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Veronika's Story: One Woman, A Thousand Lives to Save
👋 Hi everyone, this is Alex in full preparation for leaving for Sumba with the Truck n'Load.
Today, my friends, I have chosen a new story to tell you...
The one of Veronika, a young woman from East Sumba, who is 30 years old. Her birthday is on October 21, and she was born in 1994. Watch the film about her day, "A Day in My Life", here.
A strong and remarkable woman, she is a Kawan Sehat Health Agent, a teacher and a mother. This fighter lives in a tiny village, hot and dusty, and unfortunately, a hotbed of tuberculosis with many cases. Her village is called Kotak Kalimbung. She lives at RT 026 and RW 009. (RT = Neighborhood and RW = Group of houses.)
Before the sun even breaks the horizon, Veronika is already up. No alarm clock, no electric light, just the ingrained habit of getting up before daybreak. Veronika sweeps the floor of her house and prepares the meal for the kids: a little rice, salt, peppers and corn, and a few vegetables if there are any.
Then she feeds the pigs and watches over her sick father. Her village has no water, electricity, telephone network or Internet. Here, to pick up a signal, you have to climb the highest hill, and even then... We have tested it several times: It is high, far away, it is hot... It is almost 35° degrees at 8am.
But her day is only just beginning.
Treat, teach, walk, start again.
Veronika puts on her medical backpack, filled with medicines, bandages, medical and educational materials -educational fabric posters- a bag filled with real solutions too, and then she leaves; on foot. There are no roads here, only paths burning under the sun. The kilometers of walking on these stony paths do not count, only her mission matters. Veronika heads towards her tiny school, several kilometres away.
From house to house, she treats. A feverish child, a worried pregnant woman, a farmer who injured himself with his machete. She doesn’t have a stethoscope or sophisticated equipment, but she has her hands, her instincts and all the knowledge we have passed on to her over the past three years.
Veronika also consults the program’s doctors via the Kawan Sehat application, transmits the symptoms, tells what she did, what medicine she gave and follows the progress of the cases. She is the eyes and hands of the medical staff where no hospital exists, where no doctor is present. Here, there is only one doctor for more than 50,000 people.
Then, between two treatments, she becomes a teacher. In her village, she teaches the little ones and offers them a clean place, a preschool space to learn. Without her, these children would not have access to education. For this work, Veronika barely earns 25 dollars a month!! And yet, she continues without ever complaining
A life of sacrifice, a future she builds
Every day, Veronika faces fatigue, heat and endless walking. She does it without electricity, water, or comfort. And yet, she never stops.
Veronika is not an exception. She is the embodiment of all these invisible women, all our Kawan Sehat Health Agents, who do not just wait for help but who provide it themselves—women caregivers, educators, mothers and leaders who keep their community standing.
So, today, I just wanted to tell you about Veronika and invite you to watch this film that we made about her, in the series: "-One Day in my Life",
Behind every patient saved, every child educated, and every village that stands strong there are women like Veronika.
See you soon;
Alex Wettstein
🎥 Watch the movie "A Day in My Life - Veronika From East Sumba".
❤️ Discover the work of Kawan Sehat health workers here.
📝 See our Healthy Living Campaigns here by clicking on this link.
ℹ️ Do you have a question? Please go take a look at our glossary; it's worth it... |
