Infant with hydrocephalus lives in poverty in Aceh camp
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Aceh Besar, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
Two-year-old Dwi Herliani was crying, her small hands reaching out for her mother sitting next to her. Her mother, Maira, 23, placed a bottle filled with plain water in Dwi's mouth and she immediately fell silent.
Dwi is totally reliant on her mother. Her body is considered small for her age, but her head is about as big as an adult's. Dwi is also not as lively as other children her age. She just lies on her small bed in a barrack for displaced persons in Labui village, Aceh Besar.
"The doctors say that Dwi is suffering from hydrocephalus," Maira told The Jakarta Post.
According to doctors, the disease is the result of the clogging of the cerebrospinal fluid to the brain, which causes the depression of the cranium and eventually leads to enlargement of the head.
Dwi has suffered from the disease since she was four months old. Without any money, it was a struggle for Maira to get her daughter treated at Zainal Abidin General Hospital in Banda Aceh.
Dwi has undergone three surgeries to her head, nose and stomach. However, despite the surgeries her condition has continued to worsen. Her heads grows bigger and the tears never stop running from her eyes.
"It makes me sad to look at Dwi," said Maira.
Maira had managed to save Rp 4 million (about US$420) in a plastic yellow piggy bank to pay for more treatments for Dwi, when the tsunami swept across Aceh on Dec. 26. Maira's small house and her money were lost in the disaster.
"Just to be still alive is already a gift from God," said Maira.
After moving from one refugee camp to another, Maira, her mother and her two children finally found a place to stay in the barrack in Labui village.
Though there were dozens of foreign non-governmental organizations providing medical aid in Aceh after the tsunami, none provided Maira and her family assistance or nutritious food. Dwi was examined by a doctor from the Muhammadiyah organization, who referred her to a hospital.
"I only give Dwi plain water if there is no milk. Dwi seldom cries, except when she is not feeling well," said Maira.
Maira said all she could do was accept her fate. She has not taken Dwi to the hospital since the tsunami because she is tired of being turned away.
"Every hospital has refused to treat Dwi, so if she is sick I will treat her myself," she said.
Maira works as a brick maker. She earns Rp 30,000 for every 1,000 bricks she produces. Having to spend so much time caring for Dwi, she is only able to earn about Rp 7,500 a day.
"I have to take care of Dwi," said Maira, whose husband left her for another woman when she was pregnant with Dwi.