Education and health

Education and health

From Merdeka"

We have often read and seen in the mass media, print or electronic, that our education and health systems are in a sorry state. Some school buildings have collapsed while others are in such a bad condition that no teaching/learning activities can take place there. We have heard reports about the great amounts of money needed to send children to school, ranging from Rp 50,000 for the elementary school and millions of rupiah for the universities, The majority of our people cannot afford to set aside such huge sums of money for their children's formal education. Where are we heading if our children and youngsters fail to get education, which is necessary to make our country strong, clever and glorious? How can we have qualified human resources if teachers are still poorly paid.

On TV we are frequently called upon to help patients who cannot afford to pay for their medical treatment. This proves that some people still suffer. I have seen with my own eyes, while having a walk in this rural area, some people with diabetic abscesses on their legs. They can no longer afford to have medical treatment for their diabetes and are resigned to death in pain and agony.

It is tragic to find that some Indonesians can afford to buy 1,000 houses and 1,000 cars while some others cannot afford to send their children to school or buy medication to alleviate their suffering.

Cigarettes and beer bring pleasure. However, cigarettes and beer will not affect our health if we decide to abstain from them. Without cigarettes and beer we can keep ourselves in good shape. What about an idea to collect a small amount of money from those who drink beer and smoke? Let's say Rp 10 was collected for each cigarette. We can buy virtually nothing with Rp 10.

Then Rp 100 could be collected from one beer can or bottle, or Rp 1,000 for bottles of other liquor. A small bottle (750 cc) of Chivas Regal whiskey costs some Rp 140,000, so Rp 1,000 is insignificant compared with the price of the whiskey. The money collected would then be donated to the National Drive of Foster Parents (GN OTA) under the leadership of Mrs. Bambang Trihatmodjo. She will certainly extend the donation to those needing it.

Ideally, schooling would be free and teachers paid enough to ensure that they can feed their families properly. Ideally, badly-off patients would receive the donations mentioned above. May this simple suggestion awaken the humanity of those in power.

SANOTO MULYO

Serang, West Java