Jakarta's social workers work tirelessly for the handicapped<\/p>\n
In observance of National Mental Health Day on Friday and
\nWorld Mental Health Day on Saturday, The Jakarta Post reporter
\nIda Indawati Khow talked with several social workers at
\npsychiatric centers in the capital.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Thank God we do not turn insane although we
\nhave interacted with them and been together with them for years,\"
\nsaid social worker Sumarno of Panti Sosial Bina Laras Harapan
\nSentosa 02 in Cipayung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Some of them work at different centers, but Saminem, Sri
\nAstuti, Kirwo and Rustam expressed the same sentiment.<\/p>\n
Many workers also reside at the centers. Living round-the-
\nclock with the mentally handicapped, dealing with their sometimes
\nerratic behavior and individual characteristics, is not an easy
\njob, they said. Unsurprisingly, the job has a high turnover.<\/p>\n
The workers who stay on take comfort in their ability to
\nfunction as normal human beings despite the stresses of their
\nwork.<\/p>\n
Patients can be unpredictable, and sometimes physically
\nthreatening.<\/p>\n
Kindly workers, perhaps gifted with the hearts of angels, have
\nlearned to take the behavior in their stride.<\/p>\n
They sit down to dine with restless patients in rooms reeking
\nof pungent odors.<\/p>\n
They consider it all part of their job.<\/p>\n
\"When we open our eyes first thing in the morning, we know
\nthat we're dealing with patients who cannot do their daily
\nactivities by themselves like normal people,\" said Sumarno, 27,
\nwho has worked at the center for four years.<\/p>\n
It's our task to bathe them, to lead them to the toilet. We
\nmust look after them. Otherwise, the center will be messy and
\nsmelly.\"<\/p>\n
They try their best, but there are still the overbearing odors
\nof urine and feces. Flies cluster around small pools of human
\nwaste.<\/p>\n
Saminem, who has worked at the center since 1988, recalled his
\nfirst days on the job as particularly tough.<\/p>\n
\"It's very hard in the beginning. For the first two weeks, I
\ncouldn't have my meals inside the complex.\"<\/p>\n
The head of the Harapan Sentosa 02 center, Mundhori, said
\nworkers must have empathy and dedication. They are also required
\nto follow to the letter the social workers' declaration \"to treat
\nhuman beings to become human beings\".<\/p>\n
Harapan Sentosa 02 has 16 social workers to serve its 267
\npatients. Unmarried workers live at the center.<\/p>\n
Sri Astuti put their tasks into basic terms. \"We even help the
\nfemale patients put on their sanitary napkins during their
\nperiod.\"<\/p>\n
Rustam of Panti Sosial Bina Laras Harapan Sentosa 03 in
\nJelambar, West Jakarta, related how the job shows humanity at its
\nmost abject.<\/p>\n
\"We always start our day not with breakfast but facing human
\nfeces, urine and other wastes.\"<\/p>\n
At 4:30 a.m., Rustam begins work by bathing the patients,
\ncleaning toilets and tidying up beds and rooms.<\/p>\n
\"Sometime we have our breakfast quite late if the patients
\nneed more attention,\" he said.<\/p>\n
They end their work at 5 p.m. after the patients have eaten
\ndinner.<\/p>\n
It is free time for the social workers, but many stay in the
\ncenter and watch TV with the patients.<\/p>\n
It is not uninterrupted viewing -- patients often become
\nfidgety or rowdy.<\/p>\n
\"It's quite difficult to find fully dedicated workers as most
\nof them refused to continue with the job in the first week after
\nthey face the unexpected realities,\" Mundhori said.<\/p>\n
\"On another occasion, parents forbade their daughter from
\nworking here as they did not have the heart for her to live with
\nthe mentally handicapped.\"<\/p>\n
Despite the job stresses, the pay is low. With a daily
\nallowance of Rp 8,000 and a monthly salary of Rp 100,000, the
\nsocial workers urged the city administration to upgrade their
\nemployment status to that of civil servants.<\/p>\n
\"It's very difficult to get the status as we have to compete
\nwith thousands of applicants (from other institutions),\" Sri
\nAstuti said.<\/p>\n
It may be cold comfort for social workers struggling to
\nsurvive on low wages but, in the eyes of angels at least, their
\nwork is a blessed and unselfish contribution to society.<\/p>",
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