Poniran fell while building a swallow house and suffered a broken spine, thereby requiring treatment.
"I would like to thank East Kalimantan's National Journalist Association, which facilitated us in handling Mr. Poniran and his family, so that they could be sent back to Tuban by ship last night," head of the Budi Luhur Center in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, Badriah, said from Samarinda on Saturday.
The Budi Luhur Center, Banjarbaru, under the authority of the Social Affairs Ministry, looks into cases of people who have no money to resolve issues and require immediate assistance.
One such case was Poniran's, which was handled by Munanto, a volunteer at the association. With the help of the ministry, Poniran and his family were flown back home.
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Poniran, 37, was registered as a resident of Simpang Raya Barong Tongkok, West Kutai district.
"The work accident occurred on June 15 (2022); then he was treated at Harapan Insan Sendawar Hospital, West Kutai, for three days, then referred to Abdul Wahab Sjahranie Hospital (AWS Hospital) Samarinda; then he went under the knife on June 24," Hima, 34, Poniran's wife, said.
While Poniran was hospitalized, his family was assisted by neighbors in terms of daily needs. Even their travel expenses to Samarinda were covered by the neighbors, who also looked after their children and opened their homes to them.
On July 19, Poniran was discharged from the hospital, but the couple was at a loss because they did not have the money to return to West Kutai, which was located 142 km away from Samarinda.
Hima expressed her gratitude to Munanto for his willingness to take them to West Kutai. She said she also constantly prayed that someone would help them return to her hometown in Tuban since her husband could no longer work after the accident.
"We are grateful, through East Kalimantan's National Journalist Association, (we were) connected to the Social Affairs Minister, so we got the money for the return (trip) to Tuban. I thank the minister and East Kalimantan's National Journalist Association who helped us," she added.
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Translator: M Ghofar, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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