When healthcare is a day's walk away
Selviana knows the mountains around her community the way most people know their own street. Every morning she sets out on foot across steep terrain to reach families whose children need her support. As a community health volunteer working alongside Save the Children and local partner Perkumpulan Stimulant Institute (PSI) on the island of Sumba, Indonesia, she is often the first – and most consistent – point of healthcare contact for the families she serves.
The barriers families face
For many families in Sumba, one of Indonesia's least developed islands, the nearest health centre can be kilometres away. Without private transport, reaching it means walking – a significant barrier when a child is sick, or the rainy season has made paths impassable. On top of this, nutritious foods are frequently beyond what families can afford, and many children are underweight, increasing their risk of becoming malnourished and illness.
Ninety days of change
When Selviana first met Reta* and her four-year-old son Domi* (pictured above) in 2023, Domi was severely underweight and frequently unwell.
Health volunteer Selviana (right) screens Domi to determine if he's underweight.
“The first time I met Reta, her child had severe malnutrition, weighing far below the threshold,” Selviana says.
Selviana began visiting every day. For 90 days, she cooked three nutritious meals and delivered them to the family's home, sharing knowledge about locally available foods like moringa and sweet potato leaves, alongside handwashing and hygiene routines. “Over the months, her child's weight increased,” says Selviana. “She [Reta] followed my advice diligently, so the child has gotten better now.”
“My child's body weight increased, which was good,” says Reta. “He was no longer unwell, and now, I am happy.”
Keeping going when the going gets tough
Community health volunteers carry enormous responsibility, often with limited resources and little recognition. Selviana alone cares for 89 children across her area, leaving early each morning to make home visits on foot. “I have a long journey across the mountains,” she says.
The scale of need she encounters is significant, but seeing the progress the children make keeps her going: “Without these regular health checks, many children suffer from malnutrition … When I see people sickly or suffering from malnutrition, I want to help.”
Thanks to people like you, Selviana has received training and support from Save the Children and PSI to help her continue. Her focus is now on expanding the reach of healthcare so more children can be monitored every month. That means more families knowing which local foods support their growth, more consistent healthy routines, and more children whose weight is tracked before problems arise – and it’s all possible because of our donors.
Domi (with his father Andri*) has a lot to smile about now that his health is back
For every family living kilometres from the nearest health centre, community health volunteers like Selviana who show up consistently – on foot, and over steep terrain – are what makes the difference for children like Domi.
“It makes me happy,” says Selviana. “I'm happy when they are healthy.”
Photos: Sacha Myers / Save the Children.
*Names changed to protect identities.