Teacher and Doctor on a Frontier Island

Rio Herison, a doctor working on a frontier island in Riau that borders Malaysia, goes one step beyond his duty of caring for the sick.

Kompas/Syahnan Rangkuti

Rio Herison

Rio Herison, 33, a doctor working on a frontier island in Riau that borders Malaysia, goes one step beyond his duty of caring for the sick. He also develops himself creatively as a teacher for local children in the hopes of nurturing a healthy lifestyle in those around him.

When he was assigned as a medic in the nonpermanent assignment program (PTT) to the community health center (Puskesmas) in Merbau Island, Merbau district, Meranti Islands regency, Riau, five years ago, Rio felt that something was wrong where he worked. He found that maternal and infant mortality rate was high. In one year, there were always cases of women dying from childbirth and infants between 6 and 9 years old dying.