News update from Sumatra... July 2010

The Children of Sumatra has been based in Banda Aceh for the last few months carrying out operations with a local surgeon called Dr Bismedi.

Sumatra is a very large island and the journey from north Aceh to Siantar where we are normally based can take up to 15 hours. Since the 2004 tsunami that killed over 180,000 people in Aceh, hospitals and medical staff have improved greatly. Many of the children we meet in remote areas of Aceh don’t want to make the journey to north Sumatra, so being able to have operations in Banda Aceh means many more children from Aceh can get to a hospital.

In September and October two teams of Dutch doctors will once again be coming to Siantar to carry out some of the most difficult operations while also training up local surgeons. We already have many children in need of surgery and every week we are finding new cases.

Siti, the young girl we are helping who had the gangrenous noma on her face, has been living in Harapan Jaya rehabilitation centre ever since returning to Indonesia after her operations. She is learning many new skills and at last can read and write. She is now a very confident young woman and is preparing for her next operation, which will be carried out in Siantar in September. Siti has had one of the most complex operations that the children of Sumatra has ever had to arrange. The costs have been thousands of pounds even with the generous help from Erasmus Hospital who paid all her medical bills in Holland. Funding is still desperately needed for her follow up surgeries for face reconstrution. To find out more about Siti and to donate please visit the Siti Appeal.

Murtaza before and after his operation

This is Murtaza Ruddin; he lives in a remote village on the west coast of Aceh, which was devastated by the tsunami. We first saw him when he was 9 years old, but his parents could never travel the long distance to Siantar for him to have the operation, 3 years after first meeting Murtaza Ruddin he eventually got his operation in Banda Aceh. He is now 12 years old, and he can now go to school with confidence.

We would like to thank everyone for their continuing support and donations. It is your kindness and generosity that gives these children their smiles.

Katie Pavett, Children of Sumatra

PS News just in...Rian & Dylan, two Australian lads who cycled from Banda to Bali in support of the Children of Sumatra in 2009 have made a DVD of their trip. It can be purchased from their website and AUS$5 from each sale goes to the Children of Sumatra.