At a recent event attended by local government officials, medical professionals and members of the community on Indonesia's small island of Tello, Medical Assistance Programs (MAP) International officially handed over operation of its Tello Island hospital to partner organization Bethel Church Indonesia.

"This is a great example of how MAP wants to help people help themselves," said Chris Palusky, MAP's relief director, who attended and spoke at the event. "We want to build sustainable programs that will eventually be run not by MAP, but by local organizations in the areas we're serving. We don't want to give someone a fish. We want to teach them to fish."

MAP International has been working in Indonesia since the 2004 tsunami, when MAP shipped millions of dollars of emergency aid and supplies to the region. MAP subsequently established an office in Medan, on Indonesia's island of Sumatra, and began working with Bethel Church and other organizations in Indonesia to identify and respond to healthcare needs.

In addition to four healthcare centers on the nearby island of Nias, MAP built and began operating the 40-bed hospital on Tello. The facility, which opened a year ago, has an ambulance - one of only three vehicles on the island - and a staff of 35 that includes doctors, nurses and other health professionals. The facility serves not only the island's 5,000 residents but all 27,000 inhabitants of the Tello Island chain.

"Previously, people in the region had access to only rudimentary healthcare," Palusky said. "There were no facilities that offered surgical services or adequate treatments for endemic diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and tuberculosis. The hospital provides all of that and more."

Dr. Martin Siahaan, a general practitioner who works at the hospital, said it has been a welcome addition to the community.

"The people here are very grateful for it," he said. "This facility provides them with care that previously wasn't available. In the past, people often had to go to Nias for treatment, and many times they couldn't afford that. This hospital provides not only healthcare, but affordable healthcare."

Though Bethel Church will now assume operation of the hospital, MAP will continue operating the healthcare clinics on Nias as well as community-based health education programs on both islands.

The programs provide education about nutrition, hygiene, and breastfeeding for new mothers. MAP has also developed a program to treat and prevent tuberculosis, which has been one of the country's most pressing problems. Indonesia trails only China and India in the highest number of TB cases worldwide.

MAP has trained individual health promoters in villages throughout Nias and Tello, who in turn teach community groups about preventative measures as well as TB treatment techniques. MAP has also trained health providers at clinics and health posts to appropriately diagnosis and treat cases of TB.

"So we're not just putting a Band-Aid on the situation," Palusky said. "We're providing long-term solutions to not only treat their diseases but to help them avoid getting them."

Within the next two years, MAP also plans to hand over operation of its health clinics to local organizations in order to focus resources on other health needs elsewhere in Indonesia.