pengalaman...

A day in July was a memorable day for the 3^rd year degree nursing student. We visit to Rumah Kebajikan Kanak Kanak Tengku Budriah, Cheras. This shelter home is run by the Social Welfare Dept. and houses about 120 unfortunate girls and boys, who had some kinds of family problems and had been abandoned.

The visit started at 8 am until 12noon. We were welcomed by the children and their wardens

I was touched to watch those children who have been deprived of their parents’ love, so young and innocent….and yet, they have to live independently….May Allah bless those great people who patiently look after them day in and day out.

When we arrived there, we were allowed to visit surround the shelter home. Generally the surrounding there quite nice, seem the cleanliness was there. But, I can see that the safety is not stress on. I said that when I could see the steepness of the hill and there were no precautions steps were taken in order to provide a safety home or shelter for the children. Besides that, playground there was near to the hillside. So, supposedly the management and of the home must take precaution action and stress more attention about safeties of the children there especially most of the children there are below 12^th year of ages.

During the visit time also, we have a chance to accompany the children there to take their breakfast at the canteen there. Oh my God! I sigh. There were unpredictable. I was very shocked because the children there walking around without wearing a pair of shoes or slipper. The corridor along the way to the canteen was dirty. Even the canteen was not in clean during that time. The children take their breakfast without washing their hands

From my observation during their breakfast time I had conclude that the wardens or caregivers there were not stress on the children hygiene and not teach or stress about personal or individual disciplined in daily life especially when I saw the way of their eating. Supposedly, as a person who has responsibility to taking care of the unfortunate girls and boys, she or he must love and care the children there as their child. If they want the best for their own child they must do so for the children at the shelter home. They must take the responsibility seriously because to grow up the child properly is a trust which our government given on them. This is because the unfortunate children are our country’s asset as they will lead our government in the future.

After accompany the girls and boy they at the canteen, we went to their room. Their bed room not so clean and their playing room quite dirt because even there do not wearing slipper, after walking around there just enter their room without washing thoroughly their foots before that. So, there is another think that the caregiver there should be stress on, otherwise all the children there will grow up without taking serious about the important of personal hygiene and healthy environment that they live. If the caregiver are not playing their role in that issue, the nurse that posted there supposedly playing her role because the nurse should advising, supporting and promoting health education by teaching and encouraging the caregiver and children there the way to maintain personal healthy in order to prevent disease or disorder especially communicable disease such as otitis media, common cold, chicken pox and commonly skin infection such as scabies impetigo and etc.

Besides, from what I understood before the main purpose of the placement of a nurse at the shelter home is to assist child’s care giver by providing basic information about common communicable diseases among children, and ways to prevent further spread of these diseases. Generally, good personal hygiene is important in preventing the spread of the communicable disease among children there. So before stress on other issue and trying to improve the service or facilities of the shelter home, care givers and nurse there must work on together to make sure children can perform their own personal hygiene first.