Awardee Contribution

Morning in Hoba Wawi Village, West Sumba Regency, begins with a quiet bustle at a modest health clinic. Mostly middle-aged residents line up patiently on the terrace of the Sumba Foundation Malaria Clinic, a private facility that provides free healthcare services for the surrounding community.

Inside, a single doctor, assisted by several nurses, carefully attends to each patient’s complaint. One of those nurses is Hapu Ammah, fondly known as Endy. A young man originally from East Sumba, Endy has spent more than a decade serving on the front lines of community health under the Sumba Foundation.

“Let me check your blood pressure on your left arm, please. What seems to be the problem? Have you been examined before? Just a moment,” Endy says gently. These phrases are repeated every day and have become a familiar reassurance for the patients who come seeking care.

Sumba Island is internationally known for its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. Luxury tourist destinations dot the island. Behind that beauty, however, lies a persistent public health crisis intertwined with poverty and underdevelopment. To this day, Sumba remains the second-highest contributor of malaria cases in Indonesia, after Papua.

Endy is part of this reality. He witnesses firsthand how malaria patients arrive at the clinic almost every day.

“Across the five malaria clinics operated by Sumba Foundation, we find malaria infections almost daily,” he explains.

Patients showing malaria-like symptoms routinely undergo blood tests. Detecting the parasite requires specialized expertise, and Endy is among the most experienced specialists in this field.

For Endy, education was once a privilege. This was not only because of financial limitations, but also due to the lack of infrastructure. He vividly recalls that there was no junior high school in his village. To continue his education after elementary school, he had to leave home and live with relatives in another area until he completed senior high school.

“To attend junior high school, we had to leave our homes and stay with other families,” Endy recounts.

When met in November 2025, Endy had just returned from Melbourne in August. He had completed his Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Rather than pursuing a career outside Sumba or abroad, Endy chose to return. He resumed his role as a nurse and trainer at the Malaria Microscopy Training Center.

This is the story of Endy’s journey, growing up in one of Indonesia’s poorest regions, never relinquishing his dream of higher education, and ultimately returning to build his homeland.

An Orphan from a Modest Family Who Became a Nurse

Endy’s family economy depended on his mother’s small garden, poultry, and other modest sources of income. His father passed away in 1997, when Endy was still a child. Growing up, he faced severe economic hardship and had to struggle persistently to pursue education.

“I knew then that the only way to change my life was through education,” he says.

After graduating from senior high school, Endy felt uncertain about his future. His original dream was to become a teacher. Reality, however, dictated otherwise. At that time, there were no universities in Sumba. The only available higher education institution was a nursing academy.

“In the year 2000, the only school available in Sumba was a nursing academy,” he recalls.

That decision would later become a turning point in his life. After completing his studies at the Waingapu Nursing Academy, Endy joined the Sumba Foundation, an organization providing community health services, including malaria control. There, he grew not only as a nurse, but also as a dedicated public servant.

To this day, Sumba remains the second-highest contributor to malaria cases in Indonesia after Papua. According to the 2025 Annual Parasite Incidence, West Sumba Regency recorded 2,049 malaria cases. Data from the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Health Office in 2022 reported 5,540 cases in East Sumba, 5,730 in Southwest Sumba, 1,903 in West Sumba, and 89 cases in Central Sumba, the lowest among the regions.

These realities strengthened Endy’s dedication beyond routine duty. His perseverance and expertise eventually led him to become a trainer at the Malaria Microscopy Training Center. This initiative aims to ensure that local health workers are able to diagnose malaria in accordance with World Health Organization standards.

“We still have a responsibility to ensure the availability of skilled microscopists who can diagnose malaria accurately,” he emphasizes.

After more than a decade working in malaria clinics, Endy came to an important realization. Health challenges cannot be addressed solely at the individual level.

“I wanted to understand health issues more broadly, not only at the individual level, but at the community level, shaped by culture and environment,” he explains.

Through his work at the Sumba Foundation, Endy met colleagues from diverse backgrounds. Many of them pursued further education both in Indonesia and abroad, then returned to make meaningful contributions to society. From there, his resolve grew stronger. As a native son of Sumba, he wanted to do more.

The LPDP Affirmative Scholarship Made It Possible

Endy’s encounter with the LPDP Scholarship further ignited his determination. Supported by colleagues and a highly encouraging leadership, the LPDP Affirmative Region Scholarship Program became the bridge that enabled him to pursue a fully funded master’s degree.

Before that, Endy had no formal background in English. He failed the IELTS test twice. Yet he refused to give up, especially with the unwavering support from his workplace.

“I learned from those failures and kept pushing myself to improve,” he reflects.

In 2023, Endy was officially selected as an LPDP awardee. All regencies across Sumba Island are classified as affirmative regions. One key advantage of the Affirmative Scholarship Program is access to intensive language enrichment. This opportunity proved crucial for Endy.

Through the program, his English proficiency improved significantly, eventually leading to his acceptance at the University of Melbourne. His choice was also influenced by colleagues at his workplace who had connections to Melbourne.

One particularly memorable experience during his studies was being invited as a speaker at the Rotary Club of Melbourne. There, he presented on malaria programs as well as findings related to leprosy cases in Sumba, an issue that requires serious global attention.

For Endy, studying in Australia was never about leaving Sumba behind. It was about preparing himself to return. He fulfilled that promise by returning to Sumba immediately after his graduation in August 2025.

“My first reason for returning is simple. Sumba is my home,” he states firmly.

He feels a deep moral responsibility as a son of the region. While many experts from outside come to assist Sumba, Endy is determined to show that local sons and daughters can stand at the forefront of change.

Today, after completing his studies, Endy resumes his multiple roles. He serves as a civil servant, a healthcare worker at the Sumba Foundation, and a volunteer educator in community health.

In his spare time, he and his colleagues often gather village children to learn reading and Bahasa Indonesia.

“I know that when a village child reaches higher education, the impact goes far beyond the individual,” he says.

Endy’s journey is a story of resilience, of education as a path to liberation, and of returning home as the highest form of service. From Hanggaruru to Melbourne and back to Sumba, he weaves dreams not only for himself, but for generations to come.

“Education is not merely about earning a degree,” he says softly yet resolutely, “but about opening doors that were once closed for our families and communities.”

And on the island of Sumba, those doors are slowly beginning to open.