Physical Health Indonesia Project #25358

Help Children Reach Hospital

by Yayasan Rumah Rachel ('Rachel House')

Project Report | Dec 17, 2018
A Hello Kitty Birthday Party

By Myrtha Keshvari | Communications and Fundraising Manager

In a tiny one-room home in central Jakarta, a young girl celebrates a very special 5th birthday. On this happy day, little Diana* is surrounded by several generations of her family and some of the nurses from Rachel House; cuddling her new friend with joy and glee - a giant pink Hello Kitty that is almost as big as she is. It is a wonderfully happy celebration for Diana, and for all who have worked hard to get Diana to this day.

Diana has been living with a serious illness since she was born. Plagued with chronic diarrhea, severe malnutrition and grave symptoms that threatened her life. Every single day with a smile on her face is a day for celebration.

For many years her parents have struggled to care for her in the midst of their own personal challenges. With her parents rarely present at home, doctor’s instructions on the best care for Diana were often ignored causing her health to continue to deteriorate.

When Diana was referred to Rachel House six months ago, her challenging family circumstances were highlighted by her primary doctor as the main factor for treatment failure. Dadan, Rachel House’s nurse assigned to care for her, was determined to not only stabilise Diana’s condition, but also to help her parents provide better care for their daughter into the future.

At first, this was not an easy task. However, with Dadan’s patient guidance and encouragement, Diana’s mother has learned to prioritize Diana’s health in their lives. She now ensures the availability of healthy and nutritious meals for Diana, the discipline administering of Diana’s medicines, and prioritise the regular visits to the doctor.

Now that her health is improving, Diana’s appetite has also returned with awesome vengeance. She has developed into a ‘milkaholic’, drinking almost one litre of milk a day! In this, the family is grateful for the loving support of Rachel House’s faithful donors. Diana’s mother also makes certain that she eats her (big bowl) rice, meatballs and a banana daily. Diana is now learning to say one or two words, as well as beginning to crawl. She is wonderfully engaging when somebody talks to her, mumbling the few words in her repertoire and trying her very best to communicate.

Knowing that Diana is a huge fan of Hello Kitty, on this special day of her 5th birthday, Dadan and a few of Rachel House’s team came bearing a beautiful Hello Kitty cake (baked lovingly by our faithful and generous friend, Tiar), and a giant Hello Kitty doll that brought lots of smiles and happiness to this precious little girl.

As a child living with a serious illness, and in a family where putting food on the table is a real challenge, Diana will continue to need constant care and attention. But with the Rachel House team, and our incredibly generous donors, walking by her side to support her and her family, she now has the support she needs.

*not her real name

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Sep 20, 2018
Smiling at the smallest things

By Aki | Partnerships and Communications Advisor

Little Jessika (not her real name) is only seven years old, but has already experienced more adversity in her short years than most of us will in an entire lifetime. Her life has been one medical procedure or tragedy after the other.

Yet despite her multiple illnesses and challenges, Jessika remains a happy child who smiles at the smallest things. Although she can be rather shy when first meeting new people, once she warms up to you she wants to play with you and laughs at your jokes.

Jessika was born with HIV, but it was not diagnosed by her doctors at the time. Her immune system was severally weakened by her hidden illness and she developed pulmonary tuberculosis and heart failure as a baby. When she was very young she developed such a severe case of diarrhoea that it caused vaginal fistula. She has to undergo a series of surgeries to repair this, including a colostomy.

If all of this wasn’t enough tragedy for one little girl, she has lost both of her parents to HIV. After her parents died, Jessika and her maternal brother were taken in by their grandparents. Several years later, their grandparents continue care for them both and make sure that Jessika doesn’t live with too much pain and that she gets the treatment she needs

A helping hand from Nurse Dadan

Jessika has been a patient of Rachel House over several years. Each time she gets very sick, our nursing team step in to help stabilise her illness and nurse her back to health.

Right now she is being cared for by nurse Dadan. Whenever nurse Dadan comes to visit, Jessika is so happy to see him and greets him loudly. She plays with him and laughs at his jokes while he conducts his medical check-ups to monitor her illness and symptoms. Dadan will often accompany Jessika’s family to the hospital when she has a specialist appointment.

Thanks to the support of GlobalGiving donors, nurse Dadan also brings infant milk – which is really important to support the development and health of children with serious illnesses like HIV or TB – and diapers to the home as needed. Donor support also allows for Jessika and her grandmother, accompanied by nurse Dadan, to get to the hospital for specialist appointments and to purchase the necessary, but expensive, medicines.

Thanks to a stable medication regime and constant support from nurse Dadan and her family, Jessika’s condition has improved significantly in recent weeks. When Nurse Dadan asked her about this recently, she smiled at him and said she was happy because she no longer has to use and carry a colostomy bag everywhere.

Sometimes Dadan will even bring Jessika dolls and toys to play with; toys that Jessika loves, but she always makes sure to share with her brother!

The best of friends

Jessika and her brother, who is only three-years-old, are very close. She is very protective of him, although she often looks for cues from her brother to talk to new people.

Jessika’s relationship with her brother would warm your heart. Like all siblings, they might fight sometimes, but they both try to protect and help each other when they can. They understand each other.

Although Jessika is seven-years-old, her speech pattern is not like kids her age and she is only just starting kindergarten. She often likes to watch music videos or cartoons to help her learn how to speak and her brother helps her sing along to the songs on the video.

The love of a sibling – and her grandparents – strengthens Jessika’s spirit to fight and smile through it all. To find happiness in the small things – such as a new doll or a singing along to a video – and to live life like any other girl her age.

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Jul 5, 2018
Helping Dede celebrate his 11th birthday

By Barry Dunning | Communications

Your birthday is always a special day, but never more so than when you are a child. It’s the chance to celebrate the year that has just passed and to look forward to the year to come. And for your loved ones to spoil you rotten!

Every child wants to spend their birthday with their family, but tragically not every child has the chance. Like Dede (not his real name), an 11-year-old Rachel House patient living with HIV. Dede’s parents are no longer around to celebrate with him on his special day; not by choice, but because they have passed away.

Because of these tragic circumstances, the team at Rachel House wanted to make sure Dede still had a reason to smile on his special day. So the party was bought to his home! Together with his grandparents and his brother, Nurse Dadan helped to arrange a special celebration for Dede. Rachel House volunteer Tiar even baked a superhero special cake for Dede. Everyone got together to make certain that this special boy had a super awesom day.

A lifetime of challenges

Dede was born with HIV. Tragically it is not just HIV that Dede is living with. He has also been diagnosed with a recurring pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and a bronchial asthma. Yet another disaster struck Dede in 2013 when he was involved in a traffic accident causing the skin on his head to scrape and his skull to fracture.

Dede was first admitted to Rachel House’s palliative care services in 2013. Since that time, our team has helped to stabilise the various symptoms and complications caused by his illness and nursed him back to health. Thanks to the Global Giving Food and Transportation Fund, Rachel House has been able to make sure Dede and his grandmother get to the hospital for his specialist appointments and to have his medicine prescriptions filled. This has made an enormous difference to Dede - the medicines help him regain his health while the care from Rachel House team made certain that all infections and complexities are managed to allow him to live with the joy and dignity all children deserve.

Courage in the face of adversity

Even though Dede is living with a serious illness and has faced challenges that would make anyone else want to curl up in bed, he remains in high spirits and determined to continue his life.

He is a keen footballer, playing often with his friends around the neighbourhood. Dede is also attending school, although developmental delays mean that he is still in the 2^nd grade. Fortunately, his school and friends are very considerate and accepting of Dede’s condition, which is not always the case.

Dede’s grandparents and his brother continue to be his greatest support, but the team at Rachel House will continue to walk with him in sickness and in health. To help him celebrate his 12^th birthday and many more to come.

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