How a Bed Saved a Life

Novi can hardly remember a time when she wasn’t sick. At just 5 years of age, she was registered at a Compassion center near her home in Pontianak, Indonesia, and at her first medical checkup doctors diagnosed her with tuberculosis.

While the staff at her Compassion center worked hard to make sure Novi was getting the medicine and care she needed, her recovery was painfully slow. And on a visit to her home, staff got a clue why.

Each night, Novi and her entire family slept on thin plastic mats spread across the floor. The mats offered little comfort, and Novi often woke up cold and exhausted. The lack of sleep was dramatically slowing down her healing. But the luxury of a bed surpassed what her parents were able to provide. Her mother’s salary as a motorcycle taxi driver combined with her father’s sporadic work as a day laborer brought in just $75 a month.

“Being able to live and eat every day is a gift for us,” says Novi’s mother, Olin. “We do not expect more.”

Olin’s simple expectations changed when the family got an unexpected surprise from Novi’s sponsor — a family gift of $150!

“We were so joyful and wondered what we should do with this big gift,” says Olin.

Staff from the Compassion center visited with Novi’s family and helped them to prioritize how the family gift should be used. Eventually, they decided what would help the family the most — a bed.

“I had never seen a real bed directly,” says Olin. “My heart was full of joy and I was nervous when Novi and I, along with the Compassion staff, went to buy a double-size bed.”

Back at home Olin watched as Novi and her sisters snuggled together into their new bed. But the joy lasted well beyond that first night. The simple act of a good night’s sleep was giving Novi extra strength, and her health began to rapidly improve. In less than a year, doctors declared her cured of tuberculosis.

Novi has never met her sponsor. But she knows exactly what she would say if they were to ever meet.

“My sponsor is a kind person because he helped me and my family,” says Novi. “I always pray that God will watch over and protect my sponsor so he will always be safe and healthy. I really want to meet with my sponsor one day. I have a plan for if my sponsor visits me in Indonesia. I would like to ask him to go to the center and my school.”

Novi isn’t the only one who has a message for her sponsor. Her mother is equally eager to thank him, and the entire Compassion staff.

“The help given by Compassion and Novi’s sponsor is real and impactful for my daughter’s life,” says Olin. “It brings happiness to the whole family. I never see the real support from any other organization like what I see and experience from Compassion.”