Farah Darojani, left, with residents at Tresna Werdha Budi Mulia 4, a state nursing home in South Jakarta. (JG Photo/Olga Amato)
“Children are like the sunrise, elderly people are like the sunset of life.”
This is what civil servant Farah Darojani said when asked to describe her 12-year experience working in a government nursing home in Jakarta.
“Children need education and guidance. In contrast, old people have already experienced a lot in their lives. What they need the most is acceptance and attention. It’s important for us to show they are not neglected and forgotten. Showing them love is the key to their serenity.”
Numerous times we encounter a variety of organizations — from the smallest founded in someone’s house, to the biggest, with national or international reach — established for the education and well-being of underprivileged children.
But the elderly are often neglected. We see children as the ones most in need for help, as they are just starting in life. Elderly people need a different kind of support, but it doesn’t mean they should receive less attention and care.
The Tresna Werdha Budi Mulia 4, a government’s nursing home in Gandaria, South Jakarta, is currently home to 200 elderly, 95 percent of whom were found on the streets and 5 percent coming from families that were unable to support the needs of an elderly member.
As head of the nursing department, in charge of the health and well-being of the residents, Farah interacts with the elderly on a daily basis. But for Farah it’s more than a job; she believes her efforts can bring happiness into residents’ lives.
“I’ve heard so many sad stories from them,” Farah said.
“Most of them are here because they don’t know where their families are. Some have been abandoned by their families because they are seen as burdens.”
An example is 58-year-old Jimmy Iskandar, originally from Medan, North Sumatra, but moved to Bogor for work.
“I worked for so many years in Bogor’s private sector,” Jimmy said. “I have a wife and four children. But one day, I don’t remember how, I suffered a stroke and ended up at Fatmawati Hospital in Jakarta.
Apparently I was brought to the hospital by an ojek [motorcycle taxi] driver. My family wasn’t there with me. I never saw them again.”
Farah said in case the elderly don’t know where their families are, she and her colleagues will try to find them through researching and questioning the elderly on any details, including names of relatives or addresses.
Sometimes the research succeeds and the person is reunited with their relatives. But in some cases searches are unsuccessful and the person has to stay in the nursing home. The latter is the case with Jimmy. Farah said they had been trying various methods in searching for Jimmy’s family, but with no success.
Jimmy still hopes his wife and children meet him one day. “I miss being able to spend time with my wife,” Jimmy said. “I love my children so much and I always think about them.”
In some cases, an elderly makes a personal decision to contact Jakarta’s social service in order to stay at the nursing home because of the family’s economic problems. That’s the case of 68-year-old Adi Brata. “My wife works as a maid and my son is looking for a job at the moment,” Adi said.
“I was working as a security guard until 2004 but I had to quit because I was diagnosed with diabetes. My son was a mechanic but he lost his job. I was concerned about my family’s situation, so in 2011 I decided to stay here until my son could get another job.”
Various activities are held at the nursing home, from gymnastics to making handicrafts. But Farah emphasized that the most important thing for residents is to interact with the outside world.
“Whenever there are visitors the residents are so happy, because they feel people still care about them,” Farah said. “That’s why volunteers who are willing to spend some time here are always very welcome. There’s also a need for nurses. If there are people with nursing backgrounds who want to volunteer, they are free to come when they have time.”
To find out more about the nursing home as well as volunteer opportunities, email pstwbudimulia4margaguna@yahoo.co.id
The post Nursing Home Taking in The Elderly Off the Streets appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.