Robin Lim is one inspirational woman.
She is a midwife who has changed the lives of women, children and families all over Bali through Yayasan Bumi Sehat.
Bumi Sehat is a non profit organisation headed by Robin Lim which advocates for higher standards of maternal and child health. A large part of these deaths which occur during pregnancy and childbirth are preventable through proper hygiene, pre-natal care and nutrition. These are simple matters to most of us, yet are often overlooked, and are unavailable in this part of the world.
A renown midwife and mother of 7, Robin Lim first settled in Bali with her husband in the early 90’s. Through word of mouth (all news travels fast in Bali), it got to be known that she birthed her own child at home alone, and Robin was later contacted to assist with a difficult birth in a nearby village. The woman died as a result of haemorrhaging during the birth, and that was Robin’s introduction to a problem she soon realised was all too common in Bali.
In Bali alone, the mortality ratio during child birth was double that of the whole Indonesian country.
The US jewelry company Anna Beck supports Robin’s work and Bumi Sehat, and has commissioned Director Sybil Steele and I to make a short film for their Anna Beck fundraiser in summer 2012. It’s very exciting for Sybil and I, and quite confronting at the same time. I reckon Sybil summed it up perfectly in one of our too-and-fro email barrages; “when I was 25, my goal was to help women around the world, I never knew that venturing into fashion photography would lead back full circle again to do a project something that will affect many lives.”
Robin has been nominated for a CNN Hero award, which recognises everyday people that are changing our world for the better. You can show your support here – http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive11/robin.lim.html
You can vote up to 10 times a day, and the CNN hero of the year receives $250,000 towards their cause!
To read more about the clinic – www.bumisehatbali.org