Ursuline Sisters and former school students set up first mobile vaccination programme for minors in the Indonesian capital using seven VW vans. The archbishop of Jakarta blessed the initiative. For Deputy Health Minister, this “is crucial” since children can unwittingly carry the virus.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Former students of St Ursula schools in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta have established their first mobile vaccination programme.
The project involves a number of vans to reach children from the most marginalised families.
The Serviam Vaccination Centre (SVS) is run by an association of alumni of three Ursuline schools in Jakarta. “Serviam”, which means “I will serve”, is the motto of all Ursuline schools.
The inauguration ceremony took place on Tuesday in the presence of local government officials.
Card Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, led the prayer and blessed the seven Volkswagen vans and an ambulance (see video below).
The vehicles will be used to bring the vaccine to children aged 7 to 12 years, SVS head Angela Basiroen told AsiaNews – “above all to the children of the most vulnerable families in our society.”
Basiroen is a graduate of one of the Ursuline schools, while her husband Binky Sus is a member of the Volkswagen fan club. He runs an automotive service centre in Bintaro.
“When our alumni had the idea to start a mobile vaccination programme, they immediately shared it with us,” said Sister Theresia Lita Hasanah, Indonesian Ordo Sancta Ursulae Chief.
Sister Hasanah, who is originally from Bandung, explained that the response went beyond their expectations.
Former students “organised a fundraiser, promoted the initiative on social media, and made themselves available as volunteers. They all have a big heart for others,” she added.
Card Suharyo responded enthusiastically to the initiative. “These vans are concrete manifestations of compassion and care towards people in need,” the prelate said during the blessing ceremony.
Deputy Health Minister Dante Laksono Harbuwono was present at the event, expressing his full support for the programme.
It “is crucial to curb the spread of variants of the virus,” he said. Children can easily become unwitting carriers of COVID-19 to their families.
The vans will deliver vaccine supplies to the most marginalised schools, which “urgently need vaccination as soon as possible,” the deputy minister added.
He eventually administered some doses to students from Ursuline schools.