Newsletter - November
'05
Hospital to be built on Savu
Plans are
underway to build Savu's first hospital. The East
Nusa Tenggara Health and Medical Department will
oversee construction of the facility, which is to
be financed by the state. The hospital will be
built in Western Savu, on land provided by local
property owners.
The Savunese have complained for years about the
lack of medical facilities on Savu. Since the
nearest hospital is located in Kupang, the sick
have to endure a long and uncomfortable journey,
when in need of proper medical care. However,
occasionally, patients are too sick or their
injuries are too severe to be transported. In
such cases, local therapists do what they can to
ease suffering (e.g. "Royal descendant
survives fall").
© raijua.com
Young lives lost to malnutrition
Malnutrition
has claimed the lives of eight children in
Eastern Sumba, including three Savunese. The
tragedy draws attention to the harsh conditions
caused by the drought and the government's failure to
remedy the situation. The three Savunese children
were 18 month old Nia Adoe of Kadumbul, 16 month
old Charles Rohi of Patawang and 33 month old
Yoshua Padji of Kambaniru.
© raijua.com
Scholarships awarded
The State
Energy Company of East Nusa Tenggara (PLN) has
awarded 5 million rupiah (425 euro) to two senior
high school students, in recognition of their
high academic standard. The proud recipients are
Paskah Paty of Eastern Hawoe Senior High School
and Miklon Adu of Western Hawoe Senior High
School.
© raijua.com
Ferry transport to Savu may be
cancelled
A ferry
service connecting Kupang and Savu may be
cancelled because it is not supposed to serve
this route. Several authorities have complained
that the KM (ferry) named Pulau Sabu (Savu
Island) is only supposed to serve the route
between Teluk Gurita and Kisar. The transport
company has complained that they will face
financial difficulties if the Kupang-Savu route
is cancelled. The service has always been helpful
for Savunese.
Pulau Sabu
© raijua.com
Assault in Kupang
Six men
assaulted a Savunese man in Kupang last month.
The incident took place at an eating house in the
sub village of Liliba. According to the owner of
Warung Restu Ibu, the six men had been drinking
when a young woman entered the premises, causing
a hullaballoo. However, the atmosphere changed
dramatically when twenty four year old Jefry Leba
glanced across at the woman. Suddenly, their
attention shifted to the young man, who so
infuriated the group that they attacked him.
Jefry tried to defend himself, however the
onslaught was relentless. Jefry was rushed to
Bhayangkara Army Hospital (together with one of
the six defendants), bathed in blood and losing
consciousness, having sustained multiple head
injuries. He was discharged from hospital and
immediately reported the incident to the police.
However, he subsequently withdrew his complaint,
accepting instead the defendants offer to settle
out of court. According to Mr Agus Nugroho, of
Kupang Police, even though Jefry has withdrawn
the allegations, the men will still be charged
over the offence. Jefry is currently studing at
one of the universities in Kupang.
© raijua.com
One year sentence for friend's
death
An adjutant
of Kupang Police, Brigadier Wilson Ana Meha has
been sentenced to 1 year's imprisonment for
negligence leading to the accidental death of his
close friend and cousin, Rizal Rotu Ludji of Hawu
Dimu. The tragedy occured while the two men were
watching TV together. Wilson had been cleaning
his gun when it suddenly went off, hitting Rizal
in the head. Four witnesses, including one of the
deceased's relatives, Mr Wilem Rotu Ludji,
corroborated Wilson's defence, even though they
were outside the house when the shot was fired.
> >
Accidentally shot dead by best friend.
© raijua.com
Medical
facilities underfunded
Medical staff on Savu have
complained that their salaries do not cover basic
living expenses. Their frustration was recently
voiced by Mr. Jusuf Lado S.E. (Chief Commisioner
of Kupang Regency Legislative Assembly) at a
meeting in Kupang, held by the Kupang Regency
Health and Medical Department. He said that
doctors and nurses might abandon Savu and Rai
Jua, if the government fails to provide them with
adequate remuneration for the essential service
they provide.
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Oom Ma
D'ila
(Mr
Radja Langu)
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The Deputy
Chief, Mr. Robinson Radja Langu, from
Eastern Savu, urged the government to
ensure that all clinics on Savu and Rai
Jua are stocked with medicine so the sick
can be treated. Every year, outbreaks
of diarrhoea
and malaria strike the Savu Islands,
which are among the worst effected in the
province. The problem is due to a number
of factors including, drought,
meager
food stocks,
widespread poverty, illiteracy
and the lack of health services. The head
of the Kupang Regency Health and Medical
Department, Dr. Herman Man, has requested
all clinics on the Savu Islands to report
on the situation. |
© raijua.com
Compensation
cards unfairly distributed
Compensation cards are now being
distributed throughout Indonesia to help
underprivileged families cope with the increasing
cost of living. However, many Savu Islanders who
meet the criteria have not been included in the
scheme. A large number of people in Dimu alone
have yet to receive the cards while many more
claim to have not even been considered poor, even
single mothers without a place of their own to
live. So far, compensation cards have only been
given to a few people in Lii Ae (Liae) and Dimu
(Eastern Savu) sub districts. The head of the
Central Bureau of Statistics in Kupang, Mr Mathen
Kale, explained that compensation cards will not
be given all at once, since deliveries must be
made from house to house to avoid deception by
people who are able to support themselves. The
scheme has had a mixed response. Some poor people
in the Kupang Region consider the compensation
cards to be an insult because they do not like to
be classed as poor. Others see the compensation
cards as a simple reminder of how the government
continues to fail in their duty to build a
prosperous nation free of corrupt leaders.
© raijua.com
Sisters
fall to their death
Two teenage sisters were killed
when they fell into a well in the family's back
yard. The girls had been watching their father
playing rummy with his friends, when they decided
to climb up and sit on top of the well, which had
recently been cemented and was reported safe.
Seventeen year old Anastasia had been sitting on
the edge of the well when her younger sister, 14
year old Bergita, climbed up and sat on the
timber beside her. Suddenly the timber gave way
beneath Bergita and she called for her sister's
help saying "Sis, help me". Anastasia
reached for Bergita and their father quickly
reached for Anastasia. But, it was too late. Both
girls fell to the bottom of the well 13 metres
below. Their mother witnessed the tragic event
from the kitchen and could only howl histerically
as two local men, Gerardus and Victor, jumped
straight into the well after the girls. Anastasia
had died instantly while her younger sister
Bergita was still breathing. The sisters were
taken to Kupang Public Hospital, where Bergita
also passed away.
Johanes (John) Lede Bulu and his wife Blandina
Here-Lede live in the sub village of Sikumana in
Kupang. The family are Savunese who's ancestors
migrated to West Sumba, so they are known locally
as Sumbanese. John described his two beloved
daughters as being very helpful, diligent and
loving. They had even helped him dig the well. He
said that he was going to miss them so much and
will miss the time he took them to and from
school. He had no words to describe the pain he
was feeling. He said that he couldn't recall any
sign that something bad was going to happen.
"I had a dream on Friday night. It was about
an unrecognised person, who was rolling a banana
trunk. At first, I didn't know what the person
was rolling, but later saw that it was only a
banana trunk. But, I didn't have any odd feeling
about anything and suspected nothing of the
dream." John said, trying to remain strong.
Anastasia Nida Lede & Bergita Wini Lede were
born on the same date, April 28th. Their funeral
was held at the Sikumana public cemetary on the
afternoon of Monday, November 7th. Their mother
was reported to be constantly losing consciousnes
during the ceremony. Their eldest child Frederik
Lede was constantly by his mother's side ever
since the death of his two sisters. The funeral
was crowded with relatives and friends of the
family as well as class mates of the sisters.
Anastasia attended first year at Senior High
School, while her sister Bergita attended first
year at Junior High School.
© raijua.com
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