Meet and Greet with the Aetas. :)

One of our subjects in our Master's program at the Development Academy of the Philippines is Social Marketing in relation to Health Systems. We conducted a practicum in the form of a medical mission at different far-flung barangays here in Luzon. Two groups went to Bulacan and the other two at Pampanga. After the activity, we were tasked to submit a reflection paper. Here's what I wrote. 

The recently concluded medical mission as part of our HSD Practicum under Social Marketing was something I wasn’t personally prepared for. Per instruction, we were only told to bring our stethoscope, sphygmomanometer and diagnostic set. Nevertheless, being a doctor to the barrio and having conducted multitudes of medical missions in our respective areas, we somehow know already how to do about it. Upon orientation, doubts and queries as to the intention of the medical mission slowly dawned on me. The relevance of the activity in relation to social marketing was a bit blurry, especially the timing of the medical mission now that it is election time. My idea of a social marketing practicum would be that, we, the students are the ones who would create or think of an activity by coordinating with different stakeholders to partner with. In the medical mission that we did, everything was laid down to us requiring only our presence and our service so I don’t see the essence of doing a practicum when we’re already honed in doing medical missions. When the specific flow of the activity including deworming and vaccination were raised to us, people began grunting because those services were already being given by the RHU. But we still went with the flow by waking up as early as 1AM to go to our respective areas.

Our patients patiently waiting in queue. 

Our group was assigned to Brgy. Nabuclod, Floridablanca, Pampanga. I never expected the place to be that far, perhaps because of the idea that Pampanga is a nearby province. To my surprise, it took us almost four hours to reach the area and much more I was surprised upon seeing the Indigenous People (IP) we would be providing health services for. During the whole activity, I believe there was inadequate coordination with some partners. We were told primarily that we will conduct it in a school for proper compartmentalization, however, we were informed when we were already there that we cannot utilize the school rooms due to a prior commitment. We conducted the medical mission in an open space where there is, well, a perfect view. There were notable flaws but we were able to manage. The number of patients did not meet our expectation, in fact we were expecting more. In other words, our services were not maximized. 

A typical Aeta family. Most of them are farming their lands to sustain their  basic needs. Some of them are able to go to school but rarely finishes high school until they get caught up in what seemed as "natural course of life"~~~having kids. 

Doctors at work. 

I was asleep inside the bus for most of the travel time so imagine my surprise upon opening the curtain to see this body of water greet my sleepy eyes! Lol! Yes, we crossed a "little" river to reach the area. 

Doctors to the Barrios and a member of the army who made sure of our security in the area. Thanks, Sirs! 

During consultation, I asked my patients if they have sought consult at their RHU prior to our arrival. Most of them have not been seen by a doctor due to the distance, their RHU is located at the town proper which is quite a number of kilometers from them. I can relate their situation to the patients I meet at my area of assignment in Talitay, Maguindanao. It was my first time to meet the Aetas and was pleased by their behavior around us. Unlike with other med missions I attended, the Aetas are not demanding as to the services we offered. They listened to our health advisories and participated in our "dagdag kaalaman" games. They seemed to be compliant patients as well. :)

 We may have been "forced by circumstance" to do the mission, but being too rational made us overlook the positive impact of our presence among our Aeta friends. There are instances when we should put our personal clamors aside and look at things at different perspective. Only then we can fully understand what is going on around us from a macro level. At the end of the day, all of my doubts as to the intent of the medical mission vanished leaving me with a fulfilled heart and a sense of joy. It was really nice to meet our Aeta friends. :)

P.S.
I owe you an article on my DTTB (doctors to the barrios) experience. It's been six months since I signed the contract with the Department of Health. :)