By Tomi Soetjipto
With a confidence of an army cadet, four-year old Jupe Rusmani stomped into a small-dilapidated room full of health workers armed with injection needles. Her poise surprised everyone, including Jupe’s Mother, Nor Rusmani, who stood outside smiling.
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| Armendo Fransesco received the Measles & Rubella vaccine ©Fauzan Yo/UNICEF Indonesia/2018 |
“What a brave little girl you are,” said one of the nurses before she injected life-saving Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccines on Jupe’s upper left arm. Within seconds Jupe walked out the room and shook her head furiously when asked by her ‘aunties’ neighbours whether she felt pain from the injection.
Buoyed by Jupe’s confidence, other kids followed her steps, including eight-year old Gloria Titahena who didn’t flinch her eyes when the injection needle rested on her bony upper arm. With a timid smile, Gloria then posed for a photograph while holding a sign in local language that says, “I’m brave, I just had a rubella vaccination ”. Another kid, five-year old Armendo Fransesco, a cheerful boy with shoulder-length curly hair, held up another sign that says, “Want to be healthy? Have a Rubella vaccination”
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| Mothers in Waimahu Passo, city of Ambon, took their children to receive Measles & Rubella vaccine ©Fauzan Yo/UNICEF Indonesia/2018 |
It’s been an eventful day for the children of Waimahu Passo in Ambon, capital of the Moluccas province. On this recent September day, around 23 kids have been registered to receive MR vaccines, as part of a nationwide second phase campaign to immunize 31.9 million children. The first phase was done in the main island of Java in 2017, targeting around 35 million children. Lying at the eastern part of Indonesia, Ambon is part of the famed Moluccas islands, once a sought-after colonial destination due to their spices.
As of early September, around 50 per cent of children aged above nine months to below 15 years in Ambon city, or around 50 thousand have been vaccinated against MR. The port city is targeting around 114 thousand children whilst the provincial target stands at around 546 thousand.
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| Rosa Penturi is doing puppet shows and singing to relieve children's tension during the Measles & Rubella vaccine activity ©Fauzan Yo/UNICEF Indonesia/2018 |
Waimahu Passo is not your usual neighborhood. The community of makeshift houses was built out of a dark chapter in Ambon’s history when it was engulfed in communal violence in 1999. All of the 300 residents living in this crammed zone lost their homes and belongings when mayhem gripped Ambon.
19 years on, the displaced community has made Waimaho Passo their home, with many finding jobs in the informal sector as vegetable sellers or motorcycle taxis.
Local NGO, Yayasan Pelangi Maluku, has been at the forefront of efforts to include marginalized children into the MR campaign.
“At first we informed community leaders about the government’s plan, then we visited the communities a couple of times, informing them about the danger of MR. So far it’s been a great,” said Rosa Penturi, Head of Yayasan Pelangi Maluku, her left hand is covered with a sock puppet. Rosa has been giving puppet performances and sing-a-long sessions to ease children’s tension.
