Gotong Royong Utrecht Foundation stopped the mental health support

Yayasan Gotong Royong (YGR) provided monthly financial support for more than two years on a row to help mentally ill people in the north part of Bali since 2009. In July 2011 Gotong Royong will take office in Yogyakarta (Java). Because of a 70% rent raise of the premises in Singaraja Bali and because they are needed more in Yogya where more projects take place, they decided to abandon the Bali office.

“It seems to be the time for YGR to leave the Lost Paradise and leave Bali to the Balinese as prosperity, wealth, consumerism, individualism have created deep roots in society and is threathing culture and religion. This is of course not an issue for foreigners to solve or to influence as they brought the problem with them”, said Made Kornelis Blok as Chairperson of YGR-Utrecht to Professor Luh Ketut Suryani in the beginning of May. “The gold-rush which has been going on for ages now, to come to a climax as real estate business in booming and incredible amounts of money are pumped around. Also a lot of Balinese nouveau riche are taking big advantages of this developments too. We invite them to spend it on the poor and less fortunate inhabitants of their highly praised cash-cow. In a sense we met with greed and corruption from the beginning (2001) but we always found ways to deal with it and stayed out of the shooting range of ill-willed people. As long as we concentrated on the groups we worked with, we managed to keep our inner focus too. Maybe it’s because we got tired, maybe because we found out that a lot of foreigners have ‘social activities’ to lower the stress they experience in living in Bali (being a walking wallet) and to provide some local acceptance by doing a social project.  The money which is involded is not spend on a proper way, but due to language problems and pressure people keep silent. We came to the conclusion that this is not the environment in which we can operate with a high motivation. And although we are highly satisfied with all the projects we are closely involved with (orphanage, scholarships and senior-support) and we can conclude that they have been for sure quite successful, we decided to pull back gradually”, added Made as he pray that the mental health project runs by Suryani Institute will be as successful as ever.

 

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Sawan subdistrict in North Bali called for mental health help

After helping Sudaji villagers in north Bali, the head of community sub district Sawan called for mental health help to Suryani Institute. The institute found 750 people suffering for mental health and left untreated in Buleleng regency. Sawan is a subdistrict (kecamatan) in the regency of Buleleng in northern Bali, Indonesia. The district is the most important rice producing area of Bali and employs many local people. There is the beautiful Sekumpul Waterfall, which makes a wonderful trek. In the hills here native hardwoods are interspersed with tall coffee and clove trees, and the fragrant vanilla, used the world over in desserts and cakes, climbs up the trunk of small trees that provide foliage for the cows. But behind that beautiful landscape hide many mentally disorder people that left without any treatment.

“We have to say thank you for the help from the institute that willing to provide a mental health service to our people, and we feel fortunate for that reason”, said Gunawan AP, SE,MSi as the leader of Sawan subdistrict in his office while receiving the Suryani Institute team lead by Professor Luh Ketut Suryani.

 

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East Bali continues to receive donation for mental health

Around 9000 people in the paradise island, Bali, suffering for chronic mental disorders, but the government still stand still without any changes in solving the problem. The institute still has to go door by door to visit the patients and distribute their help and donation from outside,  because the doctors and the nurses at the health centers doesn’t want to help these patients. They said they are busy and they don’t know how to handle mental disorders.

“It’s kind of strange to distribute more donation from outside the country rather than from our own people, although the  island awash with tourist dollars but no money can’t be set aside for mental health”, said Professor Luh Ketut Suryani during her visit to Rendang, Karangasem. The team has to deal with the rainy weather, but the heart to help is bigger than the soft gentle kiss from the sky.

 

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Faculty of Psychology Widya Mandala Chatolic University Surabaya searching for community mental health

Faculty of Psychology Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya was established in Surabaya on December 2, 1997. The first Dean of the Faculty of Psychology chaired by Prof. W.F. Maramis, SpKJ. The faculty position themselves as agents of change and center of excellence that helps individuals and communities to address these changes through socio-clinical approach and socio-industrial. They have a mission to make them self as the scientist-practitioner faculty, which apply experiential learning as a method of approach in their education process. For those reasons the faculty brings their student to visit Suryani Institute for Mental Health in Bali.

“Once John F Kennedy said ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country, I help the patients because  nobody help them and they’ve been neglected for many years by the government”, said Professor Luh Ketut Suryani when she received the group of 40 students and 2 lecturers from  Faculty of Psychology Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya as the student ask about the fund to run the activities of the institute and the sense of community for mental health in Bali.

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