Kasih’s Journey

The Adelaide Courier has picked up Kasih’s story -

Read on for the story:

Kasih’s birth brought overwhelming grief to her mother, but her life is bringing joy and hope to her family, her native island in Indonesia and the wider Muslim and Christian communities.

The 20-month-old from Halmahera, in what was once part of the rich spice islands of the Dutch East Indies, was born with a rare Tessier cleft palate that left a large gap through the centre of her face.

Next month at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital she will have the first of several surgeries to reconstruct her face, thanks to the Aldgate Baptist Church and another church in NZ.

Kasih’s mother, Nur Laewerang, the 21-year-old wife of Asri Talaba, a farmer from the small Muslim village of Kira, still weeps when she remembers her daughter’s birth.

Through a translator, and many tears, she told The Courier that she was “just very sad”.

But when her daughter was about eight months old she remembered that many hours away there was a clinic run by “Westerners” - Christian medical volunteers - and she found the means to travel there to find help for Kasih, whose name means ‘love’ in Indonesian.

This was a big journey in many ways for the young woman who was only 14 when some of the worst of the Christian/Muslim ethnic violence erupted on her island.

However, she was at pains to stress that the massacre of thousands, on both sides, was orchestrated by “outsiders” inflaming old conflicts over land.

It was at the clinic that providence stepped in, in the form of NZ doctor Nicole Anderson and a group of volunteers from the Aldgate Baptist Church.

Dr Anderson was determined to do something for Kasih, even though she was on the eve of returning home.

It took her three months of emailing medical contacts before Professor David David from the world famous Australian Craniofacial Unit in Adelaide said he would take Kasih on as a patient, and that September would be the best time to bring her to Australia for pre-surgery procedures.

Dr Anderson remembered meeting young Adelaide Hills volunteers Kurt Mahlburg and his sister Laura at the clinic and she emailed them for help.

They mentioned that Martin Gare from their church was heading to Halmahera at that time and could escort Nur and Kasih to Australia.

Between the two churches they handled the inter-country logistics and raised the thousands needed to cover the medical, travel and living costs of the pair.

“It’s been such an Anzac effort really,” Dr Anderson said during a brief reunion with Nur and Kasih at Martin Gare’s home in the Hills.

“When we first saw Kasih we had no idea how we were going to help her.

“I’ve tried to do advocacy before and I knew how hard it would be.”

Nur said she was overwhelmed by the care and compassion shown her daughter and herself when they arrived at the clinic.

“They wanted to know all about us. They really cared about me,” she said.

She also said she had complete confidence in Prof. David and the doctors and nurses caring for them in Australia.

And her family supported the trip, although they worried about how the pair was faring on their own.

“Kusih is the most famous person in the village. They all want to follow Kasih to Australia,” she said.

The Gare family is also conscious of how Kasih’s treatment has become a symbol of “healing” on her island.

“I’d bet a month’s wages that every Muslim in this village knows about Kasih and who is helping her out and I just see this an incredibly significant,”

Mr Gare said.

“There are acts of goodwill that occur between Christian and Muslim that are very important and often go unreported.

“A few years ago there was widespread violence between Christians and Muslims in the region with many thousands killed.

“Simple acts like this carry great significance in the community.”

Kasih “the petrol head” has charmed her hosts with her energy, humor, resilience and passion for anything with wheels.

Doctors have inserted a tissue-expanding bladder into her cheek, which is inflated every three days, but even with a small balloon on her face she spent her reunion with Dr Anderson and the Mahlburgs climbing over the outdoor furniture, pulling apart the peg basket and tearing around the backyard with the washing trolley.

In addition to her medical expenses, the churches want to set up a fund for the toddler’s education.

“She might have started life with a disadvantage but we’ll make sure she goes through life with an advantage,” Dr Anderson said.

END OF ARTICLE

For more information about Kasih, read through her blog, visit her pictures pages, or visit www.KasihMeansLove.com