Community health services continue!
VFV’s 19th Annual Medical Mission on the 26th of April at Brgy. San Agustin, Babatngon Leyte was a success. A few months of preparation, coordination and hard work from the VFV team enabled us to provide vital services to patients and constituents from the beneficiary barangays in the municipality of Babatngon. Beneficiary barangays were San Agustin, Bagahupi, Planza, Uban, Taguite, and Guintigui-an. Brgy, San Agustin was chosen as the venue as it was the central barangay.
The project aims to provide free minor surgery to young boys and dental services to children and adults, who’d otherwise spend hard-earned money for these medical services. Circumcision is engrained in the Filipino culture. A young boy’s passage to teenage life is not complete without being circumcised. Dental services is hard to come by not only due to lack of funds but also to limited public health dentists. One dentist maybe assigned to several municipalities and as such has only limited time at each one, not enough to cater to the needs of hundreds of patients.
We owe a debt of huge gratitude to the medical team from the different Municipal Health Units the doctors of whom are members of AMHOP, Philippine Army 93rd Infantry Batallion, Philippine National Police-Regional Health Services 8, dentists, dental aides, nurses, foreign and local volunteers, and sponsored kids and scholars. Special mention are the different groups who have given material and financial support: Pepsi Cola, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Ladera Artspot and Advertising, Magik FM Tacloban, Charlie Beauchamp-Ward, That Chocolate, United Aid Projects, Melbourne University Health Initiative, Kbox Studios, Ang Lingkod ng Panginoon-Tacloban, GoAbroad Foundation, and other generous and kind individual donors and sponsors. Coordinating the project became easier with the support and cooperation from the local government and rural health unit of our beneficiary municipality, Babatngon, and the Barangay Council, Faculty, and Boys and Girls Scouts of Brgy. San Agustin.
Patients for circumcision and dental procedure from six selected beneficiary barangays were pre-registered. Most of the patients served that day were walk-in individuals since many of the pre- registered patients did not show up. At the end of the day, a total of 105 children got circumcised and 99 children and adults received dental services. Trained barbers of 93IB gave free haircut to boys and men. Pepsi Cola provided free snacks and nutritious lunch to the patients and children who were in attendance.
Seeing how grateful the patients were for receiving free medical services is worth all the time, effort, and resources spent in organizing this project. Their sense of gratitude inspires us all to continue our commitment to serve and make a difference. We may not be able to help everyone, but we will strive to help those we can.
Thank you once again to each and everyone who made VFV’s 19th Medical Mission a success! Till next year!
Written by: Ester Cinco-Yao Costim