About Us – RACHEL HOUSE

Who we are

Rachel House provides specialised medical care (known as palliative care) to children from marginalised communities living with serious illnesses such as cancer and HIV AIDS. Established in 2006, we have pioneered palliative care in Indonesia. Driven by the belief that no child should ever have to live or die in pain, our highly-skilled nurses provide home-based care to children from some of the most marginalised communities in Jakarta, free of charge.

We also educate and equip medical professionals and local communities with palliative care skills and knowledge to provide care for those in desperate need.

Our Vision

To never see a child live or die in pain.

Our Mission

To establish a palliative care ecosystem in Indonesia, ensuring palliative care is available and accessible for all children living with life-limiting illnesses.

Our Values

Believe in the right of all children to be loved and cared for
Ensure a safe environment for families to care for their children
Provide and maintain the highest clinical standards of care
Ethical behaviour in all aspects of clinical, physical, emotional and spiritual care

Rachel House is a fully registered and accredited Indonesian non-profit organization under the name Yayasan Rumah Rachel - registration number 2265/F.2/31.73.07.1002/-1.848/e/2019

How we began

In the beginning, the dream was to build a safe haven to care for children with life-limiting conditions. The dream captured the hearts of many who came to rally support for the cause. This marked the launch of Rachel House and the plans for building Indonesia’s first purpose-built children’s hospice.

When the service was piloted at a 3-bed inpatient hospice, we heard again and again the cries of the little ones who begged to go home. After months and years of chemotherapy and invasive treatments, they pleaded to go home to be close to their friends. In response to this plea, our nurses traded their uniforms for helmets and jackets to travel the crowded streets of Jakarta to reach these children in their homes.

13 years and more than 800 children later, Rachel House is today an acknowledged leader in home-based pediatric palliative care service in Jakarta. Our nurses have become the “model” nurses invited to share their knowledge at major hospitals and nursing faculties, and participate in difficult case discussions at some of the largest national referral hospitals in Indonesia.

However, so much more is needed. As Indonesia’s President Jokowi said, “thousands of people have been dying at home…and 500,000 people sick at home (in Jakarta)” without access to medical care (Reuters News “Indonesia Nationwide Healthcare Plans”).

This harsh reality led us to commit to building a palliative care ecosystem to help ensure that pain and symptom management is available and accessible by all, from primary to tertiary healthcare setting, to prevent and relieve suffering. We are actively working to disseminate palliative care skills and knowledge to medical professionals at public hospitals and puskesmas (primary health clinics), while reinforcing the community’s capacity by empowering community volunteers in basic palliative care knowledge.

We hope that you will join us as we build a world-class palliative care ecosystem in Indonesia and transform the healthcare system for generations to come.