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14 May 2006
RETIREMENT HOME
by Rotarian Andrew Charles
One of the numerous projects of the Rotary Club of Bali -
Seminyak (RCB-S) is the Retirement Home in Padang Galak, just
north of Sanur. In Bali, much the same as in the rest of Indonesia,
elderly people are taken care of by their families but not everyone
gets married and not every married couple has children so there
are quite a few people who end up with no one to look after them.
This sounds a sad state of affairs but the government isn't entirely
uncaring and there are places for many of these old people to
go. Elderly People's homes, Panti Jompo, are funded by the government
but with a very limited budget so the standard of most of them
tends to be rather poor. The Dinas Kerjaan Sosial does its best
and the man in charge at Padang Galak, Nyoman Wiyoga, is obviously
very dedicated.
When this panti jompo was brought to the attention of the RCB-S
last year, members wanted to identify the most important needs
of the residents and money was soon raised to purchase items including
new mattresses, other bedding, television sets, refrigerators
and wheel chairs. Under the guidance of Rotarian Dr. Taty Sinaga,
various medical supplies were purchased and all these things have
helped to make the lives of residents easier and more comfortable.
Another Rotarian, Virginie Sandstrom, who is a busy hotel
general manager, has devoted a lot of time and effort to this
project and is known to the elderly people there as 'Ibu Rotary'
Helen Newman, a marine biologist, has given much of her time
to fund-raising and persuading Rotarian hotel general managers
to donate furniture, curtains and blankets to the panti jompo.
Together with Dr. Taty, she also put together the list of items
needed for the clinic and helped with buying them.
I visited the place recently for the first time and I was very
pleasantly surprised to see how happy the residents appear to
be. Their accommodation is like a small village with a number
of buildings set in a very well-maintained garden. Each building
houses a communal living room with individual bedrooms for an
average of six people. I sat with four of the residents on some
sofas around a coffee table and asked them for their views.
Ibu Luh Siti, aged 79, comes originally from Buleleng in the
north of Bali. She is a widow but has no children. She didn't
finish her schooling because of the Japanese occupation of Bali
so she isn't able to write. Ibu Ketut Tarti, 78, told a similar
tale and wanted to stress that she has been at the panti jompo
for nine years and is very happy there. Ibu Nyoman Rimbin is a
relative newcomer after just one year but she said it was better
than being in a family home because there were so many more people
to talk to. This seemed a good point, as elderly people in a family
environment are often left alone for long periods while the younger
members of the family are working. Ibu Ketut Latri, who has been
at the home for two and a half years, but is a mere 71 years old,
supported the comments of her friends. They all agreed that that
the food is very good now and they are happy; they are also very
grateful to Rotary for having improved their lifestyle.
It was interesting to note that out of fifty residents, thirty-eight
are women; including one lady who is one hundred and seven years
old! They come from various parts of Bali, including Tabanan,
Buleleng, the City of Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar. There is even
one man from Java.
The money to support this project originally came from the RCB-S
but, as costs escalated, the Rotary Club of Mount Martha in
Australia donated a considerable amount and individual visitors
to Bali, such as Dr. Angela Hobart, a renowned anthropologist,
made sizeable donations. It is important to note that the Rotary
Club uses 100% of all donations for whichever project is specified
by the donors; club members who assist with projects do so in
their own time and without payment.
Anyone wishing to help with this project should contact the president
of the RCB-S: president@rotaryseminyak.org.
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