"In one single day, we have succeeded in providing medical treatment for 6,264 people. I congratulate you on this hard-earned achievement," Josephine "Obin" Komara said with a broad smile.
Once again the crowd roared in unison.
Dressed in her trademark kebaya and sarong, Obin, a clothing designer-cum-philanthropist, could not hide her emotion. At one point, she turned her head to wipe away her tears.
"I am really proud of them. They are a solid team of selfless, dedicated individuals, who want nothing but an opportunity to help the disadvantaged people of this region," she said.
Evidently she was referring to the motley group of 30 physicians, 40 pharmacists, 30 civilian volunteers and hundreds of Army soldiers who was standing around her. For the last 14 hours this group had worked tirelessly to provide free health services to a seemingly endless stream of disadvantaged people, who came from every corner of Buleleng.
This coastal regency, some 78 kilometers north of Denpasar, has some of the poorest rural areas on the island.
Simply known as "Bakti Sosial (Baksos) Kesehatan", or a charitable deed, Sunday's event was the result of a meeting in mid-August between Obin and Lt. Col. Suhardi, the newly installed commander of the Army's 900/Raider Battalion.
Obin had first met Suhardi when he was still serving with the Army's special forces (Kopassus). In August, she helped him organize an Independence Day celebration, bringing Balinese pop star Widi Widiana to the battalion's headquarters in Singaraja.
"I wanted to hold a celebration in the vicinity of the headquarters that would involve the local community. I was under the impression that relations between the soldiers and the civilians in this area were a bit strained," Suhardi said.
He was not under any false impressions. For years, the people of Singaraja had viewed the combat battalion with a mixed feeling of awe and aversion. The fact that in the past the soldiers had been involved in several brawls with locals had certainly contributed to that feeling.
"Because Widi Widiana was appearing, a large number of civilians attended the celebration, thus, serving my objective of bringing my soldiers together with the surrounding community," he added.
The celebration also gave Obin firsthand knowledge of the poor health and living conditions of a large number of the locals, inspiring her to organize the charity event.
"It is quite a revelation to know that in Bali, which is often seen as a rich island, poverty and poor health conditions are still a major, widespread problem," she said.
In the past, Obin had held several large-scale charity events targeting the victims of natural disasters, residents of urban slums and Army soldiers. Yet, those events were confined to areas of Jakarta and West Java. On that bright August afternoon, she made the decision to carry out a similar event in Buleleng.
Suhardi enthusiastically embraced the idea. It quickly traveled up the chain of command before receiving the support of Maj. Gen. Syaiful Rizal, the commander of the Udayana Military Command, which oversees Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
As the Army's territorial officers began gathering data on disadvantaged people in need of medical treatment, Obin's seasoned corps of volunteers started the difficult task of arranging the collection and transportation of 12.7 tons of medicine from Jakarta.
At the end of September, the volunteers boarded a train in Jakarta and began their exhausting journey to Banyuwangi, East Java, where a convoy of awaiting Army trucks would take them on a three-hour-long ride to Singaraja.
During that period, Obin made several calls to prominent local friends. The results: Made Masih of the world-famous Made's Warung agreed to provide meals for all the volunteers and Christianto Tjahjadi of Kopi Bali donated a large sum of money to the cause. Touched by the idea, Buleleng Regent Putu Bagiada donated 3,500 nasi bungkus (wrapped meals) for the oncoming patients.
"Events of this size usually cost us somewhere between 400-500 million rupiah," a volunteer disclosed.
On the morning of Sept. 2, the volunteers from Jakarta gathered with their local counterparts in the spacious field inside the battalion's compound. They all wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Raider-900/ Until The Last Drop of the Medicine".
The erection of huge military tents had transformed the field into a sprawling complex of waiting areas, examination halls, a pharmacy and four field surgical theaters. A separate conical tent housed a team that dispensed anti-parasitic worms syrup to the children.
"This is the biggest and most-organized such event I have ever seen," an Army doctor said.
After a brief opening ceremony presided over by Maj. Gen. Syaiful Rizal and Putu Bagiada, the volunteers started their hard, long day with burning enthusiasm. Earlier in the morning, dozens of military trucks had left the headquarters to pick up patients in Buleleng's remote villages.
Under the merciless sun of north Bali, hundreds of young soldiers stood guard on the perimeter of the field, ready to provide assistance to the elderly and the handicapped. During the lunch hour, these soldiers ran to and fro distributing meals and water to the patients, who came from as far as Grokgak in the west and Kubutambahan in the east. Even Suhardi was busy assisting the patients in getting their medicine from the pharmacy.
"I am impressed by this event," local community leader Gede Pastika said.
It was his first visit to the military compound. Having received medication for his high blood pressure, Pastika chatted with Obin and Suhardi.
"First, because it stays open until this late. You folks have kept your promises of staying open until the last patient. Second, because it really is free of charge, despite all these expensive patented drugs and the high cost of X-Ray and USG procedures," he said.
"Third, because this charity event doesn't carry any political message or interest. Nowadays, many politicians get involved in charity work simply to boost their images."
This time, Pastika didn't get it right. In fact, the Baksos had a poignant political message and interest. "Wait until we serve the last patient and you will see our political interest," Obin said.
As the last patient left the area, the volunteers turned off all the lights in the tents before gathering around Obin and Suhardi. Then, they sung the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, at the top of their lungs. The darkness transformed them all, soldiers and civilians alike, into one single spirit of compassion and humanity.
"That's our political message; one nation, one destiny. Let's work together to make our nation a better one," she said.
This time she didn't make any attempt to hide her tears.
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