command posts in Kaliurang is relative sufficient. The soldiers seemed to be tasked to help out in the public kitchen.
The roads are full of dusts. Based on some sources, at the evacuated locations like Boyong, the dust reaches 30 cm in thinkness.

Attached are some of the shots taken at Oasis Disaster Command Post. Hargobinangun command post was overcrowded. Hence about 500 refugees were moved to Oasis post, which is about 2-3 km away. Before they are escorted to their tends, the refugees had queue up to get their data taken. There were a lot of old folks and children, there.

I also heard that in Magelang area, there are quite a lot of command posts that are very crowded. They are mostly setup and organised by NGOs and lack of supplies. Tomorrow or the day after, i’m hoping to be able to go there.

What we need now:
- Blankets (for the ladies and children)
- Sarong (for guys)
- Slean underwears and sanitary pads (for the ladies)
- Some light medicines: “Minyak Angin” & “Minyak Telon”, eyedrops, “Obat Tolak Angin” and anti allergy medications (mostly for skins), etc.

Warmest Regards,
Elly

Mentawai Needs HELP, Desperately!

2010-10-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, around 10.45 PM, I called up Sr. Josephine, or Sr. Jo as we always call her, to check on the situation in Mentawai. She was out of reach the whole day yesterday as she was out with Fr. Pey to visit PUROUROUGAT, one of the closest islands to the epicentrum of the giant 7.7 on Richter Scale quake. They decided to pay that visit because people from Purourougat did not do their regular weekly visit to Sikakap town, where Sr. Jo lives. For her and colleagues, this absence is a sign of something bad has happened there. Then, they decided to visit the place to find out what has happened and to get some data for the disaster command post which was still not setup yet, at the point of conversation. Sr. Jo and Fr. Pey with other colleagues hopped on to church’s speed boat and zoom into the location, about 3.25 hours ride.

The same wooden "speed boat" and typical beach landing method. Taken during Team 9's 2007 Mission.

When they reached there, the island does not look like the usual “Purourougat” anymore. The whole village looks FLAT. All their houses, school and church have disappeared. Washed away by the 10-12 meter tsunami that hit them not long after the giant quake. She simply could not hold her tear to flow out, particularly after seeing St.Vincensius Primary School is no longer there. It is one of several primary schools in Pagai Island (North and South) under her care. That’s not all. After they landed, they realised that there have been more than 30 dead people, found and buried. These are the people that she would have met before particularly 3 of her pupils. After that, the locals informed them that they are still searching for more missing people. After equipping themselves with several coconuts, since the fresh water is no longer available, Sr. Jo and Fr. Pey joined the locals to continue searching. By the end of the day, they managed to find another 20 dead bodies and buried them in a mass grave.

That’s is only one of the stories from one of the affected villages. There are still many more of them. Like Mangkaulu, the village that we visited during Team9’s 2007 mission, still haven’t given any updates or even signals of their situation.

We really hope that all of us would come in together and help these poor people to rebuild their life. The Humanity Forum is going to team up with TEAM 9 for this mission. Please visit our website tomorrow for more updates.

For Humanity and Beyond,
willy t.

October house visit to Yusra's house.

2010-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone,

How is life at your side?

Many thanks to our dear friend Felix for his continuous effort to relay news about Yusra for all of us here. On October 3rd, he went to visit our little Yusra.
Bellow is his report translated to English and some pictures of Him:

"Yusra is now 80cm tall. His family still needs to cultivate healthier life style though as it will really help to keep Yusra healthy too. The cat in the house needs to learn too restrain it self from walking around the house and Yusra's bed.

Yusra's head still have a bit of scabs, most probably because he stays in his bed too long so I ask Ms Zul to walk Yusra around even if he needs to be carried around.
Yusra is sleeping on the bed that used to be one of his grandma's.

His family is managing life quite well, back into life routines. The men of he family works at the field and the women take care of the house and sewings.
They also started a small "warung" (provision stall)in their house as additional income for the whole family."

That's all now folks.. thank you for your continuous prayer and help for Yusra... and for humanity at large.

Have a fabulous weekend...
Susanna

Yusra’s Update: July 2010

2010-08-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your supports.

On 11th of July 2010, our volunteer from Padang, Felix, went to Kayu Angik to visit Yusra
and his family. This is a part of our efforts in monitoring Yusra’s condition on regular basis Here’s the report:

Yusra’s Weight: 14kg
Head’s Diameter: 30cm
Head’s Circumference: 74cm (28 June 2010)
Height: 89cm

Based on Felix’s observation, Yusra is quite responsive. Despite his limitation, Felix could see some interactions and awareness when he tried to interact with him. At the same time, Felix also saw something that is worrying us, the hygiene. One of the most obvious impacts is, again, on our dear friend Yusra. He is now having some fungal infection on his head. Prior the trip, Mdm Zul (Yusra’s mom) has told us about this skin problem. Hence, after confirming it by visual observation, Felix passed them Carnesten, anti fungal ointment. After that, he spoke to the family asking them to pay more attention on this issue, particularly with their cat freely roams around the house.

Besides observing Yusra’s condition, Felix also did some observation on his home that was hit by an earthquake end of last year. Apparently it is still badly damaged, particularly the kitchen. Based on some information, Yusra’s family will receive $1,100 from local government to fix all the damages. However, this amount turn out to be a little short considering the local contractor is quoting about $2,200 to fix all the damages.

In that trip, Felix brought these following items for Yusra:
1 unit of Baby scale (to weight Yusra, since there isn’t any such facility in the village)
1 box or Carnesten (anti fungal medication)
2 boxes of Enchephabol (vitamins for brain)
2 boxes of Dancow Milk

We’re hoping to do another visit sometime in the month of September.
Stay Tuned.

Thank you very much and have a blessed day ahead.

If you are interested in helping Yusra’s family to fix the house, please contact:willy@thehumanityforum.org
cynthia@thehumanityforum.org

Yusra's Friend, Dina, is Recovering from Her Operations

2010-07-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We just received some updates from Wisma Kasih Bunda (WKB) on the situation of Dina, one of the beneficiaries of Yusra's Friend Fund. After 2 operations in St. Elisabeth Hospital early last month, Dina stayed in PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for a while and now she is back in WKB for further recovery. She has also gained some weight. When she reached WKB, Dina only weighted 3.7kg. Very underweight for a 5.5 month old baby. Now she is 5.3kg, a much better weight indeed.

Here are the photos of Dina in chronological order:

Dina comes from Nias Island of Indonesia and was sent to WKB to treat her multiple health problems, malnutrition, dehydration and hydrocephalus.
Thank you Wisma Kasih Bunda. You have done another great job!
May Dina have a speedy recovery and soon be able to play like any other kids.

God bless Dina...

Thank you.

YUSRA Updates: Height 85cm, Head Circumference 74cm

2010-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

This evening, we contacted Madam Zul through SMS to check on Yusra's condition. Generally our dear friend Yusra is doing well. He's gaining weight and he has grown taller, 85 cm. The circumference of his head is still the same, 74cm. This means the fluid is under control.
Madam Zul also told us that Yusra is getting more active. Now, he could turn his body by himself. This is a major improvement! Well done! Apparently he is also able to sleep sideways by himself. All this improvements are going to help him to shape up his head and prevent injuries on his head, where the shunt is.
Besides that she also told us that Yusra now could hold his pacifier. Unfortunately, our dear friend is still unable to say any words yet. However, she is quite sure that he is happy, because he likes to giggle and laugh. Madam Zul also informed us that she now could use their kitchen again, as it is almost fixed.

Next month, we are hoping we could visit Yusra and his family again and share with everyone on his situation in more details.

Thank you for your supports.

For Humanity,
Willy T.

Yusra’s New Friend, Dina from Nias

2010-06-07T01:16:00.000-07:00

Last week we received an email from Mbak Eta of Wisma Kasih Bunda. They just received another kid with hydrocephalus symptom from Nias Island, Northern Sumatra. Her name is Dina and she is about 7 month old now.
When Mbak Eta received her, her condition was very fragile. Besides having hydrocephalus she is also having a serious malnutrition. Based on Mbak Eta, she was informed by Sister Klara of Nias Island that Dina was neglected by her parents for more than 4 months. They wanted her to die! We do not know what exactly they have in mind but we were quite sure that poverty is one of the main factors.

Now, Dina is on safe hands. After she was taken away from her family, Sister Klara decided to send her to Semarang to treat her hydrocephalus. However, before we could even conduct the shunting operation, we will need to work on her malnutrition first. She needs to be healthy when she gets her operation. This will help her to avoid any further complication.

After looking into this case, without any hesitation, we have decided to make Dina as one of Yusra’s friends. We are going to utilise Yusra’s Friends Fund to support her shunting operation and nutrition program. We hope we could help to save this little innocent life.

If anybody is interested in supporting such cases, do contact us. Your donation will make a huge difference to many innocent lives. All donation will be channeled into Yusra’s Friends Fund.

willy@thehumanityforum.org
cynthia@thehumanityforum.org

Thank you for your time and supports.

For Humanity,
Willy T.

YUSRA Updates: May 2010

2010-05-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you for following this journey of Hope and Love. For the past month, we’ve been busy doing a lot of logistical arrangements with Padang and Kayu Angik sides. Here are some of the objectives that we were trying to achieve through these arrangements:

1. Opening bank account for Yusra’s Parents.
 This is something that we might considered very simple but it appeared to be not so simple. Apparently there isn’t any banks in their village, hence Yusra’s parent needed to go down to nearby larger village to open their first account. Originally, they wanted us to send it to their friend’s account but we insisted them to have their own, under Madam Zul’s name. Something that is good for long term and could avoid other complications. After we were informed on the account information, we sent out the the first fund for Yusra’s daily needs (food, clean clothes) and some money to fix their damaged kitchen, from last year quake. We have received the confirmation from Madam Zul (Yusra’s Mom) on the first transfer from Jakarta.  

2. Regular visit to Kayu Angik.After the post shunting-operation therapy training in Wisma Kasih Bunda Semarang, Yusra is now back in Kayu Angik -his village, and we believe that his parents are doing it for him on regular basis. This is something that he needs on long term basis. There isn’t any further treatments required until he reaches 5-6 year. By that time, we will need to replace his shunt to a longer one since he will be much taller than he is now.
While we are waiting for that time, we will keep monitoring on his condition on regular basis. Since there isn’t any internet connection and limited medical supports, we are planning to send our volunteer to visit them every 2 months. As much as we want to do it more often, we decided to keep it that way, so we wont spend too much money on the car rental, petrol etc. FYI, the normal travel time from Padang to Kayu Angik is about 3-4 hours.
We have a piece of good news to share with everyone. Our new volunteer, Nita, who is doctor, is going to take care of this routine check. She will work closely with Felix, our volunteer in Padang, to monitor Yusra’s health and growth. Thank you, Nita and Felix!
The first visit will take place next weekend, if there’s no problem. We will update the blogs again once we finalise all information and photos, if there are any.

To get notification on the latest blog, please follow our twits (twitter.com/humanityforum) or join us at our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/thehumanityforum).

Last but not least, we have updated the list of “Yusra’s Friends”, the benefactors of Yusra’s Friends’ Funds. Kindly visit our website and get to know them here:

http://thehumanityforum.org/yusra/yusrafriend.php

Thank you for following this journey of LOVE and HOPE.
Have a blessed week ahead...

THF: Just finished most of our homeworks... Phew....

2010-05-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone's doing well and healthy.
Yes, we finally finished up our homeworks, the past project reports. Most of them have been uploaded and here are some of the highlights:

DESAKU, From Despair to Hope

The Fashionable Approach to Helping Indigenous Artisans – A Case Study

Please Help Yusra to Get Up Updates

At the same time, we'd like to thank all our friends who helped us in getting all these together.

Yusra is very active at home

2010-04-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

Around 8 o'clock this evening, we managed to call up Yusra's parents to check on Yusra's condition. Based on Ms. Zul Halifah, Yusra's mom, Yusra is getting very active at home. In fact, when i was talking to Mr. Rudi, his dad, i could hear Yusra was making a lot of noise, as if he is learning to say something. A very good sign of improvement, indeed.
Ms. Zul also added that Yusra's head is getting smaller and rounder. All these improvements have brought a great joy and hope to the whole family, including all his grandmothers, grandfather and great grandmother.
At the same time, we also managed to discuss about our intention of supporting Yusra regularly on monthly basis and some supports on fixing their damaged kitchen. This Friday, his mom is going to go to the nearby village to open up a bank account to facilitate the transfer. Cynthia from THF Indonesia is going help us manage this. We hope this support could give Yusra better nutrients and hygiene.

Thank you and Peace be with you.

Baby Hafiz, May You Rest In Peace

2010-04-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, we received a piece of bad news from Mbak Eta, the manager Wisma Kasih Bunda about one of the beneficiaries of Yusra's Friends Fund. Muhammad Hafiz Nur Aiman has passed away sometime last week. Based on Mbak Eta one of the main causes is the the pressure of the fluid in Hafiz's head, which was very high. For the past many weeks, he had gone through regular assisted fluid extraction (they call it "pungsi") in the clinic/hospital. Mbak Eta also added that the shunt which has been inserted end of November last year and readjusted on January this year through another operation, just could not accommodate the amount of fluid that his brain produced. His condition was just very severe.
We were quite shock and saddened by the news.

Rest in Peace, Baby Hafiz.
We will continue to help your other Hydrocephalus friends!

Yusra is back in Kayu Angik

2010-04-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home.

Yes, the family is back in Kayu Angik.
They left Semarang in the morning around 11AM. Mbak Eta, the manager of Wisma Kasih Bunda together with baby Fifen, went to the airport to send them off. Felix, our Padang coordinator also helped us in organising a car to fetch them and drive them to kayu angik (about 3 hour drive from the airport). Then around late evening time, Cynthia from THF Indonesia, received a call from Pak Rudi (Yusra's Dad) informing that they have reached home safely.

Based on information that we received from Mbak Eta, the parents are very happy with whatever things that they have learned, received and experienced during their stay in Semarang. They are now more confident and motivated to support their beloved son, Yusra. With all the therapies that they have learned, they will be able to apply it at the comfort of their home. Hence, our dear friend Yusra will have a much better chance to live longer and perhaps could be more mobile or even sit up and walk.

Bu Zul, Yusra's mom, is also very appreciative with the health treatment that she has received from Semarang doctor and specialist for her condition. This will help her to be more assured that her next child will be a healthy one. So, he or she will be able to play with Yusra at home.
May God bless Yusra and his family with happy life.

On THF side, we are planning to to give a regular monthly support to Yusra for his milk, vitamins and some personal hygiene stuff. There are quite a number of logisticals issue that need to be settled to facilitate this effort. At the same time, we are going to support Yusra's family in fixing their kitchen which was damaged by the quake. So, Bu Zul could prepare the food for Yusra properly.

At the same time, THF is hoping to find more people to join our effort to create a campaign to create awareness in hydrocephalus. We are hoping with this awareness, all parents with hydrocephalus kids will be able to know what to do as early as possible and save their babies' lifes.

Anybody interested?
Contact us!

Yusra Gets His First Therapy 2

2010-03-25T07:25:00.001-07:00

Yusra Gets His First Therapy 1

2010-03-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

After a long wait, Yusra finally received his post-shunt-insertion theraphy. It is something very important for kids with hydrocephalus.

Yusra is having the best time of his life, ever.

2010-03-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Day 2, Semarang.

A brand new day, with a brand new hope for our dear friend Yusra and his friends. Before we head down to Wisma Kasih Bunda (WKB), Cynthia and I decided to have a discussion over our breakfast, 7AM. We wanted to go through all the check lists of "what to do while we were in Semarang". At the same time, we did some adjustment and add some more stuff into the check lists. Then we checked out from the hotel. After reporting to Him, we went straight to WKB.

It’s a crowded place there, today. We could see several new faces and we went straight to see Yusra and his parents. Everything seems to be fine with them. Half way through our chat, Mbak Etha joined us. She started to give some advices to Yusra’s mom then gave Yusra some simple therapy like turning him side way and some message and rubbing on his legs and back. And guess what! Yusra started to make some noise and smiled! Wow! So simple and so effective. Yusra’s mom told us that she has never done it before and Yusra has never reacted like that before. She seems to be very happy with this enlightenment. She was also taught by Mbak Etha and Akbar’s mother about how to do “shunt pressing” therapy, 3 times a day and 20 press each time. Apparently this will help the fluid to flow down which will give the baby more comfort and better sleep.

After that short therapy, we decided to socialise a little bit. We met a new boy called Dimas (about 6 month old) and he is there with his parents. He will be on standby for a few days to wait for the next available bed in the hospital. Apparently the whole pediatric wards are full due to the recent dengue outbreak in Semarang.

The next person is Zidan. I’m quite convinced that his father like the French soccer player Zidane :) At first glance, i thought he was one of the nurse’s nephew as he looks like a normal kid who was actively playing around with his father’s mobile phone. Apparently, he was one of the patients! A success case for hydrocephalus. So, Hydrocephalus is not a death sentence after all! Wow! His success story will definitely give all the parent a hope, a strong hope, particularly after finding out that tomorrow will be his first day of school! What’s more impressive is the fact that he is one of the smartest kids in his village. Another myth has been proven wrong again, Hydrocephalus DOES NOT equal retardation, like “some people” always say.

Apparently he was admitted into WKB not too long after he was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus symptoms. How I wish all parents with hydrocephalus kids could do the same things. Many of these parents are not aware about what to do when such thing happen to their kids. I guess many local medical workers do not have enough knowledge about how to handle this too. Yes, cost is an issue but apparently there are grants from local government for citizens who could not afford the surgery. However, the level of bureaucracy is simply to much for these parents who have minimum education level, like Azis’ parents. They are fortunate enough to meet a local midwife who knows about such support from WKB. Hence they could get their 2.5 month 4th child, Azis an early intervention. I have a good feeling about this boy. God bless Azis. May he grow up like a normal boy, just like Zidan.
Perhaps we should create a Hydrocephalus Awareness Program. Any sponsors? :)

Suddenly Cynthia tapped on my shoulder and she told me that Mbak Ani (one of the nurses) is going to remove Rafi’s stitches. Such simple medical procedure are often done by WKB nurses. They do not need to go back to the hospital. This means less bills to pay. Most of WKB patients do not need to stay in the hospital for too long because they could get professional help for free in the home. By saving this money, WKB could give more supports to other children. Another brilliant working method by WKB.

After that Mbak Ani gave Fitri her daily therapy. All parents could watch this process from the comfort of their mattress. They could even ask her questions. With this learning and sharing method, they will gain more and more knowledge about the therapy. I really like this idea. Simple but very effective!

Next, Yusra. He cried a little, well, not quite like a “cry” cry persay, it’s more like a baby complain :) Then he went back to sleep in new position, side way. Something that he has never done ever since he was born. This is to prevent having flat head. Tomorrow, you should be able to see the video of his first therapy.

What now? How about some family fun time? Cynthia and I decided to give them some souvenir from WKB and THF, family photos :)

After that we quickly brought the file to the photolab to get them printed and framed. Then we wrote “Tetap Semangat” -which means “Chin Up” in english, at the back of the frame. We hope the parents will keep on fighting and never give up to take care of their blessings, their children. After a simple lunch together, we handed some toys to all the children including their siblings. We bought them on our way back from the photolab. The nurses suggested to buy toys that the kids can “squeeze” and “make sounds”. Well, i wasn’t too sure why they suggested that considering we were ready to buy teddy bears for each of them until we gave it to Yusra. Please see the video. I’m sure you will understand it :)

These simple toys will encourage the kids to practice their motoric skills as well as their senses, the hearing for this case. I guess Yusra really like enjoy that exercise :)
Btw, all these simple fun times are courtesy of THF.

A few minutes after that, Mbak Etha is asking everyone to get together for a short prayer, asking for a blessing and protection from God for those who are going to travel out to Semarang, Rafi’s family, Fitri’s family, Akbar family (tomorrow) and THF in an hour time. Everyone prayed according to their own faith, Islam, Christianity and others. After that, Rafi‘s aunt said a few words to thank everyone including us. Things got a little emotional particularly among Rafi’s parents as they are very appreciative with WKB and all its workers support. Without them, their little baby will not laying helpless at home. Now they have a brand new hope and looking forward to a better future for their baby, Rafi.

After that, we sat down with Mbak Etha, the manager of WKB. We discussed with all the logistical issues and our future supports. Here are some of the points:
Yusra and his parents will stay there for 2 weeks.
To bring Yusra’s mom for a simple check up to make sure that she is healthy enough to conceive another child.
To discuss all the communication method between THF and WKB
To confirm our sponsorship for 6 kids: Ahmad Salim, Fifen Tania Hulu, Fitri Wulandari Amelia Rizky, Akbar Kazio Wijaya, Muhammad Hafiz Nur Aiman and Azis. More details will be posted on Yusra’s official website updates in soon.

That meeting concludes our visit in Wisma Kasih Bunda. We are very proud to be able to support them as they are knowledgeable, experienced, efficient, effective and no frills. But what we admire the most is they way they treat their beneficiaries, very personal, full attention and equal, regardless what race and religion they come from. Something that is rather difficult to receive if you were to go to public hospital, particularly when they know that you come from a poor family. Well done Wisma Kasih Bunda! Keep up the good work in serving the poor and helpless.

We left WKB at about 5.15pm to catch our 7.20PM flight. We left with a big smile on our faces because we know that somebody is giving many unfortunate kids a chance to live their life as human being, particularly our dear friend, Yusra Al Fazri.
Thank you for your kind support. Be proud of yourself because now, your donation has helped many more poor family and save their babies’ life.

If you are interested in supporting Yusra’s Friends further or even sponsoring a shunting operation, please contact us. Many kids are still waiting to be saved.

Willy – willy@thehumanityforum.org – +65 9783 9758 (Singapore)
Cynthia – cynthia@thehumanityforum.org – +62 811 877 936 (Indonesia)

God bless all hydrocephalus kids in this world.
Peace be with you all.

Yusra arrived in Semarang

2010-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone’s is well and healthy.
Our trip to Semarang has been great and very inspiring.

Friday was a hectic day indeed for me and Cynthia (THF Indonesia). My full time work has just started to get busy but I had to take half day off to catch my afternoon flight. Then around 7.00 PM local time (8.30 PM Singapore Time), I reached Jakarta, Indonesia. After spending about 2 hours on road (30 minutes of moving vehicles with rest of the timing crawling through the jam) I managed to reached my first appointment. Cynthia was already there as she went straight from her office.

We met Ms. Anne Avantie. Who founded Wisma Kasih Bunda (WKB) in Semarang. She is a very committed humanitarian activist and very well known kebaya designer in Indonesia. My a designer point of view, her works are exquisite with a attention on details. From a humanitarian volunteer’s point of view, she is amazing! She’s one of the most inspiring person i’ve ever met. Just like us, she holds a full time job and running a charity organisation at the same time. In ten years, her organisation has assisted 700 children from poor families with rather severe and unusual illnesses, not just Hydrocephalus. The meeting was very warm and friendly but the story of her journey has humbled us in many ways.

At about 10.30, we left the cafe where we met then head down to grab a quick dinner. Then we quickly head down home trying to catch as much sleep as possible. Well, about 2.5 hours of sleep. It’s better than nothing I guess. :) Around 4.30 AM we left home and head down to the airport to catch 6AM flight to Semarang. Very went smoothly with His blessing and we reached Semarang 7AM without any delays.

Ibu Anne (that’s how we call her, Ibu means madam in Indonesian) has sent Ms. Margaretha and a driver to fetch us. How nice is she. Then we went straight to the Wisma Kasih Bunda (In indonesian, Wisma=Home, Kasih=Love, Bunda=Mother, so it’s like Home of the Mother’s Love). The home is very cosy and friendly, without any “clinical” feel. In that morning, there were 4 kids with Hydrocepalus and a gorgeous little girl who just had her 3rd surgery for Atresia Ani (born without anus). The kids are mostly accompanied by parents (mom or dad or both) or a guardian.

Wisma Kasih Bunda, Semarang, Indonesia.

A humble but cosy main hall where everyone stay.

Margaretha (Mbak Etha), Mbak Ani, Cynthia & Lia

After about 2 hours spending our time chatting with the parents, we left the home for some shopping. We needed to buy an extra bed and pillows for Yusra & his parents and some groceries (rice, milk, baby powder, etc.) for them.

Bargaining session

Milk powder, rice, cooking oil for the parents, powder for the kids, etc...

During our drive to the shops, we were told some interesting but serious stories by the nurses. Apparently, in that home, not only their medical skills are utilised. Their family counseling skills are equally important. Many parents got into some kind of depression after finding out that their kids are having hydrocephalus symptom. It even affect their marital relationship. Mbak Ani (one of the nurse) told us that they had to chase one of the dad who ran away by climbing up the fence. It’s kinda bizarre but apparently it is a very common and serious issues. In WKB, beside teaching the parents in post-operation treatments and therapy, the parents are encouraged to share their experiences and feeling. Hence they could learn and morally support each other. What a simple yet very effective method. We really like this aspect from WKB.

Parents share information, experience and supports each other.

After shopping, we got dropped of into the hotel and the nurses went straight to WKB with the goodies. With that, their “fridge” will be full again and ready to accommodate additional 3 mouths from Kayu Angik.

At about 4.15PM, we left the hotel again. This time we went to St. Elisabeth Hospital, where all WKB kids get their shunting operations done. We reached there just right at start of visiting hours. We went straight to the children ward to visit one of benefactor, Azis. He is about 2.5 month with hydrocephalus symptoms. Their parents found out about this when he was 6 days old. After several fail and lengthy attempts to get through “bureaucracy” in getting monetary support, his mother contacted WKB. Apparently she got the contact and information from her local midwife. When we reached, the baby was still unconscious, he was under GA. Then about 5 mins, he woke up. He cried and tried to do some “stretching” with his tiny hand still attached to a drip.

2.5 month old, Azis wakes up from his GA

Appreciative parents of Azis

We chatted with the parents for about 30 mins then we went to see Sr. Fidelia, one of the most important persons in bridging WKB and St. Elisabeth Hospital. She is also the fund manager of WKB. We shared the stories of how we came across with this effort and discussed about how THF could assist them in promoting hydrocephalus awareness. We find that by having this awareness, more mothers could get their kids treated at the early stage. This will give them a much bigger chance to grow as a normal kid, who can walk, play and even study. Sr. Fidelia is very humble despite her high position in the hospital. We really appreciate her sharing as it gave us a much more understanding on how WKB work with the hospital and the formation of WKB. Just like THF, it started with a strong desire, passion and love in serving humanity voluntarily. Their objective is very simple, to make the kids acceptable in the family and society as a human. Not necessarily to be as a “normal” kid.

During the conversation, Yusra dad called from Jakarta. Their flight got delayed for about 1.5 hours. That means we had 1.5 hour to kill. Mbak Etha suggested to visit an orphanage for kids with multiple disability. Then we left the hospital and went straight to Bhakti Asih orphanage. It is a very cosy, simple and well taken care place for these unfortunate kids. I will tell you more about the kids from that orphanage on the next update.

After that, we head down straight to the airport. Alas, the flight got delayed further, another 30 mins. Then we decided to have our dinner and bought some food for Yusra’s parents.
About 8.30PM, Yusra’s dad called us informing us that they have reached Semarang. I must say that it’s IMPRESSIVE considering this is the first time the fly with transit in Jakarta. I should give a credit to Felix too, our volunteer in Padang, for giving a good brief to the flight attendance to ensure Yusra and his parents are well taken care of during the transit. Then without any delay we went straight to WKB. Ms. Zulhalifah, Yusra’s mom didn’t have any trouble with the flight but seemed to have some problems with the drive. She vomited many times a long the way. Thank goodness it was not a long drive. Yusra is even stronger. No problem all the way from Kayu Angik (their village) to Semarang. He is indeed a very stronger boy!

After about 20-30 minutes drive, we reached WBK. The new mattress is here with 2 brand new pillows. So, all set. The family will be sleeping there for the next 2 weeks. After settling them in and had a short chat with them, we called it a day. Just before we left, the whole fatique suddenly got wiped off all of a sudden. Yusra smiled to us! It was a very sweet and sincere smile. I do not why he did it but I could feel that he knows us and really appreciate our efforts. How i wish i could bring all of you to witness this sweet and gentle moment. According to his mom, Yusra almost never smiled before. Amazing!
We left WBK smiling. Day 1 mission has been accomplished.
Time to get some sleep for another long day tomorrow.

Stay tuned for Day 2 reports….

God bless the babies and their families

Yusra, his mom & dad are going to Semarang

2010-03-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

What a lovely day today..

This week we have made arrangement with Wisma Kasih in Semarang and Yusra's family. I spoke Yusra's mother on the phone and offered her to go to Semarang to learn from the community there how to best care for Yusra at this moment. I'm happy to say that she's enthusiastic about this, and after a discussion with her extended family, they decided that she (Zul Halifah), her husband (Rudy), and Yusra are going.

Felix settled their tickets and transportation just yesterday. The plan is our good driver friend Mr. Zal Raya is going to pick them up at their home at Kayu Angik and take them to Padang airport where Felix will be waiting. They will fly to Jakarta, change flight and continue to Semarang. Willy will fly from Singapore and meet them at Semarang. All this will happen THIS SATURDAY :)

In Semarang, Willy will be meeting with Ms. Margaretha who takes care of Wisma Kasih and will discuss a lot of details arrangement for Yusra and the fund.

I feel excitement for Yusra's little family, as this is will be the first time they travel together alone without their extended family. It should be quite an experience for three of them, a good opportunity to bond as family, and to see other families. So beautiful... :)

Keep praying that this weekend all things will went accordingly and happen the way it should. We will keep you updated.

Peace be with you...

Susanna

Yusra is going to have some friends

2010-03-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends in Humanity,

First of all, thank you for your supports.

Since we are not going to have the expensive and painful cranial surgery, we are going to bring this mission further and broader. We're going to use it to help more poor kids with serious illnesses, particularly hydrocephalus. Of course without forgetting our main mission, to support our dear little friend, Yusra.
After having a discussion with the major donors, we have decided to split the fund into 2, Yusra and Yusra's Friends Fund. Here are the details:

TOTAL fund raised: S$ 66,041.00

YUSRA FUND
S$ 26,041.00 to be allocated for Yusra, which will cover:

• First operation and all the necessities.(Up till now, we have used about $4,000.00 from YUSRA FUND and about $1,000.00 from THF Fund. More complete expenditure will be posted soon)

• Flying Yusra and his parents to Semarang to get the therapy and trainings. Apparently this is something that is more important than the shunt insertion operation. Something that is more tedious and require constant effort from his parents. We've spoken to Wisma Kasih Bunda, a Semarang based organisation that focuses on Hydrocephalus with track record of about 500 cases, about post operation therapy that could help the child to catch up with all the necessary motoric skills. Hoping the kids can learn how to turn the body (Yusra must not sleep on his back all the time as it might create some wounds at the back of his head from the shunt, hence infection), to get up, to sit down (very essential for the schooling, to sit down on the chair just like the rest of the classmates) or even to walk.

• To provide sufficient nutrients & hygiene for Yusra.

• To fund future scanning and shunt replacement. Based on a Singapore based Neurosurgeon, Yusra's hope to become normal again, is almost zero. Almost, meaning we can still pray for another miracle, which have been happening to him recently. Hence, we're planning to monitor his development. Most probably around 6-12 months after past operation, we are going to do another scan to monitor it. Furthermore, based on local Padang's senior neurosurgeon, Yusra might need to replace his shunt when he reaches 5 year old. He needs a longer shunt by then, due to his growth.

• To support Yusra's family. We're hoping we could help them to improve their family welfare so the parents will be able to afford a long term support for Yusra or even his future siblings. His family should be able to have healthy children again as Yusra's hydrocephalus is not congenital.

YUSRA'S FRIENDS FUND

S$ 40,000.00 to be allocated to help more poor kids with serious illnesses, particularly hydrocephalus.
Learning from this effort, early intervention is the best way to help hydrocephalus patients. The longer we take the harder for them to recover. When we found Yusra, his case was already very severe.
During our research, we have spoken and consulted to a few hydrocephalus experts. One of them is the Wisma Kasih Bunda, mentioned earlier. I personally have spoken to the nurse and the managers of the foundation. They are really good at what they are doing and very consistent. Their knowledge, approaches and methods are impressive. Simple, realistic and very effective. During our conversation, we found out that they might have 5 kids are "in queue" for the treatments, due to their limited capacity and funding. With this fund, i believe we can help them to get the treatments earlier, cutting short the "queue time".

So, that's the plan.
As you can see, this effort is going broader and deeper. Please continue to support Yusra and his friends.

This weekend, Cynthia (THF Indonesia) and I are going to bring Yusra to Wisma Kasih Bunda in Semarang, central Java. He will be flying from Padang with his father and mother. Yes, we have checked with his doctor and he gets a green light for flying short distance trips (about 2 hour from Padang to Semarang). Especially after the improvement of his health. Based on our teleconversation with his mother, ibu Zul, Yusra's head is getting smaller and his operation wound on his head is healing really well. She sounded excited and very motivated after we offer them the therapy sessions which will take about 2 weeks. During this learning session, they will meet other families with similar problems there. We are hoping that this could give them some moral supports and knowledge sharing among each other or even

(Thank you Google for the map)

Please pray for the success of this mission and stay tuned for more updates soon.

Yusra Next Step!

2010-03-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

On Wednesday 24 Feb, Willy and I meet our good neurosurgeon adviser in his office in Singapore, equipped with Yusra CT Scan and his x-ray results. He is a trully good man and capable doctor. He explain Yusra's results to us in details and showed us examples from other cases of hydrocephalus that he handles so that we understand the severity of Yusra's condition.

(Due to confidentiality, we could only show everyone the thumbnail size of the scans)

Thus this is the summary of Yusra's condition:
The brain has different parts that work together and are responsible for different functions, and they are as follow:
1. the cerebrum, especially the pre-frontal cortex, is the “thinking part” of the brain. The pre-central gyrus of the frontal lobe controls your voluntary muscles — the ones that move when you want them to.
2. The cerebellum or hindbrain controls balance, movement, and coordination. As a result of a functioning cerebellum, you can stand upright, keep your balance, and move around.
3. The brain stem has centres that control all the functions your body needs to stay alive, like breathing, maintaining your blood pressure and heart function and functioning of the gut.

Of course, not one single part of the brain works on its own. All parts of the brain are integrated and work together so that we can function the way we are.

Based on the CT Scan, it appears that Yusra is left with only the brain stem, which explain why he can still eat and has basic functions that keeps him alive. However, the enormous pressure from the brain fluid that has been accumulating since he was 6 days old, has damaged whatever cerebral brain tissue he had. From the scans, Yusra has almost no cerebrum and his cerebellum is very tiny - which means he won't be able to move on his own, even lifting up his head, or think and understand what he hears. Thus, the painful and expensive cranial surgery is not going to help him any further.

We also learned that hydrocephalus is commonly caused by the blockage of the brain cerebral spinal fluid pathways. Thus the fluid will accumulate and create outward pressure on the brain and skull. The pressure in the head will increase the head if the child is young and his skull sutures have not already fused. It will also prevent the growth of the brain. After looking at Yusra’s video taken during our trip to Kayu Angik, our neurosurgeon adviser is of the opinion that Yusra’s hydrocephalus is not congenital or of genetic origin . Hence, if his parents were to have another child, it is likely that the child will be normal.

After a discussion we decided that there is nothing else we can do for him in terms of medical treatment. Instead, we will try to get him good care so that at least he can have the attention and care that he needs (nutrients, hygiene stuff, etc). We will also try to get a physiotherapist to teach Yusra's mother how to take care of Yusra’s special needs, such as making sure Yusra's lying position is changed from time to time, muscle stimulation massage, etc.

Another thing is we find it necessary to help Yusra mother to also get on with her live by introducing her to other women who has similar children so she can have a little bit of community to relate too.

We are thinking of contacting the “Wisma Kasih”, a small foundation that focuses on hydrocephalus treatment in Semarang since 2002, to ask for their support on physiotheraphy and whatever therapies that are necessary for Yusra. This means we will need to fly them to Semarang. However, if anybody know any physiotherapists in Padang region, do contact us right away.

As for the rest of the fund, Willy and I will try to meet with our main donor last Wednesday (3 March) proposing to use the remaining fund to help other children suffering from similar to Yusra. Of course, and sum will be set aside to take Yusra all the way. We are thinking of supporting the work by “Wisma Kasih” Foundation. The donors have agreed on this so a follow up posting will provide a more detail information on this bit once we have confirmed and do check-up on the foundation.

Lastly but very important for me to share, this whole effort to help Yusra makes me realized that God really have His own way in helping his beloved children. Though Yusra didn't get healed and back on his feet as what I imagine to be the solution but the number of people whose live has been touched through out the process was just amazing. Every time I told the story of Yusra, people will node in amazement and believe that God does exist... :) Beautiful.. really beautiful..

Thank you everyone for your enormous trust and support, I'm certain that God will repay you kindness 1000 fold or even more.

Keep remembering Yusra in your prayer...

Susanna
on behalf The Humanity Forum team

Home Sweet Home...

2010-02-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Several things have happened during the weekend and they are all good ones. :)

1. Yusra is back in Kayu Angik.
After being away for about 3 weeks, Yusra, his mom and granny are back into their village, Kayu Angik. His father was very happy to see them all back at home. What makes him even happier is the fact that Yusra's condition is improving. This joy was conveyed through our Jakarta coordinator, Yuni, who managed to speak to him over the phone, earlier today.

2. We've received Yusra's medical records.
Susanna who was in Bandung, has received his medical records and CT Scan results from our Padang coordinators. Without any delays, we have sent them out to 2 doctors, Dr. Endro in Yogyakarta and Dr. Seow in Singapore for further examination. They are going to advise us on the next step. This is going to be our main focus for now.

3. Nutrition Support.
At the same time, we are looking for some pediatric nutritionists who can advise us on how to give Yusra a boost in nutrients. This will definitely help Yusra to recover from the surgery and to build more strength and antibody. If you know anybody, or if you are a nutritionist in Jakarta, please contact us (willy@thehumanityforum.org).

We're going to try to speak to Yusra's parents again soon to get more details on Yusra's condition.
So stay tuned for more updates.

Please keep praying for our little friend, Yusra.

Thank you very much.
May God bless Yusra and you all!

Handling Hydrocephalus Cases in Indonesia

2010-02-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Supporters,

First of all, we’d like to thank you for you support.

With this opportunity, we’d like to update everyone on the ground work that we’ve been working on, while we are waiting for Yusra to recover from the surgery. The past few days, we’ve been doing a lot of researches on Hydrocephalus cases in Indonesia. It seems that the country has quite a number of such cases, particularly in poorer parts of the country. However, we were quite surprised that there are only a few organizations focusing on this. We managed to contact one of them, Wisma Kasih Bunda, in Semarang, central Java.

Ms. Ani, one of the nurses in that home, explained to us about how they handle hydrocephalus cases. Shunt insertion surgery appears to be the most important and THE ONLY surgery required for now. As the patient grow, they will need to adjust the size of the shunt through further surgeries. Apparently they do not perform the Cranial Reduction surgery as it is very expensive and very risky. What they focus more is on the long term physiotherapy and regular massage on the babies.

For Yusra case, she is suggesting us to wait until he is fully recovered from the surgery, then to go for physiotherapy to train all his motoric ability, which he has not been exposed previously. Furthermore, Ms. Any also suggested to get Yusra’s mother to learn it in greater depth so Yusra could practice it at the comfort of his home. Well, may be once or twice a month, they will still need to go to the physiotherapist in Padang. Besides that, she also recommended regular massages on Yusra without touching his head. However, on top of everything, good nutrients will be the most crucial things for his recovery. I guess we will need to prepare quite a number of stuffs for Yusra when he returns home and for the next several years ahead.

In Padang, we received a little “glimpse of light” on getting Yusra’s CT scan earlier, before he gets discharged from the hospital. However, this could not be confirmed yet. Once we receive them, we will bring them to Yogyakarta and Singapore for further analysis by our supporting neurosurgeons. Hence, that will be the time for us to decide if we are going for the high risk Cranial Reduction surgery or any other surgeries/treatments or even go for the safest option, no surgery.

Please continue to pray for our little friends.
May God bless him with the best possible way of recovery.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Yusra and the next step...

2010-01-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

Good morning,

Latest update from our volunteer Felix & Eko:
Yusra is recovering well although he's still have fever at times. He's head size is slowly getting smaller. He will stay in the in Yos Sudarso until he's fully recover from the surgery for perhaps another weeks or so.

Felix and Eko are trying to ask permission to get the CTscan and medical record of Yusra from the hospital so we can send them to dr. Endro in Yogyakarta

Now, from our side this is what we are trying to do:
The doctor in Padang as I said last time seems to think that this surgery is final for Yusra. Nothing else we can do for him but wait until he grows up and few more surgery will be done to replace the tube with larger one. Then wait until his body size can support his head weigh than he can start to learn walking and all that.

However looking at Yusra, how he eat and how high his will to live, I feel there's still further step that we can do for him. So now we are trying to consult with other neurosurgeons to have a second opinion on Yusra. We looking at the possibility to have the next surgery "Treatment of enlarged skull." I'm not a doctor but I figured if Yusra's head can be made smaller now, his head size will be proportionate with his body and he can then learn to walk now. If let's say he live up to 30 years, he still have 28 years to learn to be himself... can he not do it?

However in order to do all the above we need his medical records in which the hospital is not willing to release if Yusra is still being treated at Yos Sudarso - this is Yos Sudarso policy.

I called dr Endro, he's willing to take a look at Yusra case once we can have the his medical records. So if Felix is not able to get the result now, that means will have to wait until Yusra released from the hospital.

That's is for now... we will update once we have further news..

Please keep praying that we have doctors that will be EAGER to help Yusra further.
The reason I'm saying this is because in Indonesia, Yusra is just another unfortunate case..marginalized by the life situation here. It's challenging to get attention for Yusra and try to convince the doctors that he is worthy of their help. On top of that the number of doctors around are not enough to handle all the cases.
I really felt like a beggar in the face of Indonesian doctors...
This is a challenge we are facing as volunteers.. so please pray for all of us too to have the patient and keep on focusing on Yusra...

God bless...
Susanna

Yusra Went Through His First Surgery

2010-01-27T01:46:00.000-08:00

We have received some of the images from Padang. Unfortunately, there isn't any official information about how the surgery went yet. The surgeon in charge only come in in the late evening. So stay tuned for more updates.

Support Yusra Now!

Yusra's Getting Ready for His Operation

2010-01-26T01:14:00.000-08:00

We just received another update from our Padang coordinator, Felix.
Yusra has recovered from his cough and all the skins problems on his scalp (fungal infection and scabs). Now, he is ready for his first operation, the insertion of a shunt to drain away the fluid that is accumulating (and being continually produced) in his brain.
The operation is scheduled this evening 8 PM local time (9PM SG time).

Please pray for the success of this operation and his speedy recovery.
God bless Yusra...

Yusra's condition just before the operation:

Yusra's condition when we met him for the first time:

For more information of the treatments, please visit the Treatment Page in the official website of Please Help Yusra to "Get Up" efforts.

Thank You All Donors

2010-01-26T01:04:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, 23 January 2010, The New Paper (TNP) of Singapore Press Holding (SPH) published another article about Please Help Yusra to "Get Up" effort. This time is about our donor. Kindly click on the thumbnail below to read the article.

With this opportunity, on behalf of The Humanity Forum, I'd like to express a heartfelt thank you, to all our donors. Your donation will give a great opportunity for Yusra to get back his normal childhood.
Further more, your support on this effort gives us the volunteers a huge moral support.

May God bless you all and Yusra abundantly.

THANK YOU!

Two Yusra's videos uploaded!... finally

2010-01-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

Finally,

Manage to find a internet gaming cafe who has a good internet connection so manage to upload two videos of Yusra when we picked him up at his home in Kayu Aur, Padang.

1. Yusra listening to his great grand mother telling his stories

2. Yusra taking a bath

I'll try to upload more videos.. got to go now.... :)

Peace be with you..

Susanna signing out from Jakarta

Latest Update on Yusra

2010-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I'm reporting from Jakarta... :)

Tuesday morning we went to visit Yusra and spoke to dr. Valentin Mariani, she is the GP that handles Yusra's case while he is in Yos Sudarso hospital. Right now Yusra has a flu and cough and skin problem (just look at his head) so they will treat those first before scheduled him for the surgery. We don't know how long it will take for Yusra to be cured of his flu and skin desease, it could be two or three weeks. So we decided to let Yusra stay in the hospital to receive all the necesarry care he needs as long as necessary thus we will look for a place to stay for his mother, father and grandma.

Yusra on Tuesday night..looks better and calmer, able to sleep well cause the doctors has been putting some medicine for his skin, so he doesn't feel icthy anymore.

Again by the grace of God, everything was so smooth and easy for us considering we don't know anyone at all in Padang. That Tuesday afternoon with the help from Father Franco, the parish priest of Yos Sudarso area we met with Carlo (Eko) - apparently his been helping a lot of patients who need to locate a temporary room to rent. Fitri, Eko, and my self went around to look for a room. After looking at three places we found a a simple room for Yusra's family to stay, the landlord is very friendly and helpful and the location is just five mins walk opposite the hospital.

We rented a room in this house for Yusra's mother Zul halifah and grandma Darmiati. Rudy, Yusra father decided to go back to his village and will come back when the operation date is fix.

Wednesday...

Yusra's dad is getting more and more affectionate towards Yusra! and Yusra smiles... Fitria and I were so delighted to see his smile :)...

We went around 10am to fecth Yusra's fam to seetle in the room and paid a month rent for them. We leave them there and went to talk to dr Mariani who told me that dr. Syaiful had read the CTScan result and basically said that what Yusra will undergo is as explained in our website, the first surgery - "the Treatment of hydrocephalus. This is done via insertion of a shunt to drain away the fluid that is accumulating (and being continually produced) in his brain." She also said that's the best they can do for Yusra over there in Padang. After they insert the shunt, what Yusra can expect is to just wait until his body grows bigger, enough to support the weight of his head, then he can start to learn to walk, etc. By the way the hospital policy doesn't allow the CTScan result to be release until Yusra is release from the hospital so we can't ask for second opinion from other doctor.

However, looking at Yusra, and later you will be able to see your self from videos that we'll upload, his will to live is very high. He has a good appetite and responsive when people talk to him, wants to move his body around though he can't. And he actually smiles when his mother play with him. I'm not a doctor but looking at him, I know we should be able to do more for him.

So I have made a copy of Yusra videos and photos, ask Fitri to bring the disk and talk about the posibility for next step with doctor Endro in Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, Willy will have a copy to ask opinion from our Singapore doctor.

We left some money to Felix our coordinator in Padang, so he will do the daily visits to check on Yusra development and update us with picture of Yusra. Felix will coordinate a Padang team consisting of his friends to make sure that Yusra's fam has a daily visitors from on of our team.

All that done, we rushed done to Minagkabau airport and manage to catch afternoon flight.

Fitri is back in Yogyakarta now...

That's it from me now..

Videos of Yusra coming soon..

Peace be with you..

Susanna

Photo Report on Yusra's Journey to Yos Sudarso hospital in Padang

2010-01-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

These are some photos on Yusra from our journey to Kayu Angik village to pick up Yusra and family to bring them to Yos Sudarso Hospital in Padang. We also have some videos but trying to find the best way to shrink the file sizes.

Susanna, Yuni, & Fitri meeting with the head village (the one with a cap). Aside to our initial assumption he was very open and gives us his approval to further talk to Yusra's family about our intention to bring Yusra for treatment.

We meet with the whole family Yusra's father & mother, grandparents and his two great grandmothers; and also their neighbours and everyone who happened to hear that we came to help Yusra. Us showing up to help Yusra is a "Big Thing" there.

Thank God, again the talk with Yusra's family went on very smooth. We explain to them how we manage to gather fund to help Yusra and that this fund is not from anyone but strangers who simply care and empathize with Yusra and family. That this is purely helping hand from fellow human beings :)... The family were very grateful and accepted our intentions, they offered three of us to stay in their house for the night.

We were so tired from the long journey each of us had took that day but we were blessed to be able to see the sky that night. Outside Yusra's house there's no light at all, the sky was super clear, we saw billions of stars filling up the night... plus we get to see a falling star, the orion was so clear and visible.. that night we retired & slept with a grateful heart... :)

The next morning....

We woke up finding everyone in the house already do their daily house duty, even the two great grandmas had a duty in the house. In the 2nd photo great grandma Tialauwiyah was playing with Yusra and was telling her stories in Minang language.

Yuni measured the circumference of Yusra's head...it's 74cm or about 29.13inch

Yusra daily routines: his mom Zul Halifah with bathed and powdered him. Gradma Darmiati with feed him breakfast. After all these chores done by around 9am then they with have their breakfast.

Yusra's family from left to right:

great grandma Tialauwiyah (85yo), great grandma Sarimah (85yo), dad Rudy Hartono - checker box shirt (29yo), mom Zul Halifah (23yo) with Yusra on her lap, grandma Darmiati (45yo) - in pink shirt, and grandpa Zubirman (55yo).

Ready to Padang...

IN PADANG....

We reached the hospital around 3pm. We register Yusra as stay-in patient and took care all the paperwork. We put a deposit to pay for his room, ct-scan, medical check-up, medicine, lab test, and surgery.

This is a GP doctor who find out from Yusra's history from his mother. She referred us to local on-call neuro surgeon who's happens to be at Yos Sudarso hospital that afternoon...

guest who is the neuro-surgeon?????..... dr Syaiful Saanin... the one we have been trying to contact a few day ago! Life is funny indeed.... anyway...

After all the admin paperwork done, Yusra was sent for a CT Scan... the result should be out by today....

Yusra in his hospital room, his room class is Class III, all other room are full but this room is not bad, two child in a room with air-conditioning. Two person is allowed to stay with him, thus his mother and father stayed for the night.

We bought all the necessary stuff for Yusra and parents, powder milk, flask, tooth brushes, etc.

Then we bring Yusra's grandma to stay in the near by inn with us.

That's all for now... we'll keep you all updated on Yusra's health check results.

adios for now..... Peace be with you all...

Susanna and Fitria

P.S. Yuni is back in Jakarta this afternoon.

Yusra got his CT Scan

2010-01-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

What a good news that we received yesterday. Yes, Yusra finally got his proper scanning.

The trios, together with Yusra, his parents and one of his grandmothers, left Kayu Angik for Padang around 11AM local time. It was a long drive but Yusra was pretty strong to endure the trip. He was even stronger than his mother who had vomit a few times due to her motion sickness.

Around 2PM, they stopped for a quick meal before they went to Yos Sudarso Hospital. After that, they went straight to the hospital. Apparently the situation was quite hectic there. Lots of paper works, discussions with the senior neurosurgeon, crying Yusra and also crying parent. However, everybody was happy because baby Yusra finally get his CT scan and blood test. The result will most probably come out later today.

After settling all the hospital stuffs, the trios went to arrange Yusra's parents accommodation. Since both Yusra's mother and grandmother are going to accompany Yusra, they needed their sleeping gears. So the trios went to get them, a couple of simple foldable mattresses and also other stuff. His dad is going to stay in nearby budget hotel.

Just before they end their long and hectic day, the trios had another briefing session with our local coordinator, Felix.

Good job, THF's Angels!

Later today, we are going to get the result of the scan and the blood test. Dr. Syaiful Saanin -the senior surgeon who is handling this case, is going to advise us on the first surgery, inserting a shunt to drain away the fluid that is accumulating (and being continually produced) in his brain.

Stay Tuned for more updates and perhaps some latest pictures or even videos of Yusra, later this evening!

Support Yusra Now!

Discussion Went Well! Yusra is Getting Ready for His Scanning.

2010-01-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

After fetching Yuni and Fitria from the airport -arriving from Jakarta and Yogyakarta, the 3 brave THF's angels left for Kayu Angik. Then around 5.30 PM local time, they reached there safely without any delays. Nani, our local contact in Kayu Angik, had arranged a meeting with the Hamlet Head and Yusra parents in the evening. Everything went smoothly and they've decided to leave Kayu Angik tomorrow morning 11AM for Padang. WELL DONE! Finally Yusra gets the opportunity for a proper scanning in a hospital. Our coordinator in Padang Felix, will get all the hospital side ready, including the doctor who will take a look at Yusra's CT scans. Her name is Dr. Beby.

Tonight, the ladies are going to stay with Yusra family in their humbled house. "Their life is really simple indeed. No electricity, oil lamps for lighting, wood-fire stove, but they seem to be a loving family" Susanna mentioned it in her SMS. Then she added this about Yusra, "He's sleeping now but i think his will to live is strong! His grip is strong, very good appetite. But poor thing, his head seems to be very itchy..."

Good Job, ladies!

Getting Ready for Kayu Angik

2010-01-16T05:26:00.000-08:00

After going through some difficulties in arranging with a local surgeon -mentioned earlier on previous blog, Susanna has finally settled it. Earlier today, she went to see the head of Yos Sudarso hospital to discuss about this matter. Then, we've decided to consult the upcoming scanning result with another local doctor and then 2 senior surgeons in Yogyakarta and Singapore. So, on medical side, everything is ready to go.

Tomorrow afternoon, Susanna with 2 other companies Yuni and Fitria, ex-TEAM 9, will leave Padang for Kayu Angik. We hope everything - particularly the discussion with local "authority", will go smoothly. If so, Yusra should be able to get his scanning either on Monday or Tuesday.

Please pray for them and Yusra.

Support Yusra Now!

Greetings from Padang

2010-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I arrived last night and today I have moved to a boarding house like to save cost because it seems things will take a little while to settle.

On the medical side here're latest:

1. MRI option is out. Felix went around to the only three hospitals in Padang, all their MRI machine were damage due to the earthquake and Padang is the biggest in this province so other town all go to Padang.

2. The only option is to go for CT scan at Yos Sudarso hospital as it is the only CT scan machine available.

3. Tried to call dr. Syaiful Saanin by recommendation of dr Endro Basuki (a neuro surgeon in Yogyakarta) to ask him to help to read the result for the CT scan and perhaps handle this case in Padang. However he is not contactable at all, thus after discussion with dr Endro. We are just going to bring Yusra as walk-in patient to Yos Sudarso hospital and get him checked.

On Yusra's side:

1. Turns out to bring Yusra to the hospital and ask the family to receive our help will need more than Yusra's family consent. The way the culture here is the village elder in their effort to protect their village member they need to be notified and involved in the whole process and must give their consent.

So, we must follow the local culture and get the permission before we can talk to Yusra's family.

That's what Greg is trying to arrange here. He's been trying to contact the village elder by phone but he has not pick up. Looking at things we'll probably can only go there tomorrow afternoon or Sunday.

Cheers,

Susanna

Susanna Arrived in Padang ...with a Little Surprise

2010-01-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

After almost 1 whole day of flying and lots of waiting, Susanna has finally reached Padang around 6:37 PM local time. She was fetched by our coordinator Felix. After a quick discussion with him, she's settled in a local inn for a night.

"hi, i've settled in nicely at the inn. journey was slow, lot's of delay but smooth sailing. tom will move in to another place to stay and plan the trip to kayu angik."

So what is the little surprise? Well, early this morning, our coordinator just found out that all 3 MRI scanning facilities in Padang are NOT in service. They were damaged by the recent quake and still not fixed yet. The only option available is the CT scan in Yos Sudarso Hospital, the only one in town! Then we called up Dr. Endro Basuki, one of our advisors, to discuss about this issue. He said CT is good enough for the time being. Phew....
A little hiccups but everything is going smoothly....

Tomorrow, Susanna and Greg are heading up to Kayu Angik to see Yusra!
Stay tuned for more updates!

Support Yusra Now!

Susanna's on her way to Padang

2010-01-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

After a substantial amount of ground work has been in Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Padang, we are ready for the real action! Susanna, the team leader of this initiative is heading to Padang tomorrow. Her mission this time is to complete these following tasks:

1. To discuss this initiative with Yusra's family in details. A level of expectation needs to be established on his parents sides. 2 senior surgeons in Yogyakarta and Singapore are indicating a very low percentage of recovery. However, this verdict is not final as they need to see the actual scanning of Yusra's head and other necessary datas.

2. To bring Yusra and his family to Padang for an MRI scan. The family might need to stay in Padang for a while till the result is out. She also need to explain and discuss about all the situations with them.

3. To discuss with the local surgeon about the next step. At the same time, she is going to try her best to send the results to both Yogyakarta and Singapore for second and third opinions.

4. To assist Yusra and his family with all logistical issues when they are going for the next stage, The Treatment. This could happen in Padang or Yogyakarta.

5. To make sure everything runs smoothly and also to provide reports to all the donors.

FYI, all required logistics have been prepared by our coordinators in Padang, Felix and Greg.
Susanna's trip to Padang is funded by THF, without touching any cents from Yusra's treatment fund. All her lodgings, food and some expenditure will be covered with THF Fund*.
Please pray for her and the success of her mission. And of course, do pray for the health and strength for our dear friend Yusra. May he get well soon.
Thank you.

Support Yusra Now!

*About THF Fund

THF Fund is a pool of fund collected throughout the year by The Humanity Forum. This fund will go towards all our humanitarian activities as well as future plans of providing:

> Skill Training
> Scholarships
> Nutrition/Feeding Programs

> Humanitarian Missions

>And other activities with Humanitarian objective

Why do we need this ready fund? It’s been proven that whenever disaster strikes, many humanitarian missions, including TEAM 9, face a lot of difficulties in getting funding. As much as we can take our time to get the funding, unfortunately, the victims cannot afford to wait. The number of casualties may rise due to the slow respond of aid and hence, we hope that the THF Fund will be the answer of this problem.

Official Help Yusra to "Get Up" Effort Website is ONLINE!

2010-01-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends in Humanity,

Thank you for all the hardwork in serving humanity.

Happy to let you all know the website that will serve as information centre for Yusra is up.

www.thehumanityforum.org/yusra

With this website up you can help to spread the news about Yusra and found:
1. Background information on Yusra
2. Background information on us
3. The progress
4. How to help and donate.

Please share it with your friends and create more awareness about this effort.
We are targeting to raise SGD 40K for the whole treatment and other logistic needs.
Lets give your best shot and save this innocent life.

May God bless us all and our little friend Yusra.

All the best and may the Gob be with us!

Susanna

Felix - Our new coordinator in Padang :)

2010-01-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Felix, welcome on board!

He's our new coordinator in Padang. His role is to support Greg in getting our Stage 1 done.

He is a cousin of Nita (THF Jakarta) and a true Humanitarian Activist. Apparently during the quake, he drove ambulance around to help whoever needed it. Well done Felix.

:))
Susanna

Yusra on Asia One Health online!!!!

2010-01-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

This link is informed to us by Tara Tan...Thank you for that.

http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100105-189859.html

Peace,
Susanna

Inquiries on Yusra flood our mail boxes

2010-01-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Great news everyone!

Ever since Yusra was featured on the 2nd of Jan on The New Paper. Inquiries have flooded our (Willy and myself) mail boxes asking how to donate for Yusra. Some told us that they are collecting money from their circle of friends, some give suggestion to produce merchandise for Yusra for fund raising, and the inquiries are still flowing.

However, just yesterday afternoon we received our first donation coming from a stranger who read about Yusra on The New Paper. We are so touched by this person generosity not only because the sum is really a lot but the fact that he trust us with such large sum of money... it is just simply amazing. At this point of time we do not have a THF bank account so all donation will be stores under Willy's personal bank account for now.. so realizing this reality and still trusting us is just amazing act on his side.

We will start posting all names that have contributed and keep you all updated on the total donation collected.

Another great news, Mr. Greg is joining our effort from Padang. He has agreed to help us find out about the hospital so we can quickly decided weather we need to bring Yusra to Yogyakarta or he can be diagnose in Padang.

Thank you all for your support for Yusra!...

Let's keep the good works and praise God for his love....

Peace to you all my friends,
Susanna

Establishing STAGE 1 for Yusra...

2010-01-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

We are contacting some people in Padang, trying to establish a contact point in Padang to help us find out:

1. weather there's a neuro surgeon in Padang who can help him. If there is may be the diagnosis can be done in Padang. If there isn't, based on recommendations from dr. Sudiharto we will bring Yusra to dr. Sardjito public hospital Yogyakarta for diagnosis.
2. Help with the logistic to bring Yusra, his mother, and possibly his father to Yogyakarta.
If this is the case them most probably THF will also send a representative to talk and explain to Yusra mother face to face and accompany her to Yogyakarta and help her settle in.

The aim for our Stage 1 is to get Yusra diagnose and find out the treatment plan for him thus will be able to estimate the cost...

Mean time we fund raising is done concurrently.

Happy New Year, God bless us all..
Susanna

Yusra on The New Paper

2010-01-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Yusra story was published on The New Paper - 2 January 2010 edition!!

And here's the online version:
http://www.tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,225703-1262469540,00.html?

Hopefully we'll receive positive responses...

Peace,
Susanna

1 Jan 2010, interview with Yusra mother by Yuni.

2010-01-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, I was only able to give updates now.

I just succeed to contact the Yusra's mother, after intermittent
signal when I call my father Yusra yesterday.

I've done interviews with the Yusra's mother
and below are the results of the interview:

Q: When did you realize there's something wrong with Yusra conditions?
A: Since the birth Yusra was already seen as being wrong, especially
the situation head bigger than it should. The doctor had advised to
conduct operations from the age of 6 days.

Q: What business is done?
A: with the doctor, the way out is surgery, while families can not
afford to pay for operating expenses.
In addition to the doctor, got treated to a traditional healer. but
only given traditional medicines and there is absolutely no change or
progress toward recovery.

Q: What is the cost of operation at that time?
A: At that time operating costs Rp. 8.000.000,00

Q: What feelings about the condition of Yusra's mother?
A: Very sad. felt sorry.

Q: What is the greatest hope to see Yusra be normal and be like other kids?
A: Yes, I hope Yusra can be cured like any other child. I hope. Yusra
be healed with surgery.

Q: with a volunteer who can help, what hope can happen quickly or not?
A: Of course, I still hope to recover Yusra, I just hope someone can
help, since honestly we were not able to cover operating costs.

Q: What about Yusra current conditions:
A: Yusra current health condition, good eating. in the present age of
13 months, his weight 14 kg now.

Sorry for late update from me, I've tried my best.

Yuni.

Yusra will be featured on a Singapore newspaper

2009-12-30T05:38:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

God has shown more steps for us to further help Yusra. Thanks to our networks of great friends..
A local Singapore newspaper is going to feature Yusra's case. Hopefully this will bring individuals and institutions to step up and offer their hands to help him. The article is being prepare, will let you know where to find it once it's finished.

The objective of this article are:
1. Get a neurosurgeon and/or a hospital who's willing to take on Yusra's case so he can get a proper diagnosis.
2. Get the funding.

Additional information on Yusra's health is that getting operation for his large head is one thing but the real issue is the sub-sequent treatments that he needed...

Peace,
Susanna

Dr, Sudiharto from Gajah Mada University found an affordable Hydroceplahlus tools that might be able to help our friend Yusra

2009-12-21T18:32:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

Great news!!!
A doctor in Indonesia from Gajah Mada University apparently just patent an affordable therapy tools to treat hydrocephalus patient. His name is Dr. dr. P. Sudiharto, Sp.BS.

The full article of his work can be found in:
http://www.ugm.ac.id/index.php?page=rilis&artikel=2443

We are trying to find out his contact number now so we can ask him about Yusra.

Keep your prayers for Yusra going... :)

Susanna

New Info on Yusra's Situation

2009-12-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we received a piece of information from a surgeon in Singapore. He says, "... he [Yusra] may have Paget's disease. Hydrocephalus is a symptom not a diagnosis. May be a Chiari Malformation causing hydrocephalus but bottom line is he needs a scan and his history taken."

Please help us to help Yusra....

If you:
1. are a doctor and interested in helping us...
2. have some good connections to good surgeons in Indonesia or Singapore that could give us a super special price...
3. are interested in helping this boy (any amounts is helpful)...
...please contact us right away:
willy - willy@thehumanityforum.org
susi - sutagu@gmail.com

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Please Help Yusra to "Get Up"

2009-12-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

During our humanitarian mission to Pariaman earlier this month. We met a boy who's been diagnosed (from a quick visual diagnose by TEAM 9's doctor) with Hydrocephalus.

The little boy with a "big head"

His name is Yusra Al Fazri.
He is also one of the victims of the recent giant quake that hit Pariaman region, western Sumatra island of Indonesia. He is only about 12 month old but the pain that he is handling is just enormous.

He was borned in Padang through caesarean from the womb of his mother, Zulhalifah (23 y.o.). His father is called Rudi Hartono (28 y.o.).

The head of Yusra has been growing since he was 3 months old. It is quite heartbreaking when you see Yusra with his tiny body needing to support his own head that is still growing larger. Furthermore, the son of a farm labourer, always cry when he feels itch from the scars around his head. Sometimes, he scratches them until they bleed. Local doctor could only prescribe him some medication for the scars. There were some suggestions from the doctor to go for operation, however, with their current economy situation, it is simply impossible.

Dear friends and supporters,

We have an intention to help him up so he will be able to "get up" and grow and play like a normal kid in his village. If you:

1. are a doctor and interested in helping us...

2. have some good connections to good surgeons in Indonesia or Singapore that could give us a super special price...

3. are interested in helping this boy (any amounts is helpful)...

...please contact us right away:
willy - willy@thehumanityforum.org
susi - sutagu@gmail.com

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Last Day // MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

2009-11-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Susi // 24 Nov 2009 // 6:46:30 AM

Yea! Everything's is done...

Susi // 24 Nov 2009 // 6:49:24 AM

We're going in two batches. The first batch, morning, the ladies and Mr. Johnny. We're planning to visit Caritas Padang first. Then in the afternoon, the guys, since they need to finish up the latrine. They were a little shorthanded.

Susi // 24 Nov 2009 // 6:58:30 AM

The leftover medicine was distributed equally. TFC water tank has been "beautified". The fund has been handed over to the local woman group. All done. Mission Accomplished.

Susi // 24 Nov 2009 // 8:15:40 AM

We're gonna stop by Yos Sudarso Hospital to settle all the payment of the medications. Next stop, Caritas.

Susi // 24 Nov 2009 // 8:17:40 AM

... my body has been bitten up by mosquitoes. Very ferocious. I should reach Singapore around 6PM... Can't wait to get home and have a proper shower..

And that was the last sms we received from Susi, one of THF members from Singapore, from the Rebuilding Mission in Pariaman, Sumatra island of Indonesia.
Thank you very for all your supports and prayers. May the people of Kayu Angik, Pariaman and all affected areas by the quake, return to their normal soon.

THANK YOU! TERIMA KASIH!

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 09

2009-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Susi // 23 Nov 2009 // 09:04:45 AM

Yes that's right. We're coming back tomorrow. Yesterday was the last day of the clothes selling, with the total of 2.8 million rupiah. (280 USD)... The bonfire was quite OK, last night. We made some "sate" as well...

Susi // 23 Nov 2009 // 09:38:37 AM

Ladies group was formed last night. About 25-30 people wish to do coconut oil program. We are going to distribute the balance of our medicine.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 08

2009-11-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

Susi // 22 Nov 2009 // 11:07:33 AM

Morning! Dr. Lia is flying to Jakarta today. Chris, our volunteer is going back to Jakarta too, due to his bad stomach ache. Rino is going to help them to get the tickets and send them off at the same time. We're going to send 1 van full of clothes to Maninjau.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 07

2009-11-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Susi // 21 Nov 2009 // 9:49:53 AM

Child Program will end this morning. We're on our way to the school. I just did 10 min haircut for Ade, 4th grade. After this, we will do a moving clinic. Will bring medicine and some baby supply to give along the way.

Susi // 21 Nov 2009 // 9:30:47 PM

... Just now we were selling the clothes [for the young ladies group] and running the free clinic in front of their house. Now, we're having a meeting. Tomorrow, Dr. Lia will return to Jakarta. Tomorrow night, we're going to have a village gathering with bonfire. On the next morning, we're going to have doughnut making and mung bean cooking class with the teenager groups. Tomorrow, we're going to draw the TFC water tank.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 06

2009-11-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

Susi // 20 Nov 2009 // 11:32:57 AM

Morning morning. We are on our way to Maninjau Lake with some medicine supplies and clothes to drop off. In base camp, we have free clinic service from Salvation Army.

Susi // 20 Nov 2009 // 8:332:59 AM

On the way back from the beautiful Danau Maninjau [and] found donor for the clothes. Team spirit is always high! What a mix.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 05

2009-11-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

Susi // 19 Nov 2009 // 9:45:46 AM

Yes, thank God for guidance and protection. All our activities went well. No rain for the past 3 days. So, water is scarce but everyone is in good spirit. Walking to school now for toys making.

JWU // 19 Nov 2009 // 11:00:59 AM

Cynt n Wil, we are all healthy. TFC water tank #1 is only waiting for finishing now. Today, we're gonna start with TFC water tank #2. We're gonna build 2 sets of latrine for the refugees, for both male and female. On the follow up stage in February 2010, the villagers are requesting us to assist them in providing training in producing:
- Coconut Oil
- Soap
- Handicrafts from parts of coconut tree (sticks, shell, etc.)
- Cookies (for the young lady group)
- Hairdressing lesson
- Sewing lesson
But, how can we get the funding to this?

THF: Anybody interested in adopting this program?

Susi // 19 Nov 2009 // 6:38:34 PM

... Toys making was a success. Will try to bring sample home (Singapore). Today 2nd selling by the young lady group at another location and they earned Rp. 349,000.00 (USD 35). The teenagers (the group members) were all very eager! They want to sell again at the market, tomorrow.

Susi // 19 Nov 2009 // 9:34:30 PM

We're going to hold on to the money first until the group has a more concrete plan. There's an issue. Caritas Indonesia just dropped off a full load of clothes from 2 vans. So, we need change the plan and help them with distribution.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 04

2009-11-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

Susi // 18 Nov 2009 // 7:32:42 AM

Good Morning! Today we're going to do origami lesson and learning how to use chopstick with noodle. Hisae (our volunteer from Japan) is going to lead the class. Kak JWU (Mr. Johnny Utama) is going to pick up the books...

Susi // 18 Nov 2009 // 12:47:41 PM

Origami was fun! All the children enjoyed it. However, they faced some difficulties with the chopsticks. This afternoon, we are going to sell clothes for fun raising. We're going to make queuing line to ensure fair trade, hehehe... The earning will be used as capital.

Susi // 18 Nov 2009 // 1:25:25 PM

Last night, we set up a young lady group. So, they are going to run the sales and they are going to use the earning as working capital for their group. Btw, we are going to set up a table in front of the medical tent.

Susi // 18 Nov 2009 // 3:49:43 PM

Woah... the mothers are so excited about the sales. Everyone is very busy choosing the clothes. Just now i wanted to MMS you (THF Singapore) but it didn't work. Very exciting and giving me a headache at the same time! HAHAHA....!

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 03

2009-11-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

Susi // 17 Nov 2009 // 8:28:09 AM

Morning, Woah... your sms got delayed. We are about to walk down to the school. On set 1, there will be 5 hours of kids program. Then in the afternoon, we'll do medical 1, the free clinic. The weather is good and everyone is in good spirit.

Susi // 17 Nov 2009 // 11:08:57 AM

Thank God. The morning session went well. The children made invitations & drawings. 1st part of the exhibition preparation. Then closed with a cup of mung bean dessert. :)

Susi // 17 Nov 2009 // 11:15:05 AM

Water tank is in progress. The frame is almost ready. The free clinic is being prepared, will start after lunch.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 02

2009-11-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

The Rain Has Stopped...

Susi // 16 Nov 2009 // 1:06:40 PM

Morning was raining but luckily stop before we went to the school. Had a good time with the kids. Emotionally they are OK. We've prepared books and medications for tomorrow activity.

Susi // 16 Nov 2009 // 1:15:58 PM

The kitchen is set so lunch is being prepared by Peni... yea!

Susi // 16 Nov 2009 // 4:45:11 PM

... Today is OK, no rain. Everyone's morale is very high. Some of us are preparing more medicine for tomorrow, some of us are doing some survey and some of us are having some dialogs with local women. 1 one of have eye infection and starting to spread among the villagers. We're trying to get some eye medication now.

TEAM9 in PADANG! // Day 01

2009-11-15T04:27:00.000-08:00

After more than one month of preparation, the rebuilding mission in finally here! Mr. Johnny together with 12 other volunteers, including 1 volunteer from Japan, have departed Jakarta airport at 7AM for Padang. The team was met with Fr. Agus (Director of PSE) and Mr. Greg (Operational Manager of PSE) in the airport. Then around 2.15 PM, another volunteer, Susi of The Humanity Forum Singapore who takes care of the Child Post Trauma Program, joined the team before heading to Kayu Angik Hamlet.
Here are some of the SMSes that we received from Mr. Johnny (JWU) and Susi from the field:

Susi // 15 Nov 2009 // 1:06:55 PM

I'm on the Mandala plane now.

JWU // 15 Nov 2009 // 1:15:13 PM

We were met with Fr. Agus and Greg.... We gave them 2 TEAM 9 T-shirts. We're going to airport to meet Susi, now.

JWU // 15 Nov 2009 // 1:34:11 PM

Wil, Cyn, earlier today, we shamelessly met Fr. Lo Rufa [of Yos Sudarso Hospital, Padang] to discuss on medical supplies. We are very fortunate to receive some medication, worth 10 million rupiah, from him. Thanks to Dr. Lia's knowledge on the medication and our relationship with them....
Note: Due to shortage of fund, TEAM 9 had some problem in getting medical supplies. Thanks to our good relationship with Yos Sudarso Hospital, who supported us with 2 nurses and some medical equipments for our previous mission to Mentawai in 2007, we managed to get some supports again. Thank you Fr. Lo Rufa and Yos Sudarso Hospital, we really appreciate it.

Susi // 15 Nov 2009 // 4:08:49 PM

Safely reached Padang. Met the team, 13 people, 3 cars. Heavy rain, now on our way to Kayu Angik village [hamlet]...

Susi // 15 Nov 2009 // 7:18:55 PM

We have reached Kayu Angik, the rain hasn't stopped since morning. So quite tough to move around. Toilet not ready...

Susi // 15 Nov 2009 // 1:06:55 PM

Male volunteers will be sleeping in the tent(s). Female volunteers sleeps in an empty room, with leaking roof. The journey was about 2.5 hrs. We haven't met the leader of the hamlet yet. Tonight we're gonna try to settle in... Still raining.

Stay tuned for more updates!

TEAM 9 T-Shirt
This time, TEAM is proud to wear its official uniform which was donated by Dian Niaga Jakarta.

TEAM 9: LATEST ASSESSMENT REPORT

2009-11-09T02:07:00.000-08:00

TEAM 9 ASSESSMENT REPORT
4-6 November 2009
Jakarta-Padang-Pariaman-Padang

Team 9 will be hosted by PSE-Caritas
Caritas = Karina Karitas Indonesia
PSE Caritas Office: Jl. W. Monginsidi 4D (belakang GOR Prayogo), Padang. Tel. 0751-29518 email romoagus@psepadang@yahoo.co.id
Contact person PSE:
– Romo Agus (Director of PSE)
– Gregorius (Operational Manager)
– Stefanus (Logistic)

Contact Person Karina:
– Adrianus Dian Susanto
– Ridwan Pakpahan
– Ray Tampubolon

Team 9's Targeted Activity Sites
Distance: 2.5 hours from Padang and 1 hour from Pariaman
Location Name:
Korong (hamlet): Kayu Angik
Nagari (village): Gunung Padang Alai
Kecamatan (Sub district): Koto Timur
Kabupaten (district): Padang Pariaman
Province: Sumatera Barat
GPS: S 00 29’23.2” E 100 12’04-1”
Decimal: S 00 48979 E 100 20113

Profile of Korong Kayu Angik
Wali (head of) Korong : Mr. Buyung Aciak, Called Pak Buyung
Number of family        : 158 KK
Number of house         : 103 houses
Number of population : 363 people
Race majority              : Minangkabau

Demography:
Eldest (over 60 years): 27
Infant (0-5 year)         : 40
Children (5-15 year) : 49
Young and adult         : 263
Total                          : 379 (recounted by JWU)

From 103 Houses:
Kepala Keluarga (head of family): 43 Man and 60 women, total 103

Housing:
From total 103 houses, 96% of them are heavily damaged (see pict). People sets up small wooden houses in front of their yards as emergency shelters.

Damaged house

Death & Injury
Death                          : 0
Heavy shock               : unknown
Light shock                 : unknown
Newborn after quake : 1 baby girl

Main Income Before The Quake
Coconut
Cacao
Agricultural crop

Water Condition
There were many landslides happened during the earthquake, which made nearby river water cloudy and muddy. Despite the condition, the villagers still use the water from small rivers for washing but they prefer to use rainwater for drinking or cooking.
There are 2 plastic tanks, with a capacitiy of 1,000 ltr each, on the location. They were donated by Oxfam and get refilled by them on daily basis.

Landslide area

Refugee Camp
There are 49 tents with a capacity for 10 people each, donated by Shelter Box – UK and Rotary international.
List of 49 KK (families) attached came from another hamlet, Koto Tinggi, which site endangered by the land slide.

Electricity
In hamlet Kayu Angik electricity is available for most families. However, there's still no electricity for refugee camps.

Latrine
Traditionally most of houses do not have proper toilet system. They do their "nature call" in the forest or in the river/big stream and keep the small river for house hold use.
There are quite a number of families who own fish ponds, would use it as latrine too. Some of them are made of bamboo and concrete.

Note:
Team 9 will build 2 Ferro Cement Tanks (TFC), 9,000 ltr each, for hamlet Kayu Angik and refugee camp from hamlet Koto Tinggi and 4 sets of latrines each 2 sets for 2 hamlets.

Typical toilet by the pond

School
Elementary school was totally damaged
2 emergency class rooms was donated by Nicco – Japan and Aktion Deutschland Hilf (see pict)
As reported by local teachers, the tent classrooms get very hot after 9.30 am
Teachers prefer to teach outside the tent if there's no rain.
School table and chairs are all damaged.
Teaching books are damaged as well. This means the teachers and student have been trying to save the books for about 35 days.

Classroom in a tent

The name of the school is SDN 21 V Koto Timur.
      Grade I      : 17 pupil
      Grade II     : 14 pupils
      Grade III    : 13 pupils
      Grade IV    : 14 pupils
      Grade V     :   9 pupils
      Grade VI    : 13 pupils
      Total          : 80 pupils

Note:
Team 9 looking for donor, who willing to donate student books. It will cost about USD 500 including transportation from Central Java to the site. We noticed the emergency for grade VI students, who will be exam in April 2010. They need the new books badly.

Drying school books

a pile of wet school books

Story by Villagers
1. There was a hill they called Gunung Tigo or three mountains now one top has gone forever 2 tops can be seen from hamlet Kayu Angik. During the earthquake on 30 September 2009, in that village Nagari Gunung, Padang Alai there was a cultural wedding ceremony. ±800 people were on the party with guests or visitors from other villages. Between 17.15 – 17.20 the quake shook for 50 second and the whole villagers and the guests gone, covered by over million cubic of earth from Gunung Tigo claim over 1,000 lives. After a big "RRRRR" sound came a big silent…then a heavy rain. Not many survived, not many.

2. Some survivals later moved to Kayu Angik to share the new land in the tents. They still return to Gunung Tigo to do what they need to do, like looking for the corpses of their families or their belongings. The more they find, the more sadness they will get.

Reported by
Johnny W. Utama
Padang 6 November 2009

Latest Pictures from Padang

2009-10-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

TEAM 9: Preparation Updates

2009-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of things to update everyone on TEAM 9's preparation:

1. Field Recce
Mr. Johnny and some of his colleagues are planning to do a field survey in Padang and Pariaman region early next month. They are hoping to get all information on the current situation, suppliers, logistical supports and many other stuff. If you have any useful information, kindly share with us:

Willy Tanujoyo: +65 9783 9758 (Singapore) - willy[a]thehumanityforum.org

2. Fund Raising update
There are some indication of supports/fundings from a few organisations in Singapore and Japan. However, overall fund raising has been very slow. We really need more supports from everyone. Please support TEAM 9!

3. Donate a TFC Water Tank or a Latrine Program
THF is launching a new program to facilitate private sectors/organisations in supporting TEAM 9's rebuilding effort. Wondering what it is, please contact us for more details:

Cynthia Sudarto: 0811 877 936 (Indonesia) - cynthia[at]thehumanityforum.org
Willy Tanujoyo: +65 9783 9758 (Singapore) - willy[a]thehumanityforum.org

Stay tuned for more updates!

SUPPORT TEAM 9 NOW!

A Jar of Hope, Abundance of Happiness

2009-10-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

THF and its great supporters/volunteers, the staffs of W3-O Design Lab Singapore, has returned to Singapore from Srilanka. All the time spent in baking more than 10,000 pieces of cookies and hundreds of hours in collecting pre-loved clothes and toys, have shown the result. Both beneficiaries and the volunteers had one of the best time in their lifes. It is indeed a great success. Besides visiting PRINCESS GRACE ORPHANAGE, THF and W3-O managed to visit 2 more orphanages, MAMA PAPA HOME and MARCSRI SARANASEVA.

Stay tuned for the complete report!

Latest Situation from Padang (14 Oct 2009)

2009-10-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Recently, our friend Don Aditya, visited Padang, Sumatra. Below are some of the shots that he sent us with his Blackberry.

Support TEAM 9 now!

SUPPORT TEAM 9!

2009-10-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Humanity Forum is working with several NGOs like KDK (Kerabat Desa Kota), Dian Niaga and several other people from private sectors. The team is going to be called TEAM 9 again as it will be under the leadership of Mr. Johnny W. Utama, a veteran in humanitarian activity.
For further information on this mission, please visit its official website which resides on our site:
http://www.thehumanityforum.org/team9/pariaman_09

And YES, we need you support!
Support TEAM 9, now!

Stay tuned for more updates!
Thank you for your support.

Welcome to The Humanity Forum's Blog

2009-10-09T01:39:00.000-07:00

Phew... Finally we have own blog. This is great! Well, dear all friends and supporters, welcome to our humble blog. We are hoping this blog will help us to facilitate our activities in providing instant information. One of our upcoming project will be the highly anticipated mission by Team 9 to Pariaman, Indonesia. Please bookmark our blog for your quick access :).

Thank you very much for your support.