Working together to care for terminally-ill kids President Tan meets volunteers, staff at Jakarta hospital Published on Nov 30, 2012 Flanked by his mother, a patient in the SIF Palliative Care Project at Dharmais Cancer Hospital welcomes Dr Tan and his wife Mrs Mary Tan, Ms Lynna Chandra (right) and SIF executive director Jean Tan […]

How to Die By BILLKELLER (TheNew York Times, Published: October 7, 2012 )   ONE morning last month, Anthony Gilbey awakened from anesthesia in a hospital in the east of England. At his bedside were his daughter and an attending physician. The surgery had been unsuccessful, the doctor informed him. There was nothing more that could be done. […]

HEARTBREAK AND HOPE     When medicine and doctors can no longer help a dying child, it helps to have knowledgeable and empathetic support. Indonesian NGO Rachel House is showing the way, with a little  help from Singapore friends. By Kimberly Kraft and  Elaine Foo  (Source: http://singaporemagazine.sif.org.sg/heartbreak-and-hope/ ) The child was screaming. He was screaming […]

With a vision that no child should ever have to die in pain without love and care, Rachel House has set itself a seemingly unattainable goal. With only a handful of nurses on our team, it was clear to us that as soon as the first team is sufficiently confident in their knowledge of palliative […]

“I have started this diary to record as accurately as possible not only what I have seen at Rachel House but the way it has struck me emotionally. I first got involved with Rachel House because, after working in the corporate world for seven months, I found that I had developed a desperate need to […]

What happens after treatment stops? Palliative Care in Indonesia POSTED ON JULY 31, 2012 BY JACQUELINEINTHEFIELD On July 24, I accompanied Rachel House on a home visit to one of its patients – a 7-year-old boy who has leukemia and relapsed just before he was supposed to start the new school year. After visiting Rachel House’s office to meet […]

“When children are dying, religion & medicine can clash….”  IN most Western countries it is generally accepted both legally and by the community that parents do not have the right to refuse potentially life-saving treatment for their children because of their own religious or other beliefs. The best known example relates to Jehovah’s Witness where parents cannot […]

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, Chandra and I) decided to return home to Jakarta for […]

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. It’s the only way she can pass through the extremely narrow streets of the […]