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.
