Nurhamid Karnaatmaja, has provided care for around 2,000 schizophrenia sufferers who were victims of violence, homeless or abused. Although Nurhamid\'s intentions were noble, many people objected to his approach.
By
Fajar Ramadhan and M. Zaid Wahyudi
·5 minutes read
For the last decade, Nurhamid Karnaatmaja, 60, has provided care for around 2,000 schizophrenia sufferers who were victims of violence, homeless or abused. Although Nurhamid\'s intentions were noble, many people objected to his approach. However, he never gave up, and continued to welcome and gather schizophrenia sufferers at Istana Komunitas Sehat Jiwa (Mental Health Community Palace).
Nurhamid had been living a comfortable life as an elementary school teacher since 1979. His monthly salary of around Rp 4 million was decent. However, his concern and care for people with schizophrenia prompted him decide to retire early seven years ago.
It all started when Nurhamid\'s brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2009. A lack of knowledge made his family decide on non-medical treatment. Instead of recovering, his brother\'s condition grew worse. Nurhamid took the initiative to take him to Cianjur General Hospital in West Java. After receiving focused treatment for three months, his brother\'s condition stabilized.
Nurhamid\'s concern and compassion for people with schizophrenia has only grown since then. He searched for information on any other schizophrenia sufferers in the area and visited them individually, one house at a time. His visits were to inform their families that schizophrenia was a mental health disease that could be cured with medication, and that the condition was not a result of witchcraft or anything supernatural.
Nurhamid drives neither a car nor a motorcycle, so he took public transportation or ojek (motorcycle taxi) to make his visits. He once visited 23 families in a day. He visited schizophrenia sufferers not just in his neighborhood in Cibeber, Cianjur, West Java, but also those he discovered in Limbangan, Garut, and in Serang, Banten. Of course, his travel costs were an issue.
"I sometimes sold cellphones to pay for the travel fees. An ojek can cost Rp 150,000 to get to South Cianjur," he said on Thursday (3/10/2019) in Cipanas, Cianjur. Traveling by ojek would cost even more for longer distances, or if the road conditions to the destination are difficult.
His concern for people with schizophrenia finally prompted Nurhamid to found a social welfare institute (LKS) in 2009, which he named Istana Komunitas Sehat Jiwa (Istana KSJ). In 2015, Istana KSJ established its first psychiatric rehabilitation center for schizophrenia sufferers who had been confined, bound, homeless or faced legal problems.
The rehabilitation center was first based in rented house in Jamali village of Mande district, Cianjur. Just this year, Istana KSJ moved to a 2,000-square-meter villa in Cipanas that a philanthropist had rented for them for the next five years.
Put in chain
In the first decade since its establishment, Istana KSJ has helped more than 2,000 schizophrenia sufferers receive medical treatment. Meanwhile, it has helped release more than 320 people with schizophrenia who had been either shackled or confined. The people it has helped come from diverse regions and ethnicities, but most come from areas near Cianjur.
Local residents generally think that people with schizophrenia are dangerous because they could attack them or damage their property.
Although it is both a human rights violation human and inhumane, the families of people with schizophrenia often confine them so that they do not harm family members or neighbors. Local residents generally think that people with schizophrenia are dangerous because they could attack them or damage their property.
"A family’s decision to confine or restrain people with schizophrenia is a result of the people’s lack of understanding that schizophrenia can be treated. It is the responsibility of Istana KSJ to inform them," said Nurhamid.
Releasing people with schizophrenia from confinement has left a deep impression on Nurhamid. Some of the people he helped release had been confined for more than 20 years in a narrow, dark cage that was only big enough for a person to sit or lay down.
It was in that narrow space that the person with schizophrenia ate, slept and defecated. As a result, they were in extremely poor physical condition when they were finally released. Most were emaciated, their bodies caked with dirt or mud, they smelled and some were infested with maggots.
Releasing the confined schizophrenia sufferers was not always easy. Some families refused to release them, and even drove away the team from Istana KSJ. Istana KSJ usually worked with medical staff from the local puskesmas (community health center), social welfare officers, village officials and the police to persuade the families of people with schizophrenia to release them. The effort generally takes several months.
The people who have been released are then transported to Istana KSJ for treatment. There, they are bathed, provided with meals and medicine, and engaged in conversation. Istana KSJ has made it a tradition for schizophrenia patients to take their medicine together after dinner.
Most of the treatment and rehabilitation at Istana KSJ are provided by seniors, or other schizophrenia patients whose conditions are stable.
"Most of the treatment and rehabilitation at Istana KSJ are provided by seniors, or other schizophrenia patients whose conditions are stable," said Nurhamid.
Nurhamid recruits stable patients who are interested in helping other patients as Istana KSJ staffers. They may work as caregivers, security officers or finance managers, and some have even become head housekeepers of the rehabilitation center.
The treatment and rehabilitation programs Istana KSJ provide focus on helping its patients realize that they must continue to take regular medication to maintain their mental health. Once they realize this and develop self-discipline in taking their medication, people with schizophrenia can enjoy independent and productive lives and be useful to society.
Nurhamid Karnaatmaja
Born:Cianjur, 4 March 1959
Education: SPGN Cianjur teaching assistant high school (1975-1979); SMPN Cibeber junior high school Cianjur (1972-1975); SDN Cibaregbeg 2 Cibeber elementary school, Cianjur (1966-1972)
Occupation:Founder and adviser, Yayasan Istana Kesehatan Jiwa mental health foundation
Awards: Contributing to Mental Health Development, Health Minister’s award (2011); First place, Social Empowerment Pioneer, West Java Governor’s award (2016)