More than 1,211 schoolchildren of Mansalay and 300 indigent
residents from the far flung areas of Lukban, Barangay Panaytayan, Mansalay
Oriental Mindoro benefited from the Balik-Eskwela Caravan (Free School
supplies, Healthy Teeth Campaign, Feeding Program and Medical Outreach
sponsored by Keep Hope Alive Volunteers, partners and concerned individuals.
PTA
Chairman Aybong Ganyuan and different sitio leaders from 6 different Mangayn
Villages led more than 500 of his constituents in availing the free school
supplies, medical services and feeding program brought by Keep Hope Alive
Volunteers to one of its host communities, which is one of the least accessible
communities in the municipality.
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| Ambulansya de Paa transporting a patient |
Volunteers
have to walk for seven hours thru the mountains and cross several hanging
bridges just to share the blessings and other important services.
During the three-day mission climb, we observed that people from the community sit
in the shade idle, children have nothing to play with, and adults have no jobs.
Others walk with heavy sacks of goods along the dangerous shoulders of the road
in the sweltering heat.
Early
in the morning of June 4, 2013 morning we start out on paved the National
highway for awhile which turns into crushed rocks. The road is bumpy and
potholed for another 4 hours, but we are warned to brace ourselves for a lot
worse. Sure enough, the further away from the Barangay proper, the more remote
the region, the bigger the rocks and the greater the potholes in number and
depth. While grinding and bumping over impassable roads for several hours, we marvel
at the dedication of our guide who soldier this 7-hour road trek several times a
month! It is dangerous and exhausting. Except for beds and tents, our
accommodations lack everything else including screens on windows
and electricity at night. We enjoyed our first night by having a sensible and very fun bonding fellowship with the volunteers and local villagers.
We
distributed to about 1,211 Day Care and public school pupils in the Municipality
of Mansalay received school supplies such as notebook, pencils, crayons and
paper. In Lukban, more than 200 sets of school supplies were given. The distribution of school supplies aimed to provide indigent children
with basic school needs that could help in their learning process as well as
save money which could be used in other school needs. We also provided three feeding sessions and conducted lectures and demonstrations on proper tooth brushing and basic physical hygiene.
In
low-income villages in Mansalay, school supplies are a luxury. Often, the
parents of indigent school children purchase the supplies needed out of their
already small salaries. Parents spend an average of Php200 on school supplies
every school year which is very hard for them to provide. Through our sponsors
and volunteers, we championed this program as one way to help the poor families
particularly the Mangyan indigent community as no children must suffer and no
children as much as possible will suffer from learning because of lack of
school supplies.
Aside
from the school supplies given, the team also accommodates hundreds of local’s from
different sitios. There are two nurses in the team (me and Elaine). While
observing the locals, it's very hard for me to accept that a patient in the
area who has a potentially life threatening bone tumor that causes extensive deformation
can’t have surgery because of his inability to pay 100,000 pesos out of pocket.
These were just a few of many heart-wrenching cases I was confronted with
during my first nursing-medical mission with Keep Hope Alive.
One
thing that I really about the health system in the Philippines is the level of
empowerment of nurses like me, many of whom are nurse practitioners. We take on
many roles (like prescribing) that in Europe and other parts of the world are
the exclusive responsibilities of doctors. The high levels of nurse empowerment
in the Philippines actually make a lot of sense when there's such an overall
lack of doctors and difficulty in enticing them to settle in remote areas. Again,
it makes all the sense if we consider that many patients face significant
geographical and other types of barriers to healthcare.
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| Sitio leader & Day Care worker of Bukana |
The
scope of health problems I encountered in the area is very similar, but I found
a high incidence of respiratory problems in children and an unusually high
prevalence of thyroid disorders (like goiter) in adults. In the meantime, I am
hoping to continue going back to the Lukban for future relief and medical
missions. Our efforts are merely a drop in the ocean considering the needs of
local communities, but I firmly believe that little things mean a lot
Volunteers
prepared food for feeding the hungry children in Lukban. The food was donated to us from our
friends. We feed over 300 people that
day.
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| THANK you volunteers! |
In
Behalf of Keep Hope Alive Volunteer’s Foundation and the residents of Mansalay
Oriental Mindoro, I would like to extend my gratitude to our sponsors Jennifer & Edwin Lim, TMA people (Genelyn Golena, & Alona Golena Henning, Minnie
Atienza, Nelia and Gina Timena) Gaye Teraytay, Fred Li, Noel Sacris, SK KC
Villanueva, Elaine Fetalco, Third Viray, Jinky Espaltero, Arlene Faa,
Rosalyn Defeo, Elcana Gamol, Teacher MG delos Reyes and Jereza Mangilaya).
