Robin Lim ("Mother Robin," or "Ibu Robin") is a midwife and founder of Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) health clinics, which offer freeprenatal care, birthing services and medical aid to anyone who needs it. She and her team have been working since 2003 to combat Indonesia's high maternal andinfant mortality rates. She was awarded the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year award by the CNN news network, for helping thousands of low-income women inIndonesia with healthy pregnancy and birth services.
Bumi Sehat
In the first eight months of 2011, the Bumi Sehat Foundation has had more than 20,500 incidences of patient care and assisted in the delivery of almost 400 babies.From its beginnings as a community health and childbirth clinic in Bali, Lim took the Bumi Sehat Foundation to Aceh following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Combined, the two clinics have facilitated the birth of more than 5,000 babies. And when earthquakes struck, Lim took the project to Yogyakarta in 2006,Padang in 2008 and Haiti in 2010.
Lim is prepared to provide maternal and infant care in the middle of a devastated area with limited materials. Instead of cutting the umbilical cord, for instance, she burns it -- especially in disaster zones, because it's something she can teach midwives and doctors who have lost their instruments. Using scissors to sever the umbilical cord carries a risk of tetanus, while burning the cord mitigates risk of infection. In addition to knowing how to safely respond medically, Robin Lim and the Bumi Sehat Foundation don't have any particular religion, and honor all requests and faith traditions, aiming to help mothers feel safe and supported.
Lim is an advocate for parental rights. Babies are often held by hospitals in Indonesia, until payment is made for birthing services. Parents often relinquish their rights and place their babies up for adoption. Lim's Yayasan Bumi Sehat birthing sanctuaries offer free prenatal care, birthing services and medical aid to anyone who needs it in Indonesia, where the average family earns the equivalent of $8 a day, and a normal hospital delivery without complications costs around $70. A Caesarean sectioncan cost more than $700. Indonesia's high maternal and infant mortality rates are caused in part by these costs, which many women cannot meet. In turn, their lives and the lives of their babies are at risk. While some Indonesian celebrities and expatriates choose Bumi Sehat to birth their children, and they often give donations, 80% of the families served by the clinics can barely pay anything.
Personal Life
Lim is a U.S. citizen, mother of eight children of her own, and author of many books related to infant and maternal health. She became a midwife after several personal tragedies, including the death of her sister (and her baby) from complications during pregnancy, and the loss of her best friend and one of the midwives who delivered one of her own children.
Lim and her husband, William Hemmerle, sold their home in Hawaii and moved the family to Bali. She was raised in the USA and Philippines while her father was stationed in Vietnam with the U.S. military. Lim studied at Santa Barbara City College. Once in Bali, Lim volunteered to help local women deliver babies in various homes. As the demand for her services grew, she decided to obtain formal midwife certification. Lim is a Certified Professional Midwife with the North American Registry of Midwives. In 2003, with help from the Balinese community and donations from friends across the globe, Lim and fellow midwife Brenda Ritchmond opened the first Yayasan Bumi Sehat clinic.
References
^ a b c "Saving mothers and their babies - CNN.com". CNN. October 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
^ "CNN Hero of the Year". YouTube.
^ "'Mother Robin' wins CNN Hero of the Year - CNN.com". CNN.
^ "CNN Heroes 2011 - Top 10 CNN Hero: Robin Lim - Special Reports from CNN.com". CNN. December 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
^ "Delivering babies after a tsunami - CNN.com". CNN. March 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
^ a b c d "'Mother Robin' delivers for poor women in Indonesia - CNN.com". CNN. March 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
^ "Robin Lim Books". Robin Lim Books. December 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
^ "An awards show unlike any other - CNN.com". CNN. December 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
External links
Bumi Sehat Foundation International website
Robin Lim Support
Alexanderlanger International Award
from : Wikipedia
Nama Robin Lim memang tidak dikenal luas di Indonesia. Tetapi perempuan Amerika Serikat (AS) ini berhasil menjadi pemenang CNN Heroes of the Year 2011. Dirinya membantu proses melahirkan dari ribuan perempuan di Indonesia. Atas jasanya ini, perempuan ini menerima penghargaan CNN Hero of the Year. Penghargaan ini diberikan oleh jurnalis senior CNN Anderson Cooper di Los Angeles, AS, Minggu malam waktu setempat. Lewat Yayasan Bumi Sehat, Ibu Robin, seperti yang biasa dipanggil oleh warga, dirinya membantu proses persalinan di beberapa wilayah tertinggal di Bali. "Setiap bayi yang lahir ke dunia, seharusnya dilahirkan dengan penuh kasih sayang. Setiap ibu harusnya sehat dan kuat (dalam proses persalinan). Setiap kelahiran bisa berlangsung aman dan penuh kasih sayang. Tetapi tidak semuanya bisa mendapatkannya," ucap Lim seperti dikutip CNN, Senin (12/12/2011). Menurut Lim, situasi yang terjadi di Indonesia saat ini sangatlah buruk jika merunut pada proses persalinan. "Rata-rata tiap keluarga (di Indonesia) memiliki penghasilan USD8 atau sekira Rp72 ribu (Rp9.075 per USD), tetapi proses persalinan dapat menghabiskan biaya hingga USD70 atau sekira Rp635,2 ribu," imbuh Lim saat menerima penghargaan. Lim menyakini bahwa angka kematian ibu dan bayi yang tinggi di Indonesia, lebih banyak disebabkan oleh kesulitan dari keluarga untuk membayar proses persalinan. Sementara menurut penelitian dari Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (PBB), banyak perempuan di negara berkembang diketahui tidak memiliki akses luas untuk mendapatkan alat kontrasepsi ataupun perawatan persalinan. PBB melaporkan tiga dari lima perempuan yang melahirkan di Asia Tenggara, kerap kali melahirkan anaknya tapi didampingi bantuan para ahli atau bidan. Sebagai pemenang, Lim mendapat hadiah USD250 ribu atau sekira Rp2,2 miliar. Selain Lim, ada 10 orang finalis lain yang turut masuk dalam nominasi penghargaan ini. Mereka sebagian besar adalah warga AS yang melakukan aksi bantuan kemanusiaan di dalam ataupun di luar AS.
from : http://forum.kompas.com/internasional/53834-robin-lim-sosok-wanita-yang-menjadi-pahlawan-di-indonesia.html
