A single mom`s crusade designed to provide hope

What do you do when your only child is prematurely taken away due to a mysterious illness?

For Indonesian single mom Natalia Tjahja, 39, it was to establish a charity foundation that gives hope to terminally ill children with disabilities.

After she lost her only daughter to a fatal heart infection at just 7 years of age, she formed the Maria Monique Last Wish Foundation in March of 2006.

The Foundation -- named after her daughter -- has since branched out to Vietnam, Singapore, India, China, South Africa and Malaysia with the help of sponsors and fundraisers in providing much needed medical assistance to children without the financial means for extensive and comprehensive treatment.

Last year, her foundation`s "Wheels to Heal" drive raised enough funds to purchase some 1,000 wheelchairs for disabled children in Indonesia.



That same year, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital where her daughter spent her final days, Ms. Tjahja launched a children`s book she had penned with the help of her editor, which was dedicated to her daughter`s story and recounted the fight for her life titled, "The Beautiful Journey: True Story of My Maria Monique."

Part of the proceeds from the book`s sale went to her foundation.

She sat down for a brief chit chat on Monday with The Korea Herald on her last day of her vacation here in Korea.

She had -- at the last minute -- wanted to speak to local media to see if there would be interest in her foundation and the story of her daughter`s tragic death.

Her story is one full of pain and vindication after the successful establishment of her charity.

"This foundation was started as me finding a life purpose -- to help as many children with illnesses as possible," she said.

She also spoke about the false hope from doctors of the hospital in Indonesia that initially treated Maria when she was diagnosed with the infection.

"At the time, I believed there was malpractice and that it was the fault of the doctors` incompetence. Maria had three operations after that and she died three times."

When asked about further details about the complications that ensued in her mission to save her daughter`s life, as if she could not bear to relive the pain through dialogue, she simply pointed to the book.

"Everything is in the book," she said.

In it, Maria`s story is told in first person and recounts how a fever led to the heart infection that took her life.

This is where Ms. Tjahja`s "she died three times" declaration was explained.

After an unsuccessful operation in Indonesia, Maria was flown to Singapore where doctors diagnosed her with bacterial endocarditis -- an infection of the heart`s valves and inner lining.

She spent 39 days in intensive care with tubes in her body and was left in a vegetative state after she had stopped breathing for an hour. Deprived of oxygen, she had experienced brain damage.

She was revived twice from cardiac arrest and a third operation was conducted, but by then it was too late.

"At first, I was angry and I did feel doctors at the first hospital made mistakes," she said.

"I think there was malpractice in the first hospital, but I heard a whisper from Maria in my heart and she told me to forgive and forget."

At the time of her decision to start her foundation, many around her had discouraged her from doing so due to the financial hardship she was experiencing after she had closed the travel agency she operated prior to her daughter`s death.

"The purpose of my life now is to see other children with illnesses smile," she said.

"When I started the foundation, everyone said I was crazy and I was being foolish because they said no one would care enough to help, but we did get help through our sponsors."

Ms. Tjahja hopes to continue her charity work and expand her foundation motivated by her belief that Maria`s death led her to find her new "purpose in life."

"I want to continue helping children all over through my foundation," she said.

For more information on the Maria Monique Last Wish Foundation, go to www.mariamonique.org (kws@heraldm.com)







By Song Woong-ki