East Nusa Tenggara – Bosch Automotive Aftermarket (AA) extends the reach of its “Care for Life” campaign to Eastern Indonesia by partnering with Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara (YTBN) to help restore the eye health of visually impaired children. The implementation of the campaign was centered in Kefamenanu, North Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, today (19/5), in the form of eye examinations for 250 children and residents, as well as free cataract surgery for 40 people from the needy.
InfoDATIN Report: “The Situation of Visual Impairment” (2018) issued by the Ministry of Health states that there are only four ophthalmologists in East Nusa Tenggara. Thus, each doctor has to treat 871,510 people – making NTT the province with the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in Indonesia. In fact, based on national targets, ideally one ophthalmologist should only serve a maximum of 250,000 people.
“Through the ‘Care for Life’ initiative, Bosch AA strives to create a life-changing impact on Indonesian children. The ‘Care for Life’ initiative in Indonesia focuses on #CareForSight to improve the quality of children’s vision. Through our eye examinations, children’s vision conditions can be detected as early as possible. This means that if vision problems are recognized immediately, the potential for improvement and cure is higher. With healthy eyes, children can perform their activities optimally. Not least for their mobility, such as driving when they grow up,” said Agung Sinulingga, Sales Manager Automotive Aftermarket, Bosch in Indonesia.
The second phase of #CareForSight in Kefamenanu, North Central Timor Regency was made possible thanks to the involvement of the community who donated through the online fundraising page. In addition, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket also invited customer and distributor participation, where every purchase of a pair of Bosch Aerotwin Wiper products, consumers also donated Rp10,000 for #CareForSight funding from October 20 to December 30, 2022. At the end of this period, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket managed to raise IDR 200 million in support funds which were fully handed over to YTBN.
Previously, the first phase of #CareForSight was successfully held last October 2022 in Jakarta with 120 children as beneficiaries in the form of eye examinations and corrective glasses.
“Not wanting to stop at the initial stage, we at Bosch Automotive Aftermarket are determined to continue #CareForSight so that it can have a greater impact. Primarily, for those in remote areas with very limited access to health facilities – especially eye health -” Agung continued.
YTBN itself is an organization that has initiated the Bakti Nusantara social movement since 2016 which aims to encourage development in the 3T (underdeveloped, outermost, frontier) areas of Indonesia through efforts to fulfill the rights of education, health, and welfare.
Teguh said, “Areas in the country’s borders often escape the attention of various parties, resulting in development inequality in various sectors, including health. Therefore, we from Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara really appreciate Bosch AA for giving us the trust to become a partner in expanding the #CareForSight initiative.
We believe Bosch AA’s concern to improve eye health will have an impact on children in Indonesia who will one day become future successors,” explained Dr. Teguh Dwi Nugroho, SpB., Subsp.BVE (K) as Chairman of Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara.
In the implementation of #CareForSight in Kefamenanu, North Central Timor, Bosch AA and YTBN collaborated with Leona General Hospital, Kefamenanu, which provided health workers as well as facilities for eye examinations and cataract surgery. Meanwhile, in the field, the RI-Republic of East Timor Border Security Task Force West Sector Cavalry Battalion 10 Mendagiri (Satgas Pamtas RI-RDTL West Sector Yonkav 10/Mendagiri) was directly involved in recruiting local communities as beneficiaries of the #CareForSight program.
“At RSU Leona, the three categories of eye disorders that we treat the most are cataracts, refractive errors and eye infections. Treatment of eye disorders is often hampered because patients come in a condition that has already deteriorated. Early eye examination by an ophthalmologist is key! Therefore, we fully support Bosch’s #CareForSight program. We hope that this Bosch initiative can facilitate children to get treatment for visual impairment as early as possible so that their quality of life is not affected,” said drg. Rizky Anugrah Dewati, Director of Leona General Hospital, Kefamenanu.
Dansatgas Pamtas RI-RDTL West Sector Yonkav 10/Mendagiri Lieutenant Colonel Kav. Dody S. Simanjuntak, S.I.P. expressed his appreciation, “Our involvement in this program is TNI’s service to the country. We, who are directly involved in the community, see for ourselves that there are still many residents of North Central Timor who experience vision problems that interfere with their daily activities. To resolve this, collaboration between many parties is very important to be intensified. Through Bosch’s initiative with YTBN, RSU Leona and the TNI, we are optimistic that we can provide great benefits to people in need in North Central Timor.”
