MANILA, Philippines — Ibu Robin Lim, a Filipino-American midwife in Indonesia, has been named as the second “CNN Hero of the Year” with Filipino roots. The first Filipino CNN Hero of the Year, Efren G. Peñaflorida Jr., won in 2009 for his Kariton Eskwela (pushcart classes) project that educates poor schoolchildren in his home province of Cavite. Now in its fifth year, CNN Heroes is a multi-platform campaign that spotlights on individuals who go to extraordinary lengths to serve others.

The 54-year-old Lim, fondly called “Mother Robin” or “Ibu Robin” by Indonesians, has delivered more than 4,000 babies for free in Indonesia. Her non-profit organization, the Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation), provides free prenatal care, birthing services, and medical aid in Indonesia, where mothers face a high mortality rate because of poverty and medical costs.

Mother Robin says, “every mother counts and healthcare is a human right. Every mother should be healthy and strong. Every birth could be healthy and strong. Our world is not there yet.” She also initiated the global campaign, Every Mother Counts, to boost education and support for maternal and child health.

Mother Robin, whose mother is Filipino-Chinese, built “birthing sanctuaries” for Indonesians who need maternal and general health care, through Bumi Sehat, a village-based organization founded in 1995, that runs two by-donation community health centers in Bali and Aceh, Indonesia. It provides over 17,000 health consultations for both children and adults per year. Midwifery services to ensure gentle births are at the heart of Bumi Sehat and its clinics welcome 600 new babies into the world each year.

Mother Robin, born to an American soldier and a Filipino mother, says she is inspired by her Filipino grandmother, Vicenta Munar Lim, who was a traditional birth attendant in Baguio City before and after World War II. She became a midwife after her sister – and her sister’s baby – died from complications during childbirth several years ago. She and her husband sold their home in Hawaii, USA, and moved to Bali, Indonesia, to “reinvent their lives.”

She opened a clinic, Bumi Sehat, so poor mothers could give birth safely and be treated with dignity and respect. She has since delivered thousands of babies in rural and depressed areas of Indonesia. She also trains other midwives and birth assistants. She particularly promotes traditional healing practices and offers her services in Nyuh Kuning, a small village on Bali Island. Mother Robin dreams of setting up a clinic in Baguio City to replicate what she is doing for Indonesian mothers.

We congratulate the Filipino-American midwife, Robin Lim, for having been named CNN Hero of the Year. We wish her all the best and success in all her endeavors. CONGRATULATIONS!