The girl is a stateless Bajau Laut child. She stepped on a shell and cut her foot. She immediately went to Iskul for medical help from Shima. Calmly, Shima washed the wound, applied yellow lotion, and covered it with a plaster - a scene she had become accustomed to by now.
The above is an almost daily occurrence for Shima. In addition to teaching the stateless Bajau Laut children at Iskul Sama DiLaut Omadal on Omadal Island in Semporna, Sabah, she also serves as the coordinator and community health helper of Iskul’s community health centre.
Beyond providing first aid, Shima administers basic medications for conditions such as fevers, headaches, flu, scabies, boils, diarrhoea, cough, toothache, and more, to patients of all ages including infants.
She underwent two weeks of basic medical training at a clinic in Semporna, along with three other community members. She is the backbone of the community health centre. Since July 2022, the community health centre has handled more than 536 cases out of a population of over 1,000 people in Pulau Omadal.
Shima is 18 years old this year. Being a community health helper is the closest she can get to her dream of becoming a doctor or nurse. She has given up hope of ever studying in medical school.
She is disappointed, but she has accepted it.
Despite being born to a Malaysian father, Shima has...