| House of Compassion | ||||||||||
| Text and photos by Yong Chiew Fung Compiled and translated by Tang Yau-yang | ||||||||||
Pregnant women living in remote, aboriginal villages nestled in the mountains of Pitas, East Malaysia, often had to walk a long way across treacherous terrain just to give birth at the clinics down below. They’d wait until very late in their pregnancies to start the journey to save on lodging expenses, but that was the worst time for the pregnant women to travel. Some of them tripped and fell along the way, yet they had no choice but to forge ahead, praying all the while that they would not go into labor in the wilderness. Those who chose to give birth at home in the mountains did not have the luxury of being aided by trained medical personnel. As a result, the district used to lead the nation in rates of obstructed labor and perinatal mortality. In 2003 Tzu Chi rented a place down the mountain, appropriately called the House of Compassion, for pregnant women to live in and await their labor and delivery. Infant mortality has since dropped dramatically. In 2014, the foundation opened a new home to replace the original House of Compassion.
There used to be no hospitals in Pitas, Sabah, East Malaysia. One doctor and a few nurses staffed the 12 clinics in the area, providing what care they could. Therefore, pregnant women in the mountains there either gave birth at home or at a clinic down the mountain from their villages. Giving birth in the villages was a risky undertaking for both the mother and baby. It was often facilitated by women in the family or in the neighborhood, with no proper training and using tools that were often crudely made and poorly sterilized. “Giving birth at home assisted by people without formal training is risky. It can lead to hemorrhage or death from obstructed labor,” said Dr. Pg Mohd Nizam, superintendent of Hospital Pitas, which began serving patients in 2006. Delivering babies at a clinic was medically safer and more desirable, but doing so presented other hazards for the expectant mothers. Living in the mountains, many women had no choice but to walk down rough mountain roads and traverse rivers to get to the clinics, despite the possibility of accidents along the way. The destination clinic could not admit pregnant women before their labor started, so if they reached a clinic before that, they had to stay with relatives or friends in the area. If they couldn’t do that, they had to incur lodging expenses while waiting to give birth. Most of these women came from farming families that did not earn much. Therefore, to save money, they would only start their journey to a clinic when they were about to go into labor. Obviously, this was not the most opportune time for them to negotiate the treacherous terrain down the mountain. Their bellies were distended and heavy, their steps uncertain. Some of them tripped and hurt themselves or their fetuses. Some even went into labor on the way, entirely unassisted. Consequently, Pitas used to lead the nation in rates of obstructed labor and perinatal mortality. After learning about their situation, Tzu Chi volunteers set out in search of a place close to a clinic, in which these pregnant women could wait for free. That way, they would be able to safely go to the clinic for delivery. After two months, the volunteers finally rented a house five minutes from a clinic. They officially opened it in May 2003 and dubbed it the House of Compassion. The facility had two bedrooms and could accommodate eight pregnant women at a time. Volunteers hired the owner of a grocery store next door to cook for the guests. All the women had to do was wash their own laundry, rest, and wait for labor. It was an ideal setup. The news of the house quickly spread, and many women took advantage of the service. The impact has been immense. The death rate from obstructed labor in Pitas has dropped to zero. Now, giving birth is not quite as dangerous as it once was for women in those remote mountain villages.
Renewed dedication The House of Compassion served expectant mothers continuously for a decade after its inception. However, after all that time and use, the original rented home began showing signs of age. Volunteers pondered an improvement. In 2013, a volunteer bought the home from the landlord and offered it to Tzu Chi for use, free of charge, for 20 years. Volunteers envisioned tearing down the old home and building a replacement.
That was a good thought, but where would the pregnant women stay during construction? “The service couldn’t be interrupted,” said volunteer Lim Sat Chu (林雪珠). So, Lim and other volunteers contacted Hospital Pitas. Superintendent Dr. Pg Mohd Nizam offered visitor rooms at the hospital for the women to stay in during construction. He even offered them meals in the hospital cafeteria at the hospital’s expense. The doctor had been touched by what Tzu Chi volunteers had done for the disadvantaged women. “Compared to what you’ve done, what we do here is nothing,” he said. “Were it not for Tzu Chi volunteers, the House of Compassion could not have worked so well for the last ten years.” Work on the new house began in June 2013. Volunteer Teoh Wen Siang (張文翔), originally from Penang, was in the construction business, and thus was qualified to supervise the work and ensure its quality. He would drive three hours from his home in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah, to Pitas once every two weeks to oversee the construction. “The contractor saw our conscientiousness, so he was very careful in building the new house,” Teoh said. The contractor later even became a Tzu Chi donating member. Teoh said that the money for building a sound house had come from loving donors all around, so he didn’t want to let them down. With that thought in mind, he persisted in his undertaking in spite of the pressure and the tiring long drives. “I hope that the building can help shelter birthing mothers for a very long time,” he said.
The new shelter Once the aged house on stilts was gone, the new House of Compassion rose in its place. It came into service in January 2014. The new house offers 6,260 square feet of living space, almost five times the size of the old house. There are ten beds in the bedroom, an adequate number based on experience over the years. Two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a laundry room make things more enjoyable for the guests. Before the first guests moved in, Tzu Chi volunteers from Kota Kinabalu gave the house a nice cleanup and moved in the furniture. On New Year’s Day, 2014, they went to Hospital Pitas to collect the first group of women.
The expectant mothers moved into the home, volunteers at their sides to assist them. No fanfare was necessary, and everyone gathered around for a housewarming meal. The volunteers shared the story of Tzu Chi’s origin—how the foundation had started about half a century before with 30 housewives each saving a little money in bamboo coin banks every day. The story helped the mothers understand that the small donations of many people pooled together had made the House of Compassion and its service a reality over the years. Norjaelin Juprin, one of the guests, lived in the mountains in Paitan, four hours away by car. This would be her first childbirth. “I’m grateful to have this home where I can wait in peace of mind for labor,” said the 21-year-old. Suzzana Roslan had stayed at the home five years before, waiting for the birth of her first child. Now she was back for another. “I feel safer staying here,” she said. The old home was on stilts, with the bedroom on the upper level and the bathroom on the lower. It was a bit inconvenient for the women to walk up and down the stairs to use the bathroom. That is no longer an issue because the new home is on one level. In the first decade of its operation, the House of Compassion helped welcome 750 babies into this world. Now the service, in its second home and its second decade, will continue to serve a useful purpose for a long time to come.
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