Mutiara Dalam Noken

My colleagues used to tell me about
flying with helicopters, they're frightened
of bad weather and other things.

But I'm motivated to do it and feel
the challenge.

Way before I returned to Papua, I had a
dream,

that some day I would become a doctor
who flies all over to remote areas.

And that dream came true.

PEARL IN THE NOKEN

I joined the Baliem Mission Centre (BMC)

In the organizational structure, I'm the
medical manager.

We have a bimonthly schedule.

We visit some areas that are already under
BMC's purview and try to expand to another.

First, we go North,

to the Kaimana area.

There, we'll find Esrotnaba lake.

It's the center for our services. And
second, to the South, the Korowai area.

We have strong connections with Helivida.

Helivida is an organization that serves
and helps all of Papua's remote areas.

In one of my trips, I flew with a Helivida
pilot, Pilot Erwin.

We were flying at around 12 noon,

because there was an emergency medivac
(Medical Evacuation) mission to one of the
small villages,

near the border of Oksibil and Boven Digul.

It's about 2 hours and 20 minutes from
Wamena.

And the trip to Boven Digul requires
passing a mountainous area near Kurima,
Iberoma, Tama, and there are strong winds.

Suddenly, many clouds blew in and covered
the mountains, so we couldn't see anything,

and we couldn't fly any higher.

So we followed the river of Baliem, followed
it up. But it was raining heavily.

I stayed quiet. Then the pilot said,

"Doctor Mia, please do not worry because
we need to thank God for giving us this
heavy rain.

That means I don't have to clean this
chopper anymore,

because God is cleaning it from heaven".

Yes, immediately my stress disappeared.

Everyday, I'm working at the hospital and
if suddenly there's a medivac calling from
Helivida,

I have to be on stand-by.

And at any time, whether it's good
weather, or bad, if there's a medivac
calling,

if there's a pilot ready, I need to get
ready to fly to evacuate patients.

Mum, here mum.

He and I were nurses,

who helped patients,

up in remote areas.

Even in the remote areas,

where people are afraid to enter.

But he and I,

we have given our all to serve
these people.

I get my spirit from my parents.

Ever since I was a child, there was always
a request for my father at my house to
conduct operations

He had to travel from night until morning,
often without rest.

If there was a patient who needed an
operation, and the doctor called, he needed
to leave to help assist.

Besides these complicated operations,
there was often a medivac from the MAF
(Mission Aviation Fellowship).

He went straight away and left us for days.

So here's a community, they've gathered
so I can conduct an examination.

I've given them basic immunisation.

I stayed and worked there.

This is the local medical centre where
I worked for them.

It's from the old days, so only black and
white, not colour like mine.

There was a journey from Karumbaga
to Bokondini. That's far.

It's quite far.

So we needed to put Mia inside of a noken
(a cloth to carry a child).

Because she was still so small.

If she was thirsty,

I needed to put her down and feed her
some milk,

and then continue to walk.

We put her in a noken, and we climbed
a mountain.

It was hard to carry her on the shoulder.

To climb, it's difficult. And the path was
covered by trees.

So many trees hit our heads, and many
other things.

So we couldn't move fast.

But with the Noken, we can walk fast.

Even when we climb up a mountain, we can
hold on to a root. Easy, right?

I have an story from when I was working in
Wamena in 2009, and began to work in the
Emergency Hospital there.

Suddenly a fight occurred between some
tribes.

And many of these victims were carried to
the Emergency Hospital in Wamena.

A senior nurse came and just touched my
head like this.

Yes, I understood what it meant.

She just held and touched my head like this.
It means that she has once carried me in
her Noken.

And that her head had once carried me.

I need to return all the kindness that's
been given to me by my sisters and
brothers, who I call the hands of God.

Money will never be enough.

I must return all the kindness and love
that they've given to me.

I'm giving it back to all the people I've
ever treated.

I don't have any passion to start my own
medical business,

to make money from my patients,

just to take care of my own welfare.
No!

For me, a doctor is a healer.
That's all.