Lazarus and his wife live in the unit next to Hendrick and his dog. Lazarus is a leper with a wonderful quiet way about himself. He is fortunate to have his wife by his side. This is not the norm. We have seen many lepers who are just thrown away by their families. They are banished and left to their own or with a little help from their village. Lazarus has visible damage to his hands. His fingers are frozen in a disfigured open hand. He cannot...

What a great name for the Leper Center — Resting Place of Kings (Taman Rista). In the middle of the jungle of Halmahera this place of rest is now being built. There is one four-plex built and second four-plex is nearly completed. A water well is now drilled next to the site to provide good water for the residents.I went to visit the site and could see Hendrik, the first leper we brought to the base, supervising the work on the second four-plex...

The food program has made a big transformation since the days in the refugee camps. IFC still provides food for the needy. We provide nutritious food (eggs, fish, chicken, rice and veggies) for at least 15 leper families in our region. These are families who have one member of who has leprosy. We have found that in order for the leper to recover they have to stay on a regiment of WHO medicines and improve their health. The food is an important...

Yulce had an 11 hour surgery at the Shriner’s Hospital in L.A. to correct her curved spine. The curvature of her spine was a result of her physical growth (upward) and the contractures of her burn injuries on her face, neck and chest. The result was scoliosis–the curvature continued to get worse. The spinal surgery was on January 10, 2008. She is now recovering and standing upright. It is clear that she is greatly improved but she...

The Children’s Home continues to meet the needs of the abandoned and orphaned children in our care. A team from Alaska will be training the Indonesian staff about early childhood development. This will greatly enhance their ability to see these children advance according to their age. I know we have at least one new child–I will have more details on this “little one” later.

A great need in the remote regions where former refugees and the poor lives is accidental burns. We are seeing a growing number of burn victims and they come to us with serious injuries. The medical staff is learning how to care for burn injuries. In the last two years we have advocated for two children to get help in America. Yulce and Vino had horrific burns and we were able to find them help in America. There are many others who have come to...

During the years of the conflict IFC has provided countless truckloads of emergency food rations to the refugee camps and refugee resettlement sites. A large part of the relief we brought is food for the hungry. There has been real concern over the problems of malnutrition. IFC is now providing food to Leper and T.B. infected families. We feed the entire family to build their strength. The Lepers and T.B. patients are given regular treatment to...

IFC has supported and continues to support orphanages in North Sualwesi and North Maluku. There are many children who have been orphaned because of the conflict. We stand with these good efforts to care for these children. We have seen a number of children brought to our clinic and just left. We were caring for a handful of abandoned Children and just loved these little ones. We decided to provide a safe and nurturing home for them. In late...

A Face for Yulce The miracle of Yulce is a story that shows that nothing is impossible. She was severely burned in an accident and went without treatment for months. Through a series of open doors a way was made for her to get the reconstructive surgery that changed her life. The following articles tell this amazing story in detail. Read and rejoice. A Face for Yulce wins award. Yulce before surgery. It was the face of Yulce that was so...

What a great name for the Leper Center—Resting Place of Kings (Taman Rista).  This place of rest is being constructed in the middle of the jungle of Halmahera. There is one four-plex built and second four-plex is nearly completed. A nearby well provides clean water for the residents. I went to visit the site and could see Hendrik, the first leper to take up residence at the base.  He was supervising the work on the second of a series of...