|
|
Ana-Cecilia Aviles 1 Dec 1956 - 12 Oct 2002
The only thing slowing down Ana’s work was Yudisthira’s inability to keep up with her challenging pace. She was the perfect volunteer who was absolutely reliable. She learned what the foundation wanted to achieve and saw the Yudisthira vision of the Street Program the first day she met Dr. Listriani Founder, and Dr. Komang. In the early days, we would set off in a borrowed car and a medicine box to follow Ana on her motor bike through the streets of Kuta, Legian and Umalas, going from one tragic dog to the next until we could no longer work or ran out of medicine or gas. In those days we barely had any medicine, so Ana would introduce her alternative remedies to keep us working. Thus, our relationship and friendship and sharing of healing knowledge began to grow.
Ana’s heart and compassion never slept. Even late at night she would be at work either nursing an orphaned puppy, or broken dog at home, or losing sleep worrying about an injured or sick dog she saw on the street at night but couldn’t pick-up on her motorbike. And she thought nothing of ringing in the twilight hours for a little M*A*S*H medical council. In the end she would use her own alternative remedies until we could get a vet to her. Ronaldo, her partner, was often the resident nursing assistant and often could not get Ana to agree with him about best practices of dog discipline. She had a soft heart. Komang, our lead veterinarian, was telling a story on our way home from Ana’s ceremony. “You know on Saturday I was talking with Ana. I said Ana you are going to be very happy because we have a donation from IFAW (International Fund for animal Welfare) of a van we are making into a mobile clinic just for the Street Program. Now you don’t have to worry because you have someone you can call everyday and you can plan a schedule with this mobile clinic starting next Monday." Ana was very excited and wanted to give a list of the streets she would like to work immediately. Later, we would work out if she was going to ‘lead us’ on her motorbike or ride in the new van. She was excited and Komang felt so good knowing that finally Ana’s work was going to be easier and she had someone else at Yudisthira she could call everyday, with a mobile clinic and medicine….finally Ana’s mission was accomplished and her wish fulfilled she would start the following Monday. But instead on that Monday, two days after the blast, the Yudisthira team went to Sanglah Hospital to donate medical supplies and volunteer their nursing skills. But instead of nursing the injured, they were assigned to work in the morgue. It was a horrific job, but it was one that Ana herself would have done right beside them on that Monday had things been different. She would have been working right with the Yudisthira team because she would have never thought of doing anything different. It was ironic that the team was wearing their uniform shirt, one often worn by Ana, which says ‘healing not killing’. But there must have been a reason they were sent in this direction, because Komang found Ana among the scores of unidentified bodies. We were devastated but also thankful that Ana was found by hands that cared. The very healing hands that her own compassionate hands had worked with, hand-in-hand, for many years – healing together - the sick and wounded souls of Bali's street dogs. At Yudisthira we feel very lucky that Ana was found by friends who were members of her extended Balinese family and that both of Ana’s family’s from Ecuador and Bali were able to come together in loving memory sooner, rather than later. Those who have worked with the Yudisthira team know that they are always smiling - this is the first time the team did not smile, instead they quietly wept for their friend and island. In honor of Ana we will be painting “Ana-Cecilia devoted Volunteer and Friend” on both of our Mobile Units. If Yudisthira ever has the good fortune of building an animal hospital or animal medical facility we plan to dedicate the ‘emergency care unit’ to Ana-Cecilia in living memory of her selfless work for the Bali Street Dogs and Yayasan Yudisthira Swarga. We love and miss you Ana-Cecilia. ____________________ Ana Cecilia Aviles 1 December 1956 - 12 October 2002 Ana Cecilia was born in Ecuador and started coming to Bali in the early 1990’s. She made it her home in 1997 and settled in Umalas, Bali. A great humanitarian, Ana worked for the disadvantaged children with Pratema and for the forgotten street dogs with Yudisthira as the Street Manager for the Kuta region. Ana also taught Spanish courses. Ana-Cecilia was Ecuador's single casualty in the blast. A memorial service was held on Tuesday, 3 October in Kuaquil, Ecuador where Ana and her family are from. Ana was very much loved is survived by her mother Cecilia , father Alberto, sister Susie, brother Alberto and Ronaldo Naphtali her beloved partner. At the time of her death, Ana's mother, Cecilia, was visiting Ana in Bali after 7 years having come to terms with the fact that this was now her daughter’s home. Then tragedy struck.
|
Nothing really changed over the years, other than we
had more medicines and were able to treat more dogs. So Ana
rode her motorbike further and deeper into the community to identify all
of the dogs that needed help and then called us regularly to get to her area
perhaps ‘earlier than scheduled’. She would call Sherry, then Dr. Komang
and then Dr. Listriani and start all over again until she got
satisfaction. And if a call was returned from someone else’s phone she
kept that number and added it to her list of where to track us down the
next time. She was thorough and dedicated.