Howdy, Pablo survivors?

Our recent medical mission to Tolosa, Leyte wasn't the first time I laid my eyes on the aftermath of nature's wrath. I have seen it exactly a year ago in Cateel, Davao Oriental. I remember having a vivid imagination of how the end of the world would look like, but I pray to be spared from the destruction, my friends and family and down to the 10th generation of my future children. Subhanallah. Only a Great Force can do something like this in a matter of minutes to hours. 

Coconut trees were uprooted and were scattered like matchsticks. :'( 

I wonder how the super typhoon Pablo survivors coped a year since the massive destruction. the great thing about us, Filipinos, is the strength and resilience that we show to the world. We easily move on. Perhaps, God is just testing our character and how much we can endure. But oh, Ya Allah, no more calamities please. I don't wanna see something like this again. :( 

Haiyan/Yolanda

I was given an opportunity to see what looks like a post-apocalyptic scene at Tolosa, Leyte. The ARMM health contingent was the first to arrive in the area. We have seen the sadness in their eyes and heard the mourning in their voices. It was heartbreaking beyond words.

Bangon, Pilipinas. 

The Zambo Mission

What happened in Zamboanga City few months ago stirred the whole nation. Peace and order instability has a domino effect on the society, economy, and ultimately, health status of the people. Hence, when the crisis broke out in Zambo, the IPHO-Lanao del Sur set out for a Humanitarian Mission under the mandate of the DOH-ARMM. Zamboanga City does not belong to the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but it is undeniable that most of the affected are natives of the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi which belong to the ARMM provinces. Besides, we need not nit-pick to whom we should offer our help. 

After almost ten (10) hours of land travel, we arrived at Zamboanga City at around 6:00 pm. We had a short briefing with our bosses from the IPHO and with the DOH-ARMM and DSWD-ARMM. 

Some of the stuff we brought were lugged by no other than our big boss. 

When we arrived, some of the establishments in the city were already opened. We didn't feel the tension in the air just yet. Everything seemed normal. 

Our team was greeted by ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman on the first day before we set out to the barangays to do the works. 

We were treated to this tausug specialty called Satti. It's like the Javanese satay minus the peanut sauce. I am not familiar with the satti sauce. It was also served with cubes of rice.  

And then the mission began. 

This ambulance was our makeshift mobile pharmacy, so we can easily pack-up and ran if anything untowards happen. 

At Brgy. Talon-Talon. One of the barangays afflicted with the crisis. It certainly felt like a ghost town upon entering the vicinity. Most houses were locked, small sari-sari stores were closed and you barely see people on the streets. 

Our resident photog. Rocaya. Visit her at www.rocayaaa.tumblr.com because we're friends. Haha! 

While we were doing medical consultations, a smoke hovered above us. It was a signal that a house nearby was being allegedly burnt down by the rebels. We also heard loud exchange of gunshots which obviously signaled us to pack up and leave. Nevertheless, we were able to maximize our services by going from other five barangays in the outskirts of the city where evacuees sought shelter.

Our good friend, Racquel, spent her birthday during the mission. What a great way of spending an important milestone of your life in the name of service. Great job, Racqs! :D 

Doctors at your service. :)

Our experience was a mixture of excitement, fear, adrenaline rush and the strong drive to offer health services. With what was being shown on TV, it was understandable that our parents and loved ones were hesitant in allowing us to go to Zamboanga. But when unconditional service is in your blood, you are always ready to take a leap where you are needed. 

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. :)