Wawasa residents struggle against poverty, malaria
<p>Wawasa residents struggle against poverty, malaria</p><p>M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Wawasa</p><p>Despite the scorching sun, eight-year-old Ratima was shivering.
She appeared weak and her eyes did not shine with anticipation,
as other children's do when they greet visitors.</p><p>Ratima has had malaria for over two months. She is not the
only one in her family who is sick. Her four siblings and her
parents have malaria.</p><p>"I'm hungry," Ratima said.</p><p>It was not that she had lost her appetite due to the disease;
the truth is there was no food in the house, not a single grain
of rice.</p><p>Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu visited on Saturday
Wawasa hamlet in Amaresekaru village in the easternmost part of
Seram Island -- which is the biggest island in Maluku province --
to distribute food aid.</p><p>Starvation and malaria have claimed 22 lives in Wawasa.</p><p>"We go hungry because there is no food left," sighed one man,
Hakim, holding his daughter tight.</p><p>Many residents with malaria have been too sick to work and
have survived until now on dwindling supplies of dried fish and
cassava.</p><p>"At this time of day, people would usually be busy in their
kitchens. But no smoke billows out of these kitchens," Hakim
said.</p><p>The hamlet has no hospital or community health center and when
people get sick transportation becomes a serious issue.</p><p>To reach the Amarsekaru community health center -- which only
has two health workers -- Wawasa residents have to travel by
katinting (motorized boat) for two to three hours, depending on
the weather. The boat fare is Rp 10,000, which is a lot for a
person who earns Rp 100,000 a month.</p><p>In addition, residents' drinking water comes from a source two
kilometers away from the hamlet, which they reach by foot.</p><p>Many residents also have to share their houses.</p><p>Ratima's eight-square-meter house, which is occupied by three
families, is poorly lit as the hamlet is without electricity.</p><p>The house, like others in the neighborhood, has poor
ventilation and a rudimentary drainage system.</p><p>Maluku Health Agency head Christian Siahaya said the people
were poorly nourished and could not fight the disease.</p><p>"Their immune systems are weak -- it is very dangerous,"
Christian said.</p><p>Nowadays, Ratima spends most of her time at home, leaving the
house only for medical treatment at a makeshift post nearby.</p><p>Ratima's father, Hakim Keliata, is a fisherman, but fierce
weather and his sickness means the 49-year-old cannot work,
though he would do anything to ease his daughter's suffering.</p>
She appeared weak and her eyes did not shine with anticipation,
as other children's do when they greet visitors.</p><p>Ratima has had malaria for over two months. She is not the
only one in her family who is sick. Her four siblings and her
parents have malaria.</p><p>"I'm hungry," Ratima said.</p><p>It was not that she had lost her appetite due to the disease;
the truth is there was no food in the house, not a single grain
of rice.</p><p>Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu visited on Saturday
Wawasa hamlet in Amaresekaru village in the easternmost part of
Seram Island -- which is the biggest island in Maluku province --
to distribute food aid.</p><p>Starvation and malaria have claimed 22 lives in Wawasa.</p><p>"We go hungry because there is no food left," sighed one man,
Hakim, holding his daughter tight.</p><p>Many residents with malaria have been too sick to work and
have survived until now on dwindling supplies of dried fish and
cassava.</p><p>"At this time of day, people would usually be busy in their
kitchens. But no smoke billows out of these kitchens," Hakim
said.</p><p>The hamlet has no hospital or community health center and when
people get sick transportation becomes a serious issue.</p><p>To reach the Amarsekaru community health center -- which only
has two health workers -- Wawasa residents have to travel by
katinting (motorized boat) for two to three hours, depending on
the weather. The boat fare is Rp 10,000, which is a lot for a
person who earns Rp 100,000 a month.</p><p>In addition, residents' drinking water comes from a source two
kilometers away from the hamlet, which they reach by foot.</p><p>Many residents also have to share their houses.</p><p>Ratima's eight-square-meter house, which is occupied by three
families, is poorly lit as the hamlet is without electricity.</p><p>The house, like others in the neighborhood, has poor
ventilation and a rudimentary drainage system.</p><p>Maluku Health Agency head Christian Siahaya said the people
were poorly nourished and could not fight the disease.</p><p>"Their immune systems are weak -- it is very dangerous,"
Christian said.</p><p>Nowadays, Ratima spends most of her time at home, leaving the
house only for medical treatment at a makeshift post nearby.</p><p>Ratima's father, Hakim Keliata, is a fisherman, but fierce
weather and his sickness means the 49-year-old cannot work,
though he would do anything to ease his daughter's suffering.</p>