The University of Indonesia Nature Lovers Student Organization (Mapala UI) successfully completed the “Bhakti Papua” health social service program in Pegunungan Arfak Regency (Pegaf), West Papua.
For six days, the Bhakti Papua Team successfully held a health social service program in a total of seven villages in Anggi and Anggi Gida Districts. The points were chosen based on consideration of the existence of elementary schools (SD) which are not yet evenly distributed in West Papua.
Children are one of the targets of the personal hygiene counseling program in the Bhakti Papua program. “We target this effort as a preventive measure, so that children can become agents of change in implementing a clean and healthy lifestyle in the future,” said Azhari Shofiya, the person in charge of the Bhakti Papua Team.
In addition to personal hygiene counseling, the Bhakti Papua team also carried out health counseling programs and mass medication. The health counseling program focused on nutrition and maternal and child health issues. Meanwhile, mass treatment was carried out through health checks and the provision of drugs and referrals needed.
Shofiya said Bhakti Papua was born from Mapala UI’s sense of care and responsibility for the social service tasks carried out by students. “Realizing that the health rate in Papua is still low, we hope that our small steps can be the beginning of a change towards a healthier Papua,” she added.
Overall, the Bhakti Papua team managed to reach 465 people in this health social service program, consisting of mass treatment patients, elementary school children, and the general public.
In line with that, Chairman of Mapala UI, Muhammad Jazmi emphasized that this program is a concrete manifestation of the tridharma of higher education, namely education, research, and community service. “As an organization that is more than half a century old, we will continue to serve Indonesia,” he said.
The Bhakti Papua team itself consists of the synergy of several parties, namely members of Mapala UI, Medical Assistance Team of the Faculty of Medicine (TBM FK) UI, Student Executive Board of the Faculty of Nursing Science (BEM FIK) UI and BEM Faculty of Public Health (FKM) UI.
Bhakti Papua is one of the agendas of Mapala UI’s Bumi Cenderawasih Expedition in addition to the exploration of “Pesona Alam Cenderawasih”, an exploration of ecotourism potential held in Pegaf Regency and Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua.
In this expedition, Mapala UI was fully supported by the West Papua Provincial Government, TNI-AD, Ministry of Village Development and Disadvantaged Regions, Ministry of Health, PT PLN (Persero), PT Eigerindo Multi Produk Industri (Eiger), Madu Bima, Telkomsel, TBM FK UI, BEM FKM UI, and BEM FIK UI.
