Ambrosius Oktan Muyan, Love and Care for Atsj District
The father of one was posted as a nurse at one of the puskesmas (community health centers) in inland Asmat district in 1998. Amid the limited facilities and infrastructure, Ambrosius Oktan Muyan loves his work and the local people, and has refused to relinquish his post until now.
On Dec. 13, 2018 at around 11 a.m. local time, Puskesmas Atsj was as busy as ever. Atsj is one of Asmat regency’s 23 distrik, or subdistrict-level local administration.
Traveling from the provincial capital of Jayapura to Asmat requires a flight to Timika. The trip then continues by a 12-hour Pelni passenger ferry ride or a 45-minute flight by small plane to Agats, the capital of Asmat. The final leg from Agats to Atsj takes 75 to 90 minutes by motorboat on the river.
That afternoon, Ambrose and three healthcare officers were busy distributing nutritious food for mothers and toddlers at the puskesmas. Atsj Puskesmas has been distributing food for the past two years and as part of the First 1,000 Days of Life (HPK) program for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to 2 years old.
The Atsj Puskesmas head since 2014, Ambrosius immediately started direct distribution of food and milk to the 200 HPK participants. The distribution runs day and night, Monday to Friday. “We split up the food distribution schedule to avoid long lines,” said Ambrose, who is familiarly called mantri (health officer) Ambo.
Ambrosius and his staff also hold regular consultations with every mother about clean and healthy lifestyles and how they can provide nutritious food for their children at home.
Not infrequently, Ambrosius and his team take a boat to visit the 30 areas in their jurisdiction to invite mothers to join the HPK program. The food is intentionally given to the mothers for immediate consumption, and is not to be taken home. If the food is brought home, there is a chance that their husbands would consume it instead.
The implementation of the HPK program is critical to overcoming the frequent occurrence of malnutrition in Asmat. Between September 2017 and February 2018, an extraordinary occurrence (KLB) of measles outbreaks and malnutrition hit Asmat. Seventy-two deaths of children under 5 were recorded. In total, 646 children contracted measles and 144 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in 19 distrik. Atsj Puskesmas treated at least 60 children under 5 for measles and malnutrition before they were referred to Agats Hospital.
In addition to malnutrition, the other diseases Ambrosius and his staff often treat diarrheal
diseases, tuberculosis, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS. “After the KLB, the central government gave greater attention to Asmat. We were motivated even more to work harder,” he said.
Inspired by a nun
Ambro’s dream of becoming a nurse was inspired by a Dutch nun called Martha Sturkenbom from the Merauke Daughters of the Sacred Heart. In the 1980s, as a small child, Ambro watched Sister Martha serving the people of Kelapa Lima village.
Sister Martha, who was a midwife, had a very close relationship with the village children. However, in 1992, the sister returned to the Netherlands. Since then, Ambrosius vowed he would become a health worker to serve the people.
However, it was not easy to realize his dream. His father’s income as a dockhand was not enough to support Ambrosius and his five younger siblings in their education.
Luckily, he found foster parents, the sister-brother pair of Christina and Yeremias Welerubun. Christina was an elementary school teacher and Yeremias was a junior high school teacher in Merauke. The two funded Ambrose’s education from elementary school until he graduated from the Merauke Nursing School in 1997.
A year after passing the prospective civil servant exam, Ambrosius was appointed in July 1998 to serve Atsj distrik as a nurse. The local residents greeted his arrival enthusiastically, who lacked healthcare services.
In 2012, Ambrosius was transferred to Agats Hospital in the capital city of Asmat as an assistant surgical nurse. However, thanks to the Atsj residents’ persistent requests to the Asmat regency administration, Ambrosius finally returned to Atsj in 2014 as the head of the local puskesmas.
During his term, Ambrosius has run a public awareness program through the mobile puskesmas service to specific villages. He also built a delivery room and postpartum room for women to recover after childbirth.
Most of the 23 distrik in Asmat are disadvantaged and outlying areas. With a population of 92,909 (BPS, 2017), the regency has no roads that connect its distrik. Local residents must take a boat to cross the sea and crocodile-infested rivers to reach the villages, and the cost of fuel is draining.
The weather conditions on the rivers and estuaries are often unpredictable. Dozens of times, the boat that carried Ambrosius and his colleagues was almost submerged by a wave more than 2 meters high.
The high price of basic necessities is also a challenge for Ambrosius and his colleagues. They spend Rp 400,000 up to Rp 3 million on one trip with the mobile puskesmas service. This covers retail gasoline at Rp 20,000 per liter, as the distribution of subsidized fuel is often disrupted.
Ambrosius works with 45 other employees at Atsj Puskesmas and is supported by a physician the Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) sent to the center in May 2018. Every day, Atsj
Puskesmas serves around 100 patients from 31 villages in two distrik and a number of villages in Mappi regency. Before the physician arrived, Ambrosius and his colleagues also provided the services of a physician.
“Basically, we wanted to provide effective healthcare services to the people, even though we are not doctors,” Ambrosius said.
Ambrosius Oktan Muyan
Born: Merauke, Sept. 9, 1977
Wife: Christina Sri Haryani
Child: Martin Viktor Muyan
Education:
- Malang Health Polytechnic, Class of 2011
- Merauke nursing vocational school, 1994-1997
- SMP Yayasan Pendidikan Persekolahan Katolik Yohanes XXIII Merauke junior high school,1990-1994
- SD Yayasan Pendidikan Persekolahan Katolik Santa Maria Fatima Merauke elementary school, 1984-1989