Wednesday, January 11, 2012

2011 CNN Hero of the Year


Her name is Robin Lim or Ibu (Mother) Robin to the community she serves in Bali, Indonesia. She is an American midwife who has given her life to serving families, women, and babies in need through her Bumi Sehat clinics.

In Indonesia, the average family earns the equivalent of $8 a day, according to the International Monetary Fund. But a baby delivery costs about $70 at a hospital, and a Cesarean section can cost as much as $700. Lim believes Indonesia's high maternal and infant mortality rates are caused in part by these costs, which many women cannot meet.

She made this impassioned plea during her acceptance speech, "Today on our Earth, 981 mothers in the prime of their life will die -- and tomorrow again and yesterday," she said. "And I'm asking you to help change that. We don't even know how many babies are lost, but all of us can help change that." She also said that, "health care is the right of all people."

You can read more about her and watch several videos of her work on the CNN web page here