Courtesy Call to the Municipalities of Tarragona, Manay and Caraga

Activity: Travel Time (Dava to Mati City)  & Courtesy Call to the Municipalities of Tarragona, Manay and Caraga

Date: April 15, 2015

There is always a perfect timing for us, whether we like it or not our journey will officialy begin. Today, we conducted courtesy call to the first three municipalities which will be covered by the project. The municipalities of Tarragona, Manay and Caraga are municipalities that lies in the coastal area of the province facing the eastern pacific

We first met the Municipal Health Officer (MHO) of Tarragona, Dr. Prosperidad P. Silverion, TB Aider Mr. Elmer Acosta and other staff of the office. The team first presented the project after a couple of introductions. The MHO shared her core thrust in terms of giving services to the general public including its mechanism in reaching communities. She emphasized the mobilization of the community through concerted efforts of its partners and other agencies. A short but meaty conversation ended when Dr. Silverion said that, “We do our part as gatekeepers”, it clearly emphasizes the effective delivery of the health services to the community. Screening patients within the area is one of their efforts to reduce burden to the provincial level. Given that the said purpose (courtesy call) was delivered, the team decided to leave.

The 18 km ride from Tarragona to Manay was amazing. The panoramic views of the beaches and the terrains were things that made my eyes wider. Dr. Edwin, MHO; Ricky Pagadoan, NTP coordinator and; Norilyn Fabio,  TB aider welcomed us. The MHO took the chance to appreciate this kind of project where USAID through the BPSP augmented the need to intensify the case finding and detection rate in their municipality. Despite the said increase in their success rate there is, however, the need to increase their detection rate. The team really expressed the main purpose of the project. The MHO was challenged after hearing that they belonged to the six low performing municipalities in terms of TB program. We then decided to go and traveled to the next municipality.

              The municipality of Caraga is the last municipality that we visited. The old churches, ancestral houses and the distinctive architecture depicted Spanish traditions. It is said that the convent used to be the living quarters of the missionary priests. Before we went to the MH Office we headed to the said old church where we grab a rest and clicks facing the appealing waves of the sea. The place was one of the typical growing municipalities. The MHO we met is a half Indian half Filipino, Dr. Khuzuphilli together with her NTP Coordinator and TB aider, the team talked about the project and run through the flow of discussion. She emphasized that she is newly assigned in the area and not really penetrated to the communities. She works hand in hand with the NTP Coordinator and TB aider to address the call for their low performance in TB control. However, the MHO herself finds it really hard to facilitate some public services and especially in public health because of the lack of experience. The team went back to Mati City to Prepare for the next day activity.

                                                                                     Reflection:

                 Coordination is important. Establishing rapport and building thin line within partners should always prevail. Even though we are young to be in this field, it is important to make the partners feel that they can have trust on us. The establishment of trust and respect is one of the most important factors in doing the job for it is the only thing that might help us pursue the said project.