Squatters under overpass toll road wave free clinic goodbye<\/p>\n
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In less than two months, dozens of squatters living under a
\nsection of Pluit-Cawang overpass toll road in North Jakarta will
\nnot only lose their makeshift tents but their access to free
\nhealthcare as well.<\/p>\n
The area where the migrants have been staying for years will
\nbe demolished by the municipal administration as part of the
\nJakarta government's policy to evict illegal settlers occupying
\nstate land, bridge tunnels or areas under overpasses.<\/p>\n
For the past two years the squatters have been receiving
\nmedical care at the Kartini Free Health Clinic run by twin
\nsisters, Sri Rossiati, better known as Rossi, and Sri
\nIrianingsih, also known as Rian.<\/p>\n
The two housewives also operate a free health clinic near the
\nBantargebang dump site in Bekasi, West Java. some 30 kilometers
\neast of Jakarta. The clinic in Bekasi was built in 2000.<\/p>\n
Access to healthcare for everybody is one of the government's
\ntargets under the National Health System (SKN) to be launched by
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday, in conjunction
\nwith National Health Day celebrations.<\/p>\n
Under the system, poor people will be provided with free
\nmedical services -- as long as they hold health cards, which
\ncannot be obtained unless they posses identity cards.<\/p>\n
The Kartini health clinic does not discriminate against those
\nwho do not have ID cards. Every Monday or Saturday some 20 people
\nseek treatment in the modest 7 meter by 10 meter clinic
\nconstructed from plywood. The clinic opens at 9 a.m. and does not
\nclose until everybody is examined and treated.<\/p>\n
"It opens once a week, either on Monday or Saturday, depending
\non the availability of the volunteer doctors," Rossi said.<\/p>\n
The clinic provides treatments for minor illnesses, such as
\ncolds, skin rashes and paratyphoid -- all at no cost.<\/p>\n
"I have all kinds of drugs, patented and generic, which I buy
\nfrom Pramuka market," Rossi said, referring to the center for
\nretail drugs on Jl. Pramuka in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The medical workers who examine the patients and prescribe
\nmedication are interns from the Atma Jaya University and the
\nIndonesian Christian University.<\/p>\n
"I just asked professors at those universities if there were
\nany interns to help me at the clinic, and they said 'yes'," Rossi
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
As for the number of interns serving the poor, Rossi said that
\nwould depend on the situation. "Once, we had 15 interns help us
\ndo free circumcisions," she said.<\/p>\n
The clinic also provides family planning counseling.<\/p>\n
Patients with tuberculosis will be referred to the Bekasi
\nGeneral Hospital, where they will receive free treatment by
\nshowing a recommendation letter signed by Rossi or Rian.<\/p>\n
Some of the squatters said they went to Rossi's clinic as they
\ncould not afford to pay the medical fees at a nearby community
\nhealth center (Puskesmas).<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Gubernatorial Decree No. 266\/2000 stipulates that
\ngeneral treatment, dental, maternal and children's healthcare,
\nand birth control at a Puskesmas should cost only Rp 2,000 (23
\nU.S. cent) per treatment, medicine included.<\/p>\n
Yet, in reality, the cost is often much higher.<\/p>\n
Ani, a mother of two children, said that she had been to a
\nPuskesmas once and was asked to pay quite a large amount of
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
"I went there once to get treatment for a fever, and I had to
\npay Rp 20,000 (US$2.35), plus another Rp 3,000 for registration,"
\nshe said, adding that she did not qualify for healthcare under
\nthe SKN because she had no Jakarta ID.<\/p>\n
But a member of staff at the Pluit subdistrict Puskesmas
\ndenied the complaints, saying that the health center had always
\ncomplied with the gubernatorial decree.<\/p>\n
The Kartini clinic is solely financed by Rossi and Rian,
\nwithout support from the government.<\/p>\n
"It cost us Rp 30 million to build this clinic. We also spend
\nour money on drugs, which cost us between Rp 1 million and Rp 2
\nmillion per month," Rossi said, adding some private donors had
\nhelped them.<\/p>\n
She said she had no plans to form a non-governmental
\norganization to operate their health clinic.<\/p>\n
"I don't want to beg for money. If they (the government) want
\nto donate, then we'll accept the donation. If they don't, then
\nwe'll manage on our own just like we've always done," said Rossi.<\/p>\n
The sisters, who also run a free school for the poor, have
\nbeen actively involved in healthcare services since 1997. They
\nstarted their humanitarian mission by distributing vitamins and
\nover-the-counter remedies to homeless people living under bridges
\nin different parts of Jakarta from Ancol and Pluit in North
\nJakarta, to Tambora in West Jakarta, and Bantargebang. They ran
\nthe clinic from their van which they had modified.<\/p>\n
In 2000, they bought one shipping container and received a
\nprivate donation of eight shipping containers filled with medical
\nand surgical equipment from concerned donors. The twins used this
\nequipment to set up their first free clinic in Bantargebang.<\/p>\n
"It's cheaper to use the containers than to build a permanent
\nplace. I spent Rp 25 million for one container, which already
\nincluded an air conditioner," Rossi told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Besides which, she said, if another eviction was to be carried
\nout she could just move the containers to another place.<\/p>\n
The clinic in Bantargebang was inaugurated by then health
\nminister Sujudi, who appointed the Bekasi Hospital to provide
\nfree healthcare to those referred to it by Rossi.<\/p>\n
With the eviction of squatters living under the Pluit-Cawang
\ntoll road overpass imminent, Rossi and Rian said they would
\ncontinue their mission.<\/p>\n
"This will all be gone and I'll just have to go back to using
\nmy van like before," Rossi said.<\/p>",
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