Reaching
out to the Southernmost Island
June 25, 2012: A Medical Community Assistance Program (MEDCAP) was
organized by the local government unit of Bongao in Tawi-tawi in partnership
with the ACIM Asia, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Bongao Doctors’
Association, Philippine Marines and other local nongovernmental organizations
of the ARMM, as part of the 54th founding anniversary celebration.
The MEDCAP aimed to reach out to the indigent
people of Bongao and to the marginalized populace of the remote island communities,
who were transported into the mainland, to avail of the free medical
consultation, medicines, vaccines, dental extraction, eye examination and
eyeglasses as needed, haircut, and reflexology.
The Philippine Navy helped in the transportation of
medicines from Jolo, Sulu and of the medical volunteers from Zamboanga city, to
Bongao.
The municipality has no allotment for health from the
provincial government. Hence, the municipal government is outsourcing to
materialize a medical outreach, which intends to alleviate the immediate
medical needs of its constituents that will lead to a gradual improvement of
the general public economy. When a
patient has serious medical illness, they have to travel to Zamboanga city,
usually taking the 18-hour travel via boat, for appropriate medical
services.
Four hundred and thirty seven patients of Bongao
were served at the mission: 174 patients for medical consultation, 46 patients for
reflex foot therapy, 110 patients for dental extraction, 30 patients for eye
check up and 64 for haircut.
Simultaneously, in the parish church a few steps
from the mission area, rosaries, scapulars, and medals were distributed among the
Catholic community, through the assistance of Our Lady of Holy Rosary parish
priest and staff.
The employees of the municipal government were so
happy to receive rosaries and catechism pamphlets before the mission.
Mathilde Rigolot, a volunteer from France,
participated in the said medical outreach by helping out in the Pharmacy area
together with other ACIM Asia volunteers. She came to Bongao days before the
mission proper to help in transporting the medicines, coordinating with the
Catholic community, and organizing accommodation for medical volunteers and
other logistics. The patients, after receiving
free medical consultation, dental extractions and check up, were more
overwhelmed when they claimed their free medications from a smiling foreign
woman in the pharmacy area. Sometimes, a
little gesture of genuine kindness, is more appreciated than the goods being
given.
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| Lanjal kamu:
Welcome to the Joint MedCAP ! |
April 27, 2012
Barangay Bunbun, Patikul, Sulu - 9 hour vessel ride from Zamboanga City. The area is so remote that there was no
signal for mobile phones, except in a specific single spot. The team arrived very late on the night prior to the event.
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| The
port of Barangay Bunbun |
The medical
civic action program started at around 9AM. Patients were registered and
their initial vital signs and their baseline data were taken before they could enter the camp. Services that could be availed of inside the camp were dental consultation and extraction, medical and ophthalmic consultation and tests, vaccination for children, bloodletting, and minor surgeries.
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| Dr Bagongon and the opthal team conducting test for a patient |
Of course there was also a pharmacy where patients could get their free medicines. ACIM Asia was in charge of dispensing the medicines. A volunteer pharmacist whom we worked with during the March 14, 2012 ground zero MedCAP was also there,
unexpectedly. He and his friend translated the instructions on proper medication in the local dialect – Tausug. Health teachings were also
injected during the distribution of medicines.
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| Baby receiving a vaccination |
The team
served 327 patients for medical and dental. The aim of the event was to give
thanks to the locals, who had been very cooperative with the efforts of the government in sustaining a long-term culture of peace in the area.
Many locals took advantage of the rare opportunity for health relief given to them. The area
is very remote and land travel is perilous, so health workers cannot easily access the area, and sick locals cannot also easily go to hospitals. This mission brought special joy to patients and mission volunteers alike.
______________________________________________________
April 28, 2012
We
left the MBLT 11 camp at around 17:00 and went
to Jolo, Sulu. The team stayed in KHTB, a military camp in
Jolo, for the night until the next day's medical outreach.
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| Kids playing Apple Eating Contest, among other games, during the medical mission |
The program had already started when we arrived. As we busied ourselves in setting up the medical mission venue, the rest of the crowd engaged in tree planting. The mission was conducted in Sitio Bayog, mount Bayog, Talipao, Sulu, in a small school that had only 2 rooms. We set up one room for the medical consultation, dental services and opthalmologic check up, while we assigned the other room as the pharmacy and minor surgery area.
The barbers were installed in the open field, next to the feeding area.
The team served 100 patients for general medicine (both
adult and pediatric), 45 for ophthalmology (free
eyeglasses given according to their specific need), and 12 patients for minor
surgery.
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| Our Lady - our
inspiration, refuge and strength in the mission.. |
Health of the sick, pray for us!
