Hapsa Salampessy: Caring for Inland Communities

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Hapsa Salampessy

After working 25 years in cities and villages, Hapsa Salampessy is not yet satisfied. She feels that her work is far from complete, as so many people in inland areas on Seram Islam do not enjoy proper healthcare services. These days, she dedicates her life to caring for inland communities, often walking from village to village.

Walking to remote inland villages on Seram Island areas appears to offer Hapsa some relief from the personal turmoil of working as a civil servant in West Seram in 1993. Back then, she often cared for patients from mountain communities who arrived at the local puskesmas (community health center) in critical condition and could not be saved.

Patients from the mountain regions were usually carried by stretcher to the puskesmas, which was located in a coastal town. The group of people bearing the stretcher would walk for days just to seek medical treatment. Many other people who were ill chose to remain in their villages, enduring their pain while praying for a quick death. Countless pregnant women and their unborn babies could not be saved.

What Hapsa experienced still occurs today. In October, a couple from Maraina village carried their malnourished toddler for three days and three nights, across 48 rivers and streams over 60 kilometers, just to seek medical treatment.

“It’s tragic that the conditions I experienced 20 years ago still exist today. This is what pushed me to do things my way. If I simply go along with the bureaucratic flow, it will be slow. Moreover, I have limited authority. The solution was for me to act. I should not depend solely on government programs,” she said.

After providing free medicines for underprivileged patients, Hapsa felt that more should be done. In 2015, the 44-year-old mother of three, nurse and midwife finally decided to journey to the inland villages in northern Seram. Several teachers, doctors and other professionals accompanied her.

Slap in the face

After traveling around four hours by car from the Central Maluku capital of Masohi, Hapsa and her colleagues walked for three days and three nights to reach the remotest villages of Kaloa, Elemata, Hatuwolo, Manusela and Maraina. These villages are among the most isolated on Seram Island.

At around 17,100 square kilometers, Seram is the largest island in Maluku province and comprises three regencies. In Maluku mythology, Seram is the cradle of life from

which human beings spread to the surrounding islands. This is why Seram is called Nusa Ina, which means “mother island”.

On her first visit, Hapsa said that she felt she had been slapped in the face. Although the government, including herself as a Central Maluku health agency worker, often claimed success in healthcare services, many inland communities did not receive proper health care. Many villagers would never see a medical professional from the time they were born to the time they died.

Many children were not vaccinated, many more were malnourished and most pregnant women never underwent checkups or ultrasound scans. The villagers often treated their sick with whatever equipment and medicines they had on hand. The arduous journey required to reach a health center meant they could not carry much with them. Understandably, these villagers welcomed Hapsa and her colleagues with open arms and tears of joy.

After she returned from that first visit, Hapsa established a community of people with medical and teaching backgrounds. A number of youths interested in serving people in the remote regions also joined up. To date, the community has made six trips to remote villages, with the fastest journey lasting six days.

The nurses provide healthcare services and the teachers hold classes when they reach the inland villages. Many of these villages do not have schools. The education facilities are in poor condition, managed by local residents who had some skill in reading, writing and basic arithmetic. Some villages have permanent schools, but no teachers.

Following the six trips to northern Seram, Hapsa and her community plan to journey to the island’s southern areas, starting with a visit to Piliana village in January.

When Kompas met Hapsa in November, her group had just discovered a malnourishment case in Piliana. The village, called “the land above the clouds”, has no health worker, while the mobile puskesmas does not have a regular schedule.

Healthcare services in Piliana are provided by a villager who just graduated nursing school. However, when someone falls severely ill, they must be carried to the regency capital, 130 kilometers away.

Hapsa has no target for the number of villages she plans to visit. As the head of the Central Maluku health agency’s vaccination and monitoring division, she has little spare time. Furthermore, she has minimal resources to fund the trips.

The group raises funds mainly at bazaars, healthcare gatherings, poetry reading competitions and through local donations. Hapsa also uses her own money to cover any shortfalls.

Nurturing volunteers

Hapsa’s end goal is to cultivate volunteers in the inland villages to drive local healthcare services. She often asks the villagers to join the group’s activities and sends them to school. She is currently providing the university tuition for an inland youth.

“I am Muslim, while almost all the inland children are Christians. I tell their parents not to worry and that I would keep their children safe. I will take them to church. What I see in these children is that they have dreams and that I have to help them,” said Hapsa, who wears a hijab.

While serving the inland communities, Hapsa often discovered the causes of the improper implementation of local healthcare services, including poor infrastructure, food supply problems, absence of medical professionals and unhealthy lifestyles. Hapsa has been able to map out these problems on her journeys to these remote areas.

She said that her intention to serve inland villagers was stronger than any of the challenges she faced, including leaving her family for days. Complete devotion was required in serving people who lived in remote areas. Despite the apparent lack of interest in remote civil service posts, Hapsa said that many civil servants might actually be interested, but had yet to find the right opportunity.

Hapsa Salampessy

Date of birth: May 5, 1974

Children: Three

Education: Health sciences vocational high school, Tamalatea, Makassar (Class of 2003)