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Priest, nun touch lives of mentally ill in Flores, one shackled person at a time
Father Avent's dedication has inspired others to follow the same path, helping thousands of others who would have not otherwise received proper treatment. One such person is German nun Anke Felicitas Bockenforde, who also works as a psychiatrist at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta.
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Father Avent Saur SVD gives care to a shackled man with severe mental illness in East Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara, in October. (JP/Markus Makur)
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duardus Leghu, Paulus Jaghang, Tarsisius Antonius Amat, Anselmus Wara and Hubertus Lothe are only a few of the nearly one hundred people who suffer from mental illness on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, that have seen significant improvements in their conditions after being freed from pasung (chained, shackled or locked up in a confined space).
One of the key people behind their improvement has been Catholic priest Avent Saur SVD. Father Avent has traveled across several regencies on Flores to help the mentally ill, cutting their hair, bathing them and clipping their nails since 2014. However, his most important act was to help their families gain access to medication.
Father Avent resides in Ende regency but has traveled far and wide to touch the lives of people who suffer from mental illness. In 2016, he founded Kasih Insanis Group (KKI).
His dedication has inspired others to follow the same path, helping thousands of others who would have not otherwise received proper treatment. One such person is German nun Anke Felicitas Bockenforde, who also works as a psychiatrist at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta. While Father Avent gave social care to the mentally ill, Anke’s qualifications as a psychiatrist allow her to provide medication.
Anke has visited Flores several times over the past three years, first traveling with Dr. Suryo Darmono from Saint Carolus Hospital in Jakarta to examine mental illness patients at the Panti Mose Ruteng Renceng institution in Manggarai regency, as well as those who had spent years locked up in chains, wooden stocks or in goat sheds because their families did not know what to do.
“I looked for information about mental illness sufferers who were being shackled throughout Flores and made plans to visit the entire island. Finally, in 2017, I visited all regencies on the island," Anke told The Jakarta Post recently.
During her journey, Anke said she had witnessed the terrible treatment people with mental illnesses received. The parents and locals were often helpless. Some looked to dukun (shaman) or the paranormal, as they believed mental illness was caused by supernatural powers.
