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Facing storms : People Unite in the midst of disasters

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in this issue of TAMBALAN

Facing storms: People unite in the midst of disasters

CBHP story: Calawag people’s clinic, fruit of people’s struggle

Panaw Kalinaw: Another case of military getting in the way of people’s health

Essays: *Health care and justice in the Philippines*Raised fist, wet coloring book and united communities

and more.

As if to further underscore the gravity of social, economic and political crises that the majority of the Filipino people are go-ing through, nature once again found its way through and turned the country into a stormy place, quite literally.

It was on September 26, Saturday, when tropical storm Ondoy, internationally named Ketsana, with its almost never-ending rain devastated the National Capital Region and some provinces in Luzon dam-aging lives and properties in epic proportions.

Like that was not enough, typhoon Pepeng arrived, barely a week after Ondoy and unleashed its fury making the death toll and property loss higher with the Cordillera and Northern Luzon provinces experi-encing the worst.

And then came the others which may not have been as furious and fierce as Ondoy and Pepeng but just the same, made significant damages all over the country.

Fourth most-disaster prone country

According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the government’s disaster response body, the number of reported deaths, combining that of Ondoy and Pepeng has reached up to around 800. While Ondoy killed with the rapid rising of its flood level, Pepeng caused landslides in the places it has affected, such as Baguio City and the provinces of Benguet and Mt. Province.

After the Ondoy and Pepeng, the Philippines is now the world’s fourth most disaster-prone country (after China, India, and Iran), according to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) in its analysis published in Bulatlat.com, “Ondoy, Pepeng and the Bane of Development Illusion.”

Also, according to CenPEG, the country is now fourth in the number of persons killed, injured, or missing as a result of calamities.

“The impact of disasters, including typhoons, floods, monsoon rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,

The overwhelming support gathered by the health sector’s disaster response body Samahang Operasyong Sagip or SOS resulted to widespread reach of relief operations, health education and com-munity clinics from the National Capital Re-gion to Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Central Luzon and the Cordilleras.

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Tambalan is the bi-annual publication of the Community Based Health Programs in the Philippines produced by the Council for Health and Development. For your contributions, comments, questions and suggestions please feel free to write or call us.

Council for Health and Development#35 Examiner St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City 1104, Philippines

website: www.chdphilippines.org/email:chdmancom@gmail.comtelefax: (632) 929-8109

TAMBALAN IS PUBLISHED THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF

Editorial Board: Eleanor A. Jara, M.D., Cynthia M. Vargas, R.N., Merry B. Mia-Clamor, M.D.,Katharina Anne D. Berza, Nenita C. Berones, Ma. Victoria A. Neri

*Cover photos from Samahang Operasyon Sagip files.

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landslides, as well as human-induced di-sasters has worsened in recent years. In 10 years (1992-2001), close to 6 million Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of natural or man-made calamities, reports of the Interna-tional Red Cross and Red Cres-cent Societ-ies showed,” the said analysis included.

In a report by the non-government organization Citi-zens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC), with already 6 million persons uprooted by Ondoy and Pepeng based on partial accounts, the total number of people affected by disasters in the country could reach as high as 10 million before 2009 ends. The Pinoy spirit of camaraderie rises againIn the midst of these disasters, the resilient Pinoy spirit has risen once more with different sectors, organizations, foundations, media outfits and church groups organizing one relief operation after the other showing the spirit of camaraderie at a time when hope is something elusive to many.

Moreover, the overwhelming response of the different relief operation groups served as an inspiration for the people gravely affected by disasters to hold on to what remains of the ropes of their lives.

The health sector, for its part has convened its di-saster-response body, the “Samahang Operasyong Sagip” or SOS and started its activities immediately after Ondoy.

Founded in the later part of the ‘80s, SOS does Damage Needs Capabilities Assessment (DNCA) in the affected communities and conduct necessary actions right after such as relief goods delivery and medical missions.

SOS is convened by the Council for Health and Development, Alliance of Health Workers, Health Alliance for Democracy, Community Medicine Development Foundation, Health Stu-dents’ Action, All UP Workers Union-Manila, Health Action for Human Rights, People’s Health Movement- Philippines, Center for People’s Development and Governance and NARS or Associa-tion of Community Health Nurses and People’s Health Advocates.

Immediately after it was reconvened in September 28, SOS received over-whelming support in cash and in the form of relief goods. The donations ar-rived at the SOS headquarters from all over the country and the world enabling it to reach out not only in communities inside Metro Manila but also that of

Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon and the Cordilleras. Moreover, apart from the relief goods and cash sup-port it received, SOS was able to gather volunteers from different sectors- students, health professionals, teachers, religious and even the people coming from affected communities. The help extended by the vol-unteers were definitely one of the major driving forces of SOS in its delivery of services- evidence that in time of great need, Filipinos are ready to extend their hands.

In Metro Manila, SOS was able to conduct DNCAs, medical missions, psycho-social activities and relief operations in the communities of Fairview,Damayang Lagi, Bagong Silangan in Quezon City, Silverio, Tramo and Sun Valley in Paranaque, Potrero in Ma-labon, Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Manila, Pasig and Mandaluyong.

In the Southern Tagalog region, SOS San Mateo, Montalban, Taytay, Binangonan, Angono and Anti-polo in Rizal and in communities of Pila, Laguna.

Moreover, SOS also reached the different communi-ties of Pangasinan in Northern Luzon, Bulacan and Tarlac in Central Luzon and in Benguet through relief delivery operations and medical missions.

Inadequate government response Sadly though, like in other tragic events the country has faced, it is always the initiatives of the private sector, private organizations and individuals that are more pronounced and overwhelming compared to the authorities, government agencies that hold greater responsibility in such times.

In fact, cause-oriented groups and major television stations are reported to have raised more resources compared to that of government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Furthermore, it did not help that in many communi-ties affected by the storms, there was inadequate response or none at all from the government’s disas-ter response authorities, according to a statement released by SOS. SOS also questioned how the

government appropriated its supposed P10B calamity fund.

According to SOS, the delay and inadequacy of the government response showed once again its un-preparedness and unsystematic disaster response program.

As it happened, the private citizens were the ones who contributed the most in the wake of Ondoy and Pepeng. It also reinvigorated the flame of Filipino camarederie or bayanihan.

The active role that the private sector played during the major disasters that came into the country this year highlighted the utter lack of preparedness of the Philippine government to respond to disasters.

It shows that in the midst of disasters and other crises, the people’s unity remains a powerful force to bring a nation together.###Terence Krishna V. Lopez

Paul Morton during a medical mission in Sipalay, Negros Occidental.

Essays of Paul Morton and Absalon Galat, second year medical students of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. They spent several weeks with CHD and NIHIP as volunteers.

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For two months beginning in June 30th until Au-gust 31, 2009, I began on an adventure; much like Che Gueverra’s The Motorcycle Diaries. As 23 and 24 year old medical students, Absalon Galat and I traveled across a great area of land witnessing social injustices of exploited health workers, land-less farmers, and persecuted activists.

While our adventure may not lead me to change from doc-tor into armed revolutionary as it did for Che, I too wish to become a doctor of the people.

Our adventure began with a planned one month obser-vational stay in the Philippines at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila and Mary Mediatrix Medi-cal Center in Batangas arranged by the Philip-pine Medical Associa-tion of Hawaii. There, we shadowed physi-cians, residents, and fourth-year clerks in Medicine and Surgery Departments. Medical education in the Philip-pines uses many of the same textbooks and teaching methods as we do in the US.

However, there were contrasts, such as the use of unclaimed cadavers for dissections. This would be unthink-able in the US, where the deceased volunteer their bodies. The other large difference was the division between the private and charity or government sectors. Some patients can afford to have the full attention of licensed physicians, but the indigent population is used as teaching tools for residents and clerks in charity and government hospitals. This was a big shock for me, where I am used to the same level of attention from physicians, regardless of ability to pay. In addition, without access to adequate resources, patient-care decisions are made using as few diagnostic techniques and laboratory tests as possible. At the same time, relying on less expensive technologies stressed the

importance of our abilities on physical diagnosis and his-tory taking. While I saw some of the underlying issues in poverty, it was not until we began our stay with Council for Health and Development (CHD) that the realities of pov-erty’s effect on health care became entrenched.

We began our stay with CHD with a bang, marching with the People’s SONA down Commonwealth Avenue, a coun-ter to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Through speeches, plays, and music, I was introduced to the effects of American imperial-ism, lack of genuine land reform, attempts to change the Constitution, and other issues facing the Filipino people. I knew that I was witnessing a national reaction to the daily

struggles that Filipinos live. As an outsider, it is often hard to understand the deeper needs behind the people’s demands. My later first-hand ex-posure to the effects of these issues in places like Smokey Mountain allowed me to truly appreciate why people are demonstrating.

Smokey Mountain

They call it Smokey Mountain because of the accumulation of methane gas beneath the mountain of garbage that sometimes ignites on fire. In our first

community exposure, we spent the night in a shanty

constructed of materials scavenged from the mountain, eating and talking with our hosts. The next day, through the eyes of Community Health Workers (CHWs) trained by CHD, I was given a sample of life led by the people who earned a living by scavenging garbage for recyclable ma-terials that can be exchanged for a few pesos. Usually the best of the recyclables have been collected by the garbage collectors before the residents can get to them. Children are forced into collecting garbage instead of attending school so that they may survive, diminishing much hope for a life beyond Smokey Mountain.

Oftentimes the inhabitants must create odd-jobs for them-selves; one of our host’s jobs was to be an umbrella-re-pairwoman. The lucky few may be able to barter for better goods, perhaps a piglet, in which they can start a tiny farm.

Despite the work that may have been done to start their own lives, they still face the threat of demolition by develop-ers who want to use the area for other purposes.

For the 250,000 people who live here on less than P50 (US$1.07) a day, only one doctor visits three days a week with a prescription pad for medicines that people cannot af-ford. Yet, people continue to migrate here due in large part to problems elsewhere in the country.

Ploughs and rifles

We explored the reasons for inter-country migration through visiting Negros Occidental. After an hour on an airplane, five hours on a bus, and an hour by tricycle ride, we were in Camindangan, a Barangay in Sipalay, Negros Occidental.

After a short orientation from our hosts, Ne-gros Island Health Integrated Program (NIHIP) and a night of rest, we woke up to find our-selves the doctors of a medical mission. With one year of medical school under my belt, I was the closest thing to a real doctor that many of the patients had seen.

With the help of NIHIP, we saw about sixty patients that day. Many of the problems I saw were back pain, chronic coughs, and flu-like illnesses. I discovered the impact of people’s livelihood such as charcoal-making and farm-ing, the prevalence of smoking and the chal-lenges of not having any form of health care. However, I was unable to take care of the many problems I saw because of the limited medicines or equipments with us. How much can one do to help a patient with a chronic illness in just a day? Trainings of local CHWs is an attempt to address this question through prevention and under-standings of the community.

While CHWs are no substitute for access to adequate health care, it is the best option offered so far. Perhaps with a better understanding of health factors such as nutrition, smoking, and child-care, CHWs will help the local commu-nity obtain a better standard of living.

It was during our stay however, that I saw the impact of national politics on a small community. While interviewing patients in the medical mission, the government military, armed with automatic rifles surrounded us, demanding to know who we were. Despite having alerted the military and the barangay captain earlier in the day of our visit, the military attempted to intimidate us in order to have us leave. Thankfully, they left us alone for the rest of the day. It

seemed illogical that the government would not want us to help the sick and learn about the health issues in this com-munity. Strangely enough, the following day, the Lieutenant came by in civilian clothes to talk with me. We conversed about my life in America and the dreams he has for his sisters to become nurses in the US. In exchange, I learned of his hometown in Isabela and how he joined the military to follow his father’s footsteps. He left, warning me that the New People’s Army is heavy in the area and that I should watch out for myself.

The presence of the military was not entirely clear until the Camindagan Association of Small Farmers (CASFA) took us for a hike to a local mining site, a three hour hike from the village we were staying at. Over fifty members of CASFA hiked with us in solidarity to make sure that we would be safe. When we arrived at the mine, the mine owners turned us away.

Despite being unable to view the mine, we visited a nearby waterfall and swam in the river.

The leaders of CASFA explained to us how the mining corporation had bought the land from local farmers for a small value and were exploring the area for resources. The open-pit mining that they plan to do will damage the envi-ronment with the heavy metals required to extract minerals from the ground. As a result, the beautiful waterfall we were swimming in will no longer be a place of recreation. In addition, the toxins would leach into the surrounding ground, destroying the land’s fertility and thus the livelihood of the people.

While CASFA is fighting against these mines, they are spreading awareness of the impact of corporate mining, potentially preventing similar situations in other communi-ties through the power of knowledge.

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Paul Morton and Absalon Galat during the 2009 SONA rally.

Healthcare and justice in the PhilippinesPaul Morton

Paul and Absalon try their hands on farming.

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Edith Burgos, the mother of the Jonas Burgos , was present and I was stricken by how close I was to people that have been the victims of state repression. Remnants of memories making posters with the faces of victims of political killings and parading them in front of the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu, Hawaii during President Arroyo’s visit came flooding in and it made me realize how close I was to the issues but at the same time I felt removed from the people we were supposed to be fighting for. It was my first time seeing a family member of a human rights victim. Sadly she was not the last; I would meet more of them during the rest of my summer.

After the conference, we held a noise barrage for the State of the Nation Address of 2009 and joined a march to the Bonifacio Shrine for a cultural night. We were joined by people from Southern Tagalog who have been marching for four days while being interrogated by police along the way. It was women, children and men who had the same complexion as me. It was evidence of the work that they do whether they were a farmer or a fisher folk.

With raised fists, they greeted me with looks of approval and a longing sense of being understood. Their chants of “Gloria, Cha-Cha, Ibasura!”, (Junk Gloria and Charter Change) are shouted with passion -- passion that can only come from people who have something to fight for.

I took the MRT home that night and went to our condomin-ium in Greenhills. Looking at the complexion and hearing the language of the tenants of the 25-story building, I felt

like an outsider. I felt like I was in a differ-ent country. It was as if political killings and poverty were not part of this place. Chan-deliers hang on the lobby. 24-hr security guards were on hand. The elevators were surrounded with mir-rors as if to remind the tenants how fortunate they are to be where they are now. It was far away from Com-monwealth Avenue where the SONA was, and certainly farther

of trained doctors and nurses to become nurses in coun-tries like the US, Canada or Saudi Arabia. The surplus of nurses forces them to work for free in hospitals [ironically, with the Philippines having a surplus of nurses, there are many communities especially in the rural areas that do not have health professionals.On the other hand, majority of the health professionals are concentrated in urban centers-Ed.]

While some of the nurses may be hired for a low wage, many of them either decide to pursue another occupation,or leave the country. Even the better pay of nurses in other countries encourages doctors to leave the Philippines. Left behind are millions without access to adequate health care. In the government hospitals, patients crowd the hallways and usually only show up to the hospital after their disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Without preven-tative care, the indigents are forced to hope that their diseases may get better instead of seeking early medical attention.

The Philippines is a country rich in natural resources, yet millions of its citizens are starving and have little access to medicine. Despite these realities, I left with more hope than pessimism. Speaking with community organizers and peaceful revolutionary leaders inspired me to dream. I never thought I would be welcomed into people’s houses and communities to have them share what little that they have. Seeing programs such as Community Based Health Programs and organic farming being effectively implement-ed made me optimistic for a better world. The organizers at CHD, NIHIP, CASFA and GARB all made sure that I un-derstood the underlying issues and opened up the doors to their lives for me. My exposure to healthcare and the issues to social justice in the Philippines changed my life. While my summer adventure ended, I will continue the struggle, hoping to fight against injustices and someday becoming a doctor of the people.###

Agrarian reform

Not everything has such a grim outlook in Camindagan. CASFA showed us one of the four experimental organic farms that they have started in the area. These farms avoid using the high-cost petroleum fertilizers and pesti-cides that are toxic to the environment. Instead, they focus on using biodiversity in an attempt to find the most pro-ductive rice crop. They have shown that using a blend of traditional farming with environmentally-aware techniques is more productive and less damaging to their land than us-ing westernized, “green-revolution” style farming. Avoiding pesticide use allows the land to be fertile over a long period of time and prevents the degradation of the surrounding area. In addition, avoiding petroleum-based fertilizers and genetically modified crops owned by large corpora-tions, keeps the costs of farming down, and increases local farmers’ profits. The home-grown efforts of these farm-ers through organic farming and education may foster an independence of Camindangan from dominance by trans-national corporations.

Our next community visit was to the GARB (Genuine Agrar-ian Reform Bill) Community campsite in Bago City. There, we learned the plight of peasants in Negros. Having seen vast amounts of sugarcane farms throughout our bus rides, I did not see the impact of plantation farming until I talked to the residents of the campsite. Negros is an island filled with land-owners who own vast tracts of land, growing sugarcane to export raw sugar for processing outside of the Philippines. The land-owners pay only a small wage for the labor of peasants, keeping the profits for themselves. Despite laws passed for agrarian reform, Negros is still a feudal society. Eight months ago, a group of landless peasants decided to take control of their own lives and took over a few hectares of unused sugarcane plantation land overgrown with weeds. The land was transformed for rice farming and animal husbandry, instead of a cash crop for export. In addition to dealing with the challenges of farm-ing with a minimum of technology, the farmers must deal with the Blue Guards, groups armed by land owners who attempt to obstruct the lives of the farmers.

Exodus of health professionals

In exchange for our visit, NIHIP organized another medical mission for us to be a part of, this time seeing almost 150 patients. Afterwards, we learned some of the techniques required to plant and harvest rice. This experience left me with a deep respect for farming and will never look at another grain of rice the same way again! Yet the struggle that farmers face to survive drives home the point one of the organizers I met stated to me, “it is better to die fighting for food than die hungry.”

In addition to community visits, we also visited government hospitals in Manila and Negros. Through conversations with health care workers, I learned of the migration

Raised fists “Yong mga walang pera di na rin makapunta sa UP. ‘Tong gobyernong talaga ito o” (those who don’t have money can’t go to UP anymore This government sucks) [Univer-sity of the Philippines is the premiere state-owned univer-sity – Ed.], exclaimed the taxicab driver as he shook his head and laughed, the same laugh he had for the last 20 minutes. I just finished the last day of rotation at the Uni-versity of Santo Tomas Charity Hospital and it is now on to the second month of my summer in the Philippines. I was rushing to get to UP Manila not knowing what to expect at a forum full of people at the Pagbabago! (People’s Movement for Change!) conference that I had only read on the online site of Philippine Daily Inquirer: Jun Lozada, Edith Burgos and Dr. Eleanor Jara.

I didn’t know at the time but this was the beginning of a journey that would leave me with a more concrete future and lifetime friends.

I was nervous not because of the journey that awaits me for the rest of my summer but because I didn’t want to be late for the conference. It was my first day to join the staff of Council for Health and Development (CHD) for an event and I knew the importance of not being late for appoint-ments. Being late had always been ingrained in me from my grandparents in Ilocos Norte scolding me to wake up for school or my classmates in Hawaii making fun of me when I’m late for a lecture.

After spending 20 minutes and P100 for the taxi ride and asking several people on how to get to the Basic Science Lecture room in UP, I finally made it to the con-ference and early too to my surprise. Everything felt surreal. I was at the University of the Philip-pines, the school that is the bastion of activism of the nation.

At the conference room, somebody waved at me in the front of the lecture room but it was a blur since I didn’t have my glasses on.

Raised fists, wet coloring book, and united communities Absalon G. Galat

Paul and Absalon with community health workers in Negros Occidental.

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Absalon during a medical mission in Negros Occidental

Paul and Absalon with the peasant organization members in Negros.

away from Payatas in Quezon City where their garbage goes to. When my childhood friend from elementary in Pagudpud came to visit, he insisted that they must be Chinese syndicates. Not knowing who these people really were, I just smiled. Maybe they are just the fortunate ones.

Indeed, the divide between the tenants of a condominium in Greenhills from the people of Payatas is greater than the four-day walk of the peasants from Southern Tagalog to Manila.

After two days of spending inside the air-conditioned condo and occasionally going at the mall, my friend and I joined the SONA. Marching with thousands of people from dif-ferent organizations from every part of the country was reminiscent of marching with hotel housekeepers, mostly Filipinos, in Waikiki, the center of tourism in Hawaii who were fighting for living wages and better working con-ditions. It had the same feel to it.

Hearing people shout made me feel their anger. I am not exactly certain on the issues that each organization were fighting for but the spirit of hotelkeep-ers in Hawaii and that of the health sector in the Philip-pines are borne out of similar oppres-sive institutions, company on one hand and govern-ment on the other.

With the first four days with CHD, I felt as if I was part of a bigger movement. The Pagbabago! conference was the first time I have heard about the issues of political killings, and government corruption and neglect in person.

I felt vindicated hearing the words from a real person and not just from a written text on newspaper. I felt that I was still connected to my home.

Wet coloring books

Our week of orientation by the staff of the Council for Health and Development (CHD) was given through apowerpoint presentation, documentaries, hospital visits, and it culminated with a visit to Payatas.

The only recollection I had of a place like Payatas was when I was visiting my Aunt’s family in Fairview, Que-zon City during one of the times when my whole family would come to Manila to process our application to go to Canada. I must have been 9 or 10 at the time during my one night visit.

I remember wanting taho (custard made of soy beans and topped with sweet syrup and tapioca balls-Ed.) but I was told that they were made out of cats so I didn’t have any. I also remember sleeping on the floor and playing on the dirt in front of their house with my cousins. I didn’t realize that my Aunt’s family was poor because most people in Ilocos lived like most people in Manila do.

Poverty was the norm then and fif-teen years later after visiting the house of a community health worker in Payatas for one night, poverty is still the norm.

In our visit to Paya-tas, we stayed with a community health worker named Clari-bel.

They didn’t haverunning water, the military is stationed in the daycare center to prevent organiz-ing and the residents were in danger of being evicted so the place could be developed. Claribel took care of her five kids and works as an

umbrella fixer.

She would fix umbrellas that comes from the dump site and sells them for P25 (US$0.54). For most people in Payatas the reality is that a day with a P50 (US$1.07) pay per day is a lucky day.

In Claribel’s son, I saw myself with his affinity for school and books. Claribel proudly tells us of the story of how her son would clean coloring books found at the dump site with a brush, hang it in front of an electric fan to dry and then he would color it.

The son who is in first grade would cry if he is not able to go school. He is the hope of the family for now the same way as many Filipinos hopes that one of their kids could somehow lift them out of poverty by sheer determination

and hard work.

Maybe somehow he’ll make it through high school with her mom’s umbrella and his dad’s wage as a bus conductor. Maybe he’ll even make it to the University of the Philip-pines.

At the same time I’m reminded of the week before when the taxi driver who took me to the Pagbabago! conference said in Filipino, “before my kids were able to go UP but now with the privatization of the school and the tuition increase, they can’t even go to UP now.”

I can’t say that one night in Payatas made me understand the reality of what is like to be poor but a whole family’s hope resting in a single kid says a lot about what is wrong.

It says a lot about the direction of the education system of the Philippines; privatization only marginalizes the poor further. The little hope that people had is being taking away from them. The reality that poverty is the norm is indeed true.

Let us hope that poverty with no hope will not be the norm in the future.

United communities

After integrating with an urban community in Manila, we went to Negros Occidental. It was the first time that I have been outside of Luzon and it is to the ‘sugarbowl’ of the Philippines because most of the sugars of Filipinos come from this island. Filipinos rely on this sugar as much as Negrenses rely on the sugar since their economy is based upon this commodity. Negros Occidental is a place where the inequality is as wide as the haciendas of the few land-lords.

My friend and I immersed into farming communities in Bago City and Sipalay to learn about the farmer’s struggles and be part of a medical mission organized by the Negros Island Health Integrated Program (NIHIP). NIHIP serves the medical needs of the people of Negros that are being neglected by the government by providing much-needed medications to training community health workers empow-ering the people with the knowledge to help themselves.

After a four-hour bus ride and one-hour habal-habal (single motorcycle for hire) ride, we arrived at Camindangan, Sipalay. The bus ride was through bumpy roads passing through seemingly endless sugarcanes and mango plan-tations. Every land that could be planted was planted. I remember the hills as far as my near-sighted eyes could see having a permanent mist. It is as if the hills and the

plains are lying in its sleep dormant just waiting for the right time to wake up. Maybe it is only wait-ing for those who till its soil to rise up so that they could move into the future together.

It felt like I was in a dream the whole time I was in Camindangan.

Despite the problems that the community faced such as militarization, mining, and an

inadequate source of livelihood, we were welcomed into their homes like family.

For many visitors like foreign medical students, midwives and doctors who identify and realize the struggle of the residents of Camindangan, the place has become a sec-ond home.

For the people of Camindangan, it is a source of livelihood, a place of unity and most importantly, it is their only home. For me, it is a warning, an inspiration and a future.

What did I learn during my summer?

I learned that hope rises out of the most unexpected cir-cumstances.From broken umbrellas to wet coloring books.

I learned that a rifle is no match for a united community.Fear can be conquered if you know your rights.

And I learned that those who toil under the sun will rise up one day. It is to be expected.

Thank you to Val, Girlie and Julius for guiding us and for their friendship. I also thank everyone at NIHIP and CHD.

CBHP StoryCalawag People’s Clinic:

Graduation Day On a bright December morning in 2009, children frolicked around the basketball court and shared the festive air in the community. Banners hung on trees and flaglets planted on the ground bore congratula-tory messages to the graduates. People were busy cooking different kinds of simple dishes and prepar-ing bico and halaya – native Filipino delicacy made of sticky rice and yam.

New galvanized iron sheets glistened against the sun’s rays. A sign that read “Dayon Kamo” meaning “Welcome” hung arched above the bamboo fence that was finished the day before.

The people are celebrating the graduation of Calawag-Baras Community Health Workers (CB-CHWs) and the inauguration of the Caruroy Health Center in Sitio Caruroy, Brgy. Calawag, the first of itskind in Northern Palawan.

Because available funds from Miserior through AUSCULTA could not cover all of the expenses for the construction of the clinic, staff members and the

community sought financial support from local town of-ficials. Resources gathered were used to augment for other operating costs of the clinic construction.Moreover, com-munity members practiced collective labor or “bayani-han” from cutting to hauling timber and actual construction.

Tears of joyDespite hardships, training participants shouldered most of their transportation and food for the duration of the trainings.

Erlyn Lumogdang, a CHW from another sitio of Brgy. Calawag shared that at first she was hesitant to join the trainings and become a health worker. She said she became all the more hesitant to join since trans-portation expenses and food shall be shouldered by each individual. Her family’s income could hardly feed all their children. Lumogdang knew that she couldn’t afford additional expenses; but a fellow vil-lager, now also a full-pledged CHW convinced her to try it out.

After attending the orientation and several days of training, she began to like the company of fellow par-ticipants and admired the perseverance of the AUSCULTA staff/trainers.

Not wanting poverty to let poverty get in the way of learning something new, she painstakingly sailed on her small bangka (boat) and paddled for about an hour until she reached the training venue. She did this to save Php200 on boat fare. “That was why we couldn’t help crying while singing our song because we remember how all our sacrifices paid off,” Lumog-dang said while wiping away her tears of joy. ### Katharina Anne D. Berza

People’s supportThe Basic Health Skills Training – Level I began in November 2008 with originally thirty two students from the different Sitios of Barangay Calawag and Baras. After series of con-sultations, the people agreed to hold the training for 2 to 3 days every month. “Food and accommo-dations were mostly taken cared of by the people. Basically, we held trainings over very simple meals of rice and fish. Whatev-er was available, we shared. On difficult days, we just flavored our rice with salt. But just the same, every-body was as ener-getic as can be,” narrated Josephine “Bing” Andrade, Executive Director of Ambagan Udyok Sandiwaan Congregasyong Ugnayan Lingkod Para sa Taong Aba or AUSCULTA.

Since the training lasted for 2 to 3 days every month, students coming from far sitios had to spend nights on buri mats in chapels, schools, or barangay buildings-turned lecture halls.

People’s clinicDiomedes Villagracia, chairperson of the CB-CHWs shared that the need to somewhat improve their peo-ple’s access to health services inspired him to join his wife in the CHW trainings. He led the CB-CHWs and other volunteers in strategizing and executing plans for the project, took charge of volunteers schedules and taking notes of whatever support other communi-ties sent such as food, water, etc.

Community members of Barangays Calawag and Baras sustained continuity of their workforce through rotation of labor. The different sitios decked volun-teers including women, children, and the elderly to the daily work rotation. Those who were not able to work in their shifts sent in whatever food supply they can contribute.

Measuring 20x30 meters, the people’s clinic was constructed on September 2009. Everybody had their share of support to make a vision come true. The CHWs of Calawag People’s Clinic after their graduation from health skills training.

Blessing of Calawag people’s clinic.

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For the people of Taytay, Palawan, the Calawag Health Center is just the beginning of a people’s decision to begin their collective struggle for health and basic social services as a whole. At seventy six, Tatay Melchor dela Cruz was about to graduate for the first time in his life. He and seven-teen other people trained by AUSCULTA Service Con-sortium, Inc. were about to graduate as the first batch of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Barangay Calawag and Baras, Taytay, Palawan.

“I never dreamed that this day would ever come. I never thought that at the dawn of my life, I can still be of service to my people. Now, as a CHW, I vow to serve my people for as long as I live,” dela Cruz said in a brief speech about his personal experience.

Fellow CHWs at-test that dela Cruz’s persistence to learn re-flected in his punctuality and perfect attendance to all the trainings. Dela Cruz is the old-est CHW in Northern Palawan and also known to be the best in his batch to treat sprains and simple bone frac-tures.

Fruit of a people’s struggle

In observance of the Min-danao Week of Peace and Human Rights from Nover-mber 26 to December 10, 2009, Community-Based Health Services—Northern Mindanao Region (CBHS-NMR) joined PANAW KALI-NAW: International Peace and Human Rights Mission last November 30 to De-cember 1, 2009 to two of the most militarized areas in the region .

Private armies and para-military groups proliferate in Mindanao. The perennial problem of militarization which includes, but not lim-ited to, cuddling and nurtur-ing of CAFGUs and armed civilian volunteers has been recently placed under the global spotlight because of the Maguindanao Mas-sacre. But even before the “crime of the century” took place, communities in and out of the region have seen the ferocity of the National Internal Security Plan, oth-erwise known as Oplan Bantay Laya. In 2009 alone, Northern Mindanao region experienced 11 cases of extrajudicial killings.

In Agusan del Sur, 2 Lumad leaders were killed in separate incidents last September 2009. The 26th Infantry Battallion (IB) of the 4th Infantry Division (ID) have been consolidating and mobilizing paramilitary groups such as Task Force Gantangan (TFG), Wild Dogs, Mabantag and Bungkatol Liberation Front (BULIF) to sow terror in civilian communities in the province.

In Bukidnon, the military heightened operations by deploying more troops to the entire Upper Pulangi area. Eleven barangays of Malaybalay City are under the reigns of terror. The military conducts house-to-house census, hold mass meetings, formed Barangay Defense System (BDS) and placed checkpoints in

every purok manned by the paramilitary units formed. These paramilitaries are tasked to strictly monitor the entry of foodstuffs in their respective areas, while the regular troops are encamping in populated areas.

The government soldiers occupy the Barangay Office, Nutrition Building and Day Care Centers. Residents revealed that some military were staying in their homes. Sixty-four individuals were forced to surren-der in the villages of Canangaan, Cabanglasan,

St. Peter, and Mapulo of Malaybalay City. They were allegedly coerced by the military and their tribal chief-tain to admit that they are communist rebels.

These atrocities prompted the convenors of Panaw Kalinaw to extend relief, medical, paralegal, and psychosocial support to the people of the said prov-inces. The mission was to serve 2 areas simultane-ously—Barangay St. Peter in Malaybalay, Bukidnon and Sitio San Jose, Barangay Agsabo in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur to verify reports on human rights violations perpetrated by the 8th IB, 403rd BDE, 4th ID in the villages of Higaonon and Talaandig tribes.

Community Based Health Program-Northern MInd-anao Region(CBHS-NMR) headed the medical team assigned per area. The conduct of the mission in Agusan del Sur was smooth sailing. The number of patients served was 131. Top 5 diagnoses were: (1) respiratory tract infections, (2) gastritis and diarrheal diseases, (3) iron deficinecy anemia, (4) malnutrition, and (5) hypertension and post-traumatic stress disor-der.

According to a Higaonon woman who came about 8 kilometers away from the mission venue just to avail of the free medical services, many wanted to come with her but they were not permitted by the military operating in their area. She said many have gotten sick but no immediate medical attention was given to them.

The Agusan mission culminated with a Solidarity Pro-gram.They spent the night in the community and went home the following morning. In Bukidnon, however, a totally differ-ent thing happened.

On the day of the mission, they went through 8 check points. In each checkpoint, negotiations were made. Domingo Hingpit, Barangay Chair-man of St. Peter, Malaybalay and military officials (Lt. Mario Goc-ong, a company commander under the 8th IB and his vice-commanding of-ficer) were present in the blockage dressed as civilians. The military wore scarves and dark eyeglasses to hide their identities, and Baran-gay Police Security Officers (BPSO) blocked the contingent a few kilo-meters to the mission area. The St. Peter mission had the consent of Malaybalay Mayor Florencio Flores, Jr. and was undertaken in partnership with Bukidnon Governor Jose Maria Zubiri.

The mission negotiated entry but they were later forced to head back to Malaybalay City proper. There, team conducted demonstration to voice its resentments. They also devised an-other plan to enter to mission area.

The December 2 convoy included vehicles owned by the provincial government, and was accompanied by

three health professionals (a doctor and two nurses) from the provincial hospital. Still, the military, Hingpit, and the BPSOs defied the authority of the mayor and governor.

They even made use of children to take pictures of the members of the contingent, and assets threatened the contingent, saying they will crush the cameras, or “baka ma-Ampatuan kayo” (You may suffer the same fate as the victims of the Ampatuan massacre.) The mission was called off due to security reasons. On the same day, the Regional Human Rights Summit and press conference took place.

The mission demanded the immediate demilitarization of these indigenous communities, impartial investiga-tion of reported human rights violations by the Comis-sion on Human Rights and Congress, indemnification of victims, and vowed to expose and oppose the atrocities done to the people.### Kristine Gimongala*

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When the military gets in the way of people’s health the case of ‘PANAW KALINAW’

*Kristine Gimongala is a community nurse working with the CBHP program CBHS-Northern Mindanao Region.

empowerment and possibly sustained development since the locals themselves participate in the rebuild-ing of their own lives and their own communities. Stubs are given to these community leaders after the DNCA. They become in-charge of distributing the stubs to those families who are mostly in need.

It would have been ideal and best that all families receive a relief package but resources were limited and sadly, not enough, to help out the huge number of flood victims and affected individuals.

RealizationsRelief distribution usually took place few days after DNCA. It could be a tiring activity but almost always it was the spirit of fun and camaraderie that took place.

The experience gave me a certain kind of hap-piness and fulfillment from being able to share some of my time and myself with people who lost not only properties (already scant) but even loved ones. Sometimes, I felt having helped them meant a lot more for me than for them. The entire experi-ence made me realize how much I have; blessings I took for granted then but felt grateful for after seeing how little other people had and the little that they owned were even taken away or destroyed.

I felt lucky and privileged for having been put in a position to help than otherwise. But this same posi-tion had saddled me with a bigger responsibility as it posed the challenge: What now after Ondoy? How could I further help these people rebuild their lives that are still at great risk should another disaster strike? What would helping them and others of similar situation entail of me? Am I ready? I did enjoy the stint as a “volun-teer” for the usual reason from that of having met new friends to the more sublime that I felt I did something noble and worthy.

But I would rather have the feel-ing of reassurance that should another typhoon or calamity come around, there would be less of the damage I saw and less of the peo-ple I helped. Even if there would be less “friends” for me to meet.I’m terribly awed by the challenge of preparing and handling the next

calamities that are forecasted to be more harsh and destructive.

Given the economic and social realities for many of the most vulnerable sectors, how will they survive nature’s next wrath? It surely would feel good again to be able to help, but would not be a better feeling to know others can already ably help themselves on their own at wala na ring SOS.### Maria Feliza M. Nolasco*___________________*Maria Feliza M. Nolasco or Joy is 22 and a registered Physical Therapist. Her realizations from her volun-teer work fueled her resolve to do full-time communi-ty-based health work with the Council for Health and Development (CHD). She is now a staff of the Health Education Training and Services Department of CHD.

The greater challenge lies after Ondoy“I volunteered for the relief distribution operations (RDO) of Samahang Operasyon Sagip (SOS) because I didn’t have anything better to do that day. What I thought would just be a one-time thing, turned into something more frequent to almost a daily happening. What I got was way more than what I expected.”It started with an orientation about SOS and a discus-sion on what we were to do that day.

The game plan was to distribute previ-ously repacked relief goods to a community in Fairview, Quezon City in the most sys-tematic and efficient way. We arrived at the site, took a good look at the massive destruction brought about by Ondoy and then distributed relief goods to those hold-ing SOS stubs. At the end of the day, we assessed the opera-tion, went back to the office - mission ac-complished.

Naturally disorganizedPrior to that first day of volunteer work, I was satu-rated with different scenarios that could possibly take place during relief distribution operations. Mostly because of watching too much TV, I thought relief op-erations were naturally disorganized, people fighting over limited relief goods, people fainting while waiting in line and the like. But my experience was far from that. It was significantly different. Despite the natural disorder and the devastation, there was remarkable order in the operation with the community folks queu-ing and waiting for their turn to receive their appropria-tion. I suppose the level of organization in the recipi-ent community recipient was an important factor in the conduct of relief operation. There were local leaders who took charge in distributing the stubs to affected families and prepared the venue for an orderly activity. It was in a great part also because SOS as a disaster

management organization carefully did damage Dam-age Needs and Capacities assessment Assessment (DNCA) and carefully planned every relief activity it undertook in partnership with the people’s organiza-tions in the affected areas.

Damage, Needs, Capacities AssessmentDamage, Needs and Capacities assessment (DNCA) is one part of the RDO process. This is when SOS volunteers and staff have dialogue with the local com-munity leaders/ organizers who are more in the posi-tion to assess the current state of their communities. The purpose of this dialog is to fully understand what the community needs that SOS might be able to offer. At the same time, DNCA evaluates the capacities and strengths of each community that could ensure suc-cess of the RDOs. DNCA promotes community

SOS volunteers distribute stubs before a relief operation.

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Be one with us in working for people’s health, struggling for social change,

Live, heal, learn among the people.Be a community health volunteer, whether you are a doctor, nurse, midwife or an ordinary person who see the need to extend a helping hand for people’s health.

Join the COMMUNITY BASED HEALTH PROGRAMSin the Philippines.

Scenes from the CBHPs. Health volunteers train members of communities to become community health workers and become active parts of the growing people’s movement for health.

Samahang Operasyon Sagip Donors

ALVAREZ, Sarah GraceANAJAO familyARCILLA, Yul & familyBALAGTAS, Dr. Zarina & familyBATAC, Mr & Ms. VirgilioCAJIPE, MatehCARABEO, Dr. JojoCARALE, Drs. Stella & JoelCARASIG, Dr. Noel & familyCHIONG familyCHUIDAN, PatrickCOLMENARES familyCONDE, Caloy and AyiCONNOR, MaryCORDERO, DeniseCRESCINI, Isabelita & Benjamina and friendsCROCKETT, TheaCRUZ, Drs. Abel & MoninaCRUZ, Jowelle AnnDE GUZMAN, Eustaquio & familyDE LA CRUZ, Lyn and friendsDE LUNA-AREGLO, GraceDE ROSA, AidaDoctors from MAKATI MEDICAL CENTERDoctors of the HYPERTENSION AND NEPHROLOGY, EATONTOWN, NEW JERSEY: Drs. Raymond Flis, Alan Haratz, Spiros Arbes,& Kenneth LissFARINO, Dr. Dada VidalGAO, Ms.GLADYLIEGO, Mrs.GRUPO TOYOTA NORTH AMERICA (Rosalia, Chiqui, Katrina & Miguel Espiritu)HUNTLEY, LinaINDON, Mr. ReynaldoISIDRO, JeffJARA FAMILYJARMAN, DignaJOSE, CarolinaJOVERES, AidaLAPITAN, Dr. Romulo and Mrs. CecilLOPEZ, RickMACAOILI, MadelMANLAPAZ, Dr. LeaMATTHEWMAYOR, RossMcQUILKIN, BradMORFE, ImeldaMUALLAM, AyiNIVERA, Drs. Noel & DoanNOLASCO FamilyOCAMPO, Dr. LitoPEJAS, AlbinQUESADA, Bimbo & Vangie

REYES, Dr. SenenRUZOL, Mayor & Mrs. LeovegildoSALAZAR, Maria Cristina & DongSALVA, MAX of UPMed Class 2013SANCHEZ, Mr. BoyetSANTIAGO, Dr. Darby, family & friendsSANTOS, Drs. Mike & MayaSANTOS, SusanSCHORR, Chip and BurwellSINDHVAD, Shyam Krishnan IyerSISON, Ms. Maria Lourdes B.SUR, AsterlynTAN, DR. Cho ChiongTANCIO, HoneyletTHORPE, AlphaVILLANUEVA, Dr. Ronnie & Celine & Tess CerojanoWELLS, Sandra & ChrisWILLIAMS, Aimee Lisa G.WILLIAMS, WayneWUTHRICH, Matthias & FriendsYOUNG, Dr. Melissa Garduno

ABOITIZ FOUNDATIONABS-CBN FOUNDATION,INC.ACTION SOLIDARITE TIERS MONDE ADIDAS (Philippines) CENTRAL BANK CORPORATE AFFAIRS OFFICEDE LOS SANTOS-STI NURSING STUDENTSHEALTH ACTION INFORMATION NETWORKHOLY BUDDHIST TEMPLE thru Master CONCHITAINFOTECH STUDENTSINSA-MIRIAM COLLEGEJAPAN FEDERATION OF MEDICAL WORKERS UNIONMAKATI MEDICAL CENTER - COLLEGE OF NURSINGMEDICO INTERNATIONALMCU College of MedicineNATIONAL ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL WORKERS UNIONPANGKALUSUGANG LINGKOD-BAYAN-UP MANILAPAREF SPRINGDALE SCHOOL-CEBUPHILIPPINE NURSES’ ASSOCIATIONREDOR, EMERSON & Co.RELIGIOUS of the GOOD SHEPHERDSAN BEDA COLLEGESAN LAZARO HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATIONSINING GANG ART COLLECTIVETONDO MEDICAL CENTER EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATIONTOSCANO TRADING CORP.UERM DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND PREVEN-TIVE MEDICINEUNIVERSITY OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA - PHARMACY STUDENTSUP COLLEGE OF MEDICINE STUDENTSWORLD SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT- BELGIUM

Samahang Operasyon Sagip is forever thankful to the groups, organizations, foundations, families and individuals who gave their support and donated to our cause during the ordeals that were Ondoy and Pepeng. We shall always be a bridge for your kindness and helping hands.

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