Meet Ibu Robin Lim — a true guardian of birth and human rights. A Filipina-Micronesian-American midwife, grandmother, author, and founder of the non-profit Bumi Sehat Foundation, Ibu Robin has spent more than three decades transforming maternal healthcare in Indonesia and beyond.
Through Bumi Sehat, she and her team provide free prenatal, birth, and postnatal care to families who might otherwise have none — supporting thousands of mothers and babies, training midwives and traditional birth attendants, and responding to humanitarian crises in disaster zones with skill, courage and compassion.
A fierce advocate for dignity in childbirth and a leading voice in women’s reproductive rights, Ibu Robin champions gentle birth, cultural respect, and community-based care as fundamental human rights. Awarded CNN Hero of the Year (2011) and named an Ashoka Fellow, her work continues to inspire global shifts in how we understand maternity care — always rooted in her core belief that peace begins at birth.
In this talk, Robin shares her life’s mission and the philosophy that guides Bumi Sehat. She reflects on the values that underpin her model of care, the realities of providing maternity services in crisis situations, and what becomes possible when birth is held in reverence rather than routine.
This is an invitation to re-imagine modern birth culture — and to consider what changes when the miracle of birth is met with human presence, skilled hands, and unwavering love for mothers and babies.
