Hello...Students

I can't help but remember my students when I was teaching ESL way back 2009..My former life, I used to teach English for well off and fortunate enough kids from Korea (South Korea) who could afford it. Day in day out I would punch in and deal with my students we had a lot of fun though.
But some days are quite boring especially if my students are bored and tired.

I mean I understand they are kids but sometimes they could really be brats and hyperactive at times.

Back in my NGO work look at my students...I mean they are quite advance aged or ripe but look at the faces of wonder. I just love that.

I was showing them pictures of different body deformities and disablement.

Preparation preparation preparation

"amat uictoria praeparatione"

"victory loves preparation"

The need to prepare always prepare.. To be honest I'm not so organized myself and the first sign of that is my room.

Sometimes I walk paths such as this one, this being resourceful would always be handy. I have projector in one hand and visual aids on the other,attendance sheets,some receipts are always with me.

"EMPOWERMENT"

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Awareness. Organize then Mobilize.

First stop, I was given a manual and an overview of our deliverable. I was set. I have no formal training in teaching, sometimes I can get confused of my own lesson plans when I was teaching English to Koreans back in Cebu. It is now a different ballgame. I was so excited, I'm about to do something a few health workers would do. But the nurse in me reminds me of the health teachings and patient educations I have done many times. Health class will be a breeze, I can do this.

In a year I need to cover  from the of Tungawan to Lakewood. My daily planner looked like this...

The first lecture I had was People with Disability,wait a minute I'm going to share and teach it to community folks some even unable to land in highschool much less college? In which basic knowledge of Anatomy is non existent...Whaaat...but don't get me wrong.

This community health workers are veterans the are way more experienced than I am. They have started way longer that I did. My happiness can't be contained and it shows..helping and sharing is really one of the best things.

One of my lectures in the Island of Olutanga.

The face of the future

Who are we serving?

Sometimes if we focus too much on quantitative data,statistics and numbers we seem to devoid of feeling, unable to recognize the human being behind the number or people of the community we are serving.

People’s participation is the core principle of the community-based health program (CBHP) in the Philippines that differentiates it from the other health programs’ approaches. Without people’s participation, a CBHP would be just another “band-aid solution”. CBHPs give primacy to the organization of the local people before they are implemented. Organizing the people would include activities such as education or consciousness-raising and leadership formation. It ensures people’s participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the program. Thus, the success of any undertaking that aims at serving the people is dependent on the people’s participation at all levels. 

Philippines as a third world country and lack of government focus to health is still unable to manage to address Public Health concerns. The devolution of health seem unable to trickle down to the most inaccessible and far flung areas in the country.  This is where the CBHP steps in utilizing whatever local resources available and indigenous talents to support programs.

The CBHP Staff and Diocese Team 2011-2012

BACKGROUND

The Munoz CBHP started in 1982 as an initiative of a parish priest who wanted a parish-based center with a policy of the free services and medicines

Community Based Health Program

The Core Group

From left to right.

Nanay Bebe Panganuron the massage specialist and the youngest of the group, Marvin Cenas in charge of finance and audit, Father Gilber Gente- Program Director, Marx Sorino " thats me",one of the Project Officer,  and Joy Tevez Project Coordinator.

The First Day

THE TEACHER

             
Flashback from 2009 in Cebu... My memories of tall buildings and multitudes of people walking around, hungry and empty spirits walking around sometimes aimless.

I had a support group friends but this new life in Zamboanga Sibugay would entirely be new life a fish out of water. I was used to hustle and bustle of the city but now I would be stuck in some far away place forgotten by development. Like some far away location on a map.

From concrete to this....

Lonely roads that I travel and the people's hospitality even if they don't have much themselves would stay in my heart forever. At first it really feels surreal walking this roads which are more like trails.