One and a half years ago, a boy started to lose his ability to move. One and a half years ago, the boy was diagnosed with HIV. One and a half years ago, Rachel House was introduced to the boy. His name is Ardi. He is seven years old. The HIV virus had compromised his […]

Budi was five when he started complaining of headaches and blurred vision. He was also vomiting four to five times a day. After three weeks, when the symptoms did not abate, his mother decided to take him to the local clinic. The doctor diagnosed Budi with shortsightedness and prescribed him with spectacles. When the symptoms […]

In a 1-room house measuring 3 x 8 meters shared by 5 adults and 3 children, lay a little boy on a thin blanket on the floor. The room had no windows other than an open door that let in the hot dusty air, and sometimes a wandering rooster from the streets. For Sani, the […]

A home visit with Rachel House’s newest nurse – Dadan Approaching a group of houses in the late morning, there is evidence that a hard days’ work has already begun. On the ground, mung beans lay drying on a tarpaulin and the smell of fresh laundry hangs in the damp but hot air. As Dadan […]

Karina is a three-year-old girl who has lost her mother and brother to HIV. Karina’s father is a gentle spirit, also suffering from HIV: now, they only have each other. The family moved to Jakarta from their village to earn a living.  Karina and her father are living in a car park during the day […]

There are many stories that are left untold in the daily travels of Rachel House’s nurses – stories tucked deep in their hearts that speak of great devastation. This is a story of a little boy’s brave journey. Miki was 6 months old when problems began. It started initially with a simple cough… that never […]

Patient history “Mom, I know I am dying. What is the point of spending more money on chemotherapy when we know it will not make the cancer go away! Please save the money for a business you can start when I am no longer here.” These words, spoken with such wisdom from a 14 year-old, […]

Patient History Siti was the only child of a young couple from West Jakarta. She was first diagnosed with cancer in July 2007, a year after she had fallen in the shower while still learning to walk. According to Siti’s parents, the fall had resulted in a bad wound around her coccyx that never healed, […]

What Rachel House Means to Me – A Mother’s Perspective Lala, my daughter aged 6 and half, was diagnosed with advanced stage Neuroblastoma on January 12, 2009. At the time, we were still living in Canberra where I was pursuing further studies on a scholarship. When Lala had a relapse in April 2010, we (Lala, […]

A Day in the Life of a Rachel House Nurse – by Jasmine Cross It takes Susi two and a half hours to reach Rachel House’s satellite in North Jakarta. A long, tiring journey by motorbike through the heavily congested streets of Jakarta, but it is essential. Her motorbike provides a lifeline to her patients. […]