State nursing homes, not a home by choice

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Staying with children and grandchildren is what most elderly people dream of. But, for some, that wish never works out.

Seventy-year-old Atikah is one of the unlucky ones. As a former vegetable vendor, she has no relatives and is staying at a state-owned nursing home in Kebon Kosong subdistrict in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

"I worked hard for years to earn a living. Now I'm too weak. I have to accept the reality of ending up here," said Atikah, who like the other elderlies in the nursing home could no longer support themselves.

Atikah and another 38 elderly people were supposed to stay in a nursing home on Jl. Jelambar Selatan in Jelambar subdistrict, West Jakarta. But the three-week-long floods, which paralyzed parts of Jakarta, including their nursing home since Jan. 28, forced them to move to Kebon Kosong district.

During her youth, Atikah -- who left her hometown, Sukerejo, Central Java, in 1955 -- had tried numerous jobs including working in a cosmetics company. Her final job was a vegetable vendor in a traditional market near her small rented house in Rawa Melati subdistrict, West Jakarta.

Atikah was married to a police officer for two years, but left him childless in 1955 after she found out that he had been having an affair with another woman.

Seventy-four-year-old Upi has a different story. She has been staying in Kebon Kosong for the past five years.

"My former employer sent me here after I was not able to carry out my duties as a housemaid anymore," she said, adding that she had worked at the employer's house in Kayu Manis subdistrict, East Jakarta, for 14 years.

Unfortunately, the former employer never visited Upi, whose husband died about 30 years ago without having children.

Although conditions at Jelambar nursing home do not meet their expectations, they consider it better than Kebon Kosong nursing home.

Seventy-five-year-old Martiti complained about the treatment she received in Kebon Kosong. "The facilities and services here are poor. For example, we have to queue for a long time, just to go to the toilet. Also, the people in charge here are not very friendly," she added.

Martiti, who previously stayed in her nephew's house, also complained about the menu. She said she was not served milk every morning, which they used to get in Jelambar.

"In Jelamber, the management always gave us an egg every morning. But here, they give us only a third of an egg. I hope we can return to Jelambar soon," said the former midwife who left her hometown Sukabumi, West Java, in the 1950s.

Her friends echoed her dissatisfaction, saying that they also had no bed and lacked clean water.

But Ihwan, a staff member of Kebon Kosong nursing home, denied their complaints. He said all government funds had been used to serve the elderly guests "as good as possible".

Ihwan admitted, however, that the nursing home still had problems providing clean water.

The nursing home has two 47-square-meter and two 84-square- meter dormitories. The small dormitories are occupied by 11 people, while the larger ones are enough to house 15 people.

"Due to the evacuation of elderly people in Jelambar, our small dormitories are now occupied by 15 and the larger ones house 17," Ihwan said, adding that as there were not enough available beds, some elderly people were having to sleep on mattresses on the dining room floor.