Waste Segregation for a Cleaner and Greener Nation
Amidst
the national campaign to a cleaner and greener Philippines, it is evident that the
initiative of the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act
of the Philippines is not making its way efficiently into the hearts of the
Filipino people. Apart from the fact that support from the local government is so
little, the community in itself is not assertive enough to carry out the
programs of the said Republic Act. Moreover, it is clear that beyond the issue
of knowledge deficit, there is the lack of implementing efforts on the part of
the government.
What
the Community Health Strand of the Medical School curriculum has shown us is
that wherever we may go, the problems of the community remain the same –
knowledge deficit of most laws, health services and campaigns to avoid health
problems. This is no different in terms of the implementation of the solid
waste management act. The famous line itself says that “ignorance of the law
excuses no one”, and it may be a possibility that one day, the community people
will be penalized for the damage they are inflicting upon nature and mankind
itself.
Improper
waste disposal was one of the problems identified in the barangay assembly held
last April 2014 where several of the barangay residents raised their concern
about several households who would throw their garbage at the nearby spring,
which would contribute to the rise of water especially during heavy rainfall.
Of the households surveyed, only 40.2% practice waste segregation and a
surprising 60.6% burn their garbage. True to the complaint of several
residents, 23.5% of the residents throw their garbage at the barangay
river/spring. Because of these and other problems noted, the Team Luop decided
that a Program to address improper solid waste management be put into place.
The
conceptualization of the SWM project began with the creation of the SWM core
group which took place on the night of October 8, 2014. Headed by the barangay
captain, the core team consisted of an Engineering head, an Education head, a
Livelihood head, and an Implementation head. Also, 1 purok leader was chosen to
spearhead projects in the purok level. 3 eco-aides, for a total of 18, were
also chosen per purok to help implement projects in the 6 puroks. After the
basic structure for the core group was done, a Basic Orientation Seminar on SWM
was conducted last October 9-11, 2014 at the Luop Barangay Hall, where the
tasks and purpose of the SWM Committee was delineated.
Moreover, the 2-day seminar themed “Brigada Kontra Basura: A Sustainable Solid Waste Management Program for Barangay Luop” included lectures on the Basic concepts of SWM, Waste Analysis Characterization Study, guidelines for Sorting and identifying solid wastes, recycling and composting, establishment of a materials recovery facility (MRF), and orientation on SWM Plan Making. The seminar ended with the draft on SWM Plan already established.
To be able to efficienctly implement projects and plans for the ecological solid waste management plan, the SWM Committee appointed three representatives per purok to work on the project implementation per purok - and they were named the Luop Eco-Aides (LEA). The LEA first came into action with the Waste Assessment and Characterization Study (WACS), which is an important constituent of the Solid Waste Management Plan. The WACS Orientation, headed by the project coordinator of Solid Waste Management, Ms. Sherhata Adjid, commenced last October 12, 2014. The houses for the waste assessment and characterization was chosen through random sampling, and 6 households per purok were chosen at the end of the first day for the said activity. Houses were instructed to seggregate their wastes into biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes for the next 7 days and the Luop Eco Aides along with the supervision of the Team Luop went out to each each chosen household to weigh the wastes and characterize them according to several classifications listed in the WACS form (such as papers, cartons, backyard wastes, food wastes, glass, etc.)
Solid Waste Management is not all serious as people think it might be, because there is also a creative side to it. The initiative of a narrative reading and video presentation for pre-school and elementary students was conceptualized by Ms. Adjid, SWM's project coordinator. Entitled "Basura Monster", this narrative reading and video presentation aimed to increase the knowledge and understanding of the young children on the importance of waste segration and care of the natural resource as well. This program took place on two separate days - October 13 was scheduled for Grades 1-6 pupils and October 20 was a date with the Day Care children.
To gauge the prior knowledge of these students on waste disposal and segregation, 10 random students were given one waste each which they would need to classify according to Biodegradable, Non-biodegradable (Recyclables), and Non-biodegradable (Residual). This part was done free of the assistance of the teachers and classmates in order to objectively identify the existing knowledge of the students in waste segregation. The narrative reading and video presentation now stepped in to help increase awareness of these children regarding waste segregation and the effects of improper waste disposal to nature and to self. Narrated by Ms. Madilou Dimple Sabellina, the video runs for about 6:30 seconds where Mr. Tony Paredes, Ms. Anne Torres, Mr. Edward Azman and Mr. Kerwin Faustino were Anna and Buboy (two children in the story who threw their waste everywhere), the Mayor and the Monster respectively. All these were done through a voice over while the video was playing.
Ending the session on Basura Monster, the activity done during the pre-test was done for the post-test, now informing the children if they got the answer right. Noticeably, more students would get the correct answer than during the pre-test. A reminder to the children encouraging them to practice waste segregation at home and in school.
Increasing knowledge on the importance of waste seggregation did not only involve school-aged children but the entire community as well. An activity sponsored by the Team Luop was used as springboard to initiate several programs for each CHP, and the SWM Awareness Program was part of it. This took place during October 16, where invited guest speaker Mr. Noel Fabrigas, the Municipal Environment Officer (MENRO) spoke about waste segregation and composting, and the essence of doing a Waste Assessment and Characterization Study. He also emphasized that the household is the root of majority of the wastes being produced nationwide, so he advised the families to start reduction of wastes from their home.
Moreover, to further implicate the importance of waste segregation and proper disposal in cleanliness and beautification of the barangay, a Synchronized Purok Clean-up Drive entitled "Palibot Limpyuhan Tungod sa Kalamboan" took place last October 18, 2014 where majority of the households in each purok participated. The Team also took this opportunity to re-iterate waste segregation and composting, during the pre-clean-up orientation done per purok. It was evident that the community people rose up to the challenge of cleaning their house, and ultimately, one household was awarded cleanest of all in their purok.
The SWM activities for this exposure came to a close with the formulation of the Barangay Solid Waste Management Plan, and the drafting of the SWM Ordinance which were all done and participated in by the SWM Committee. This plan formulation and Ordinance drafting will catapult the SWM projects to the next level and may yield the expected results for our plan as early as possible.
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| Efforts of Community People during Synchronize Barangay Clean-up; Luop Eco-Aides giving their best during the WACS. |
Solid Waste Management is not all serious as people think it might be, because there is also a creative side to it. The initiative of a narrative reading and video presentation for pre-school and elementary students was conceptualized by Ms. Adjid, SWM's project coordinator. Entitled "Basura Monster", this narrative reading and video presentation aimed to increase the knowledge and understanding of the young children on the importance of waste segration and care of the natural resource as well. This program took place on two separate days - October 13 was scheduled for Grades 1-6 pupils and October 20 was a date with the Day Care children.
To gauge the prior knowledge of these students on waste disposal and segregation, 10 random students were given one waste each which they would need to classify according to Biodegradable, Non-biodegradable (Recyclables), and Non-biodegradable (Residual). This part was done free of the assistance of the teachers and classmates in order to objectively identify the existing knowledge of the students in waste segregation. The narrative reading and video presentation now stepped in to help increase awareness of these children regarding waste segregation and the effects of improper waste disposal to nature and to self. Narrated by Ms. Madilou Dimple Sabellina, the video runs for about 6:30 seconds where Mr. Tony Paredes, Ms. Anne Torres, Mr. Edward Azman and Mr. Kerwin Faustino were Anna and Buboy (two children in the story who threw their waste everywhere), the Mayor and the Monster respectively. All these were done through a voice over while the video was playing.Ending the session on Basura Monster, the activity done during the pre-test was done for the post-test, now informing the children if they got the answer right. Noticeably, more students would get the correct answer than during the pre-test. A reminder to the children encouraging them to practice waste segregation at home and in school.
Increasing knowledge on the importance of waste seggregation did not only involve school-aged children but the entire community as well. An activity sponsored by the Team Luop was used as springboard to initiate several programs for each CHP, and the SWM Awareness Program was part of it. This took place during October 16, where invited guest speaker Mr. Noel Fabrigas, the Municipal Environment Officer (MENRO) spoke about waste segregation and composting, and the essence of doing a Waste Assessment and Characterization Study. He also emphasized that the household is the root of majority of the wastes being produced nationwide, so he advised the families to start reduction of wastes from their home.
Moreover, to further implicate the importance of waste segregation and proper disposal in cleanliness and beautification of the barangay, a Synchronized Purok Clean-up Drive entitled "Palibot Limpyuhan Tungod sa Kalamboan" took place last October 18, 2014 where majority of the households in each purok participated. The Team also took this opportunity to re-iterate waste segregation and composting, during the pre-clean-up orientation done per purok. It was evident that the community people rose up to the challenge of cleaning their house, and ultimately, one household was awarded cleanest of all in their purok.
The SWM activities for this exposure came to a close with the formulation of the Barangay Solid Waste Management Plan, and the drafting of the SWM Ordinance which were all done and participated in by the SWM Committee. This plan formulation and Ordinance drafting will catapult the SWM projects to the next level and may yield the expected results for our plan as early as possible.
Community Assembly
Community involvement is as key to
the success of the projects the Team Luop wants to be carried out as it is to
the support and teamwork among core group members. More importantly, it is the
community people who were the source of the data and they personally ranked the
problem that the group is working on now. In lieu with this, a community
assembly was once again organized for the Team Luop to present the core team
and the general idea of the projects to be carried out in the next 11 months of
exposure.
Last October 16, 2014, Thursday, the
Community Assembly was held at 3 in the afternoon at the Barangay Multi-Purpose
Covered Court where a mass BP taking for residents 18 years and above and a
Mass Weighing and Height Measuring for children ages 0-5 years old were
conducted simultaneously. All of the 6 puroks were well represented and a
substantial number of children and adults were weighed and monitored
respectively.
The program consisted of the
introduction of the different core team members by each of the Project
Coordinators of the L.A.K.A.S. Luop team. Moreover, it also became an
opportunity for the LAKAS Luop team to encourage the community people to
participate and show their support in the carrying out of the different
activities for the next 11 months. The response of those present was
overwhelming and gave the team an assumed assurance that whatever activity may
be carried out, as long as the community people are well informed, we have
their support.
Also important to note during this
activity was that Mr. Stevan, the municipal officer incharge of SWM initiated a lecture
on Waste segregation practices and composting which the people seemed
responsive to. He also informed the community people about the Waste Analysis
Characterization Study (WACS) which was already in the process of being carried
out, an initiative spearheaded by Ms.SherhataAdjid, the project head
coordinator of the Solid Waste Management Plan.
Surprisingly, the program was
stormed by a young man covered in blood and bruises in the face who allegedly
went into a fist fight during the day with another man from another barangay.
It was a great joy to watch that instead of the medical students, the members
of the Active Luop Emergency Response Team were the once who gave the first Aid
to the young man with the theory that they learned from the lectures about
Emergency and Trauma.
AHA’s Solution to Control Hypertension
Hypertension – one of Philippines top cause of morbidity and mortality across all age groups – have been an increasingly difficult problem to control, not because of the ineffectiveness of the drugs and medical measures available, but because of the non-compliance among patients. Part of the increasing incidences of hypertension nationwide is also brought about by unhealthy lifestyle which Filipinos typically do not realize is beginning to pull their life down the drain. Smoking, alcoholic beverage drinking, eating of too salty or too fatty meals, lack of exercise are just some of the unhealthy practices of individuals who are predisposed to hypertension. Moreover, genetics also come into play and put an individual at higher risk to get the disease.
Not surprisingly, the 3-week long exposure of Team Luop last April 2014 showed us that Hypertension is indeed a leader in morbidity. Residents, male and female alike, have been stricken by severely uncontrolled hypertension. What is surprising though is that most of these cases are either undiagnosed or not prescribed with any maintenance medications. Although the campaign of the local government to detect cases and give out free medications for these patients is at play, there is still a lack in case finding and detection. More importantly, even though medications are free and readily available for those who are enrolled under the Regional Health Unit’s program on Hypertension, their behaviour and lack of gusto to control their disease limit their compliance to the medication.
What the Team saw fit was to create a project that will not only address the lifestyle issues of the residents in the barangay who are all at risk for hypertension, but also to increase their compliance to the medications given and make sure that case detection and finding is mastered by the health team. Ultimately, the goal of the project spearheaded by Ms.Jamera Hajijul is to increase the number of controlled hypertension among those diagnosed.
The initiative to address the issue on hypertension began with the formation of the Anti-Hypertension Association, the core team assigned to carry out and implement programs and activities to control hypertension. They are also there to ensure sustainability and continuity of programs even with the Team already out of the picture. The team is composed of the Barangay Captain as Chairman, Ms. Rosie Braganza, PHM as Vice-Chairman, the Kagawadfor Health Ms. Lolita Decipulo, and 6 purok leaders who will be assigned to implement the projects in the grass roots.
Several programs have been carried out in order to prepare the members of the AHA!, all of which were geared to equipping the members of the basic knowledge on the prevention, monitoring, and control of Hypertension. A 2-day session on the basics of hypertension was held last October 9-10, 2014 where they were informed on the risk factors, causes, signs and symptoms, and measures to control hypertension. They have also been trained on how to use the Sphygmomanometer to measure Blood pressure. Aimed not only to prevent and control hypertension, this seminar dubbed as “AHA! Seminar and Training” also focused on the detection, case finding and recording of hypertensive cases, wherein they were oriented to Blood Pressure Registry.
A separate session on the planning of future programs was also done to empower the members of AHA! on program implementation. Here, a mass BP Taking and short lecture for the community people was organized by the core team members which they successfully carried out last October 16, 2014. The mass BP taking was a major success since most of the community people ages 18 years and above sought consult, and the BP taking was done by the AHA! coreteam themselves. Moreover, the AHA Secretary gave a short announcement to the people of barangay Luop on the status quo of hypertension in the barangay. She was also given the opportunity to give a short lecture on the ways of controlling hypertension and more importantly, she was given the time to inform the crowd on the proposed projects of the Association, which included BP Registry of Hypertensive patients per purok.
Lifestyle being part of the issue that the group wanted to address brought the idea of increasing the community people’s awareness on the risks and ways to control hypertension. This is why a Hataw Program entitled “Alta Presyon Mo, Igiling Mo, Zumba Dance Exercise” was conceptualized. This took place on two occasions, October 17 and October 21, where a 30-minute dance was performed by those present. People of all ages were invited, and a noticeable increase in participants was evident on the 2nd week of the programme. A cooking show contest dubbed as “PagkaunKontra Alta Presyon” was also done last October 23, 2014 to help increase awareness of the community people on the meals that are deemed healthy for both hypertensive and non-hypertensive people.
The cooking show contest was a battle between puroks, where 5 out of the 6 puroks competed in the contest. Each purok had 4-6 members who were tasked to cook a meal based on the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (or DASH diet). Purok 4 ultimately won the contest with their stellar dish and presentation.
To set the priorities and goals of the AHA! straight, the group with their Program Coordinator met ,last October 22, 2014 to formulate their vision and mission. They also used this opportunity to plan for the drafting of the ordinance which would address the increasing non-compliance of diagnosed hypertensive patients within the barangay.
With these programs and activities implemented, the Team could see a ray of light at the end of that dark tunnel. We can see, with the motivation and enthusiasm of the core team, there is sustainability to these projects. More importantly, with the active participation of most of the community people, we can hope that hypertension can be controlled in their barangay in the near future.
Be Alert A.L.E.R.T., for What it’s Worth!
The past two
exposures of Team Luop in the barangay has been all about referral of different
cases including trauma cases such as domestic violence and vehicular accidents.
It has been almost daily during the latest exposure too that the Team of
Medical students have been referring cases to the Provincial hospital and Rural
health unit. This is primarily the reason why the team sees it fit to create a
referral system of not only trauma cases, but of common diseases as well.
Initially, the community people
complained of the health station being the least functional that it could be –
stating that the EPI and Pre-natal check-ups were conducted only once a month, but the records of their maternal and child care have been on a very clean
slate of excellence. So the team wondered what it was that needed improvement
for the community people.
It was then realized that what
really lacked was the referral of cases which cannot be handled from the grass
roots. Cases such as hypertensive emergency, domestic violence and vehicular
accidents are part of the health station’s responsibility that a few or even
none know how to approach. Moreover, apart from the lack of knowledge on
handling of cases and their referral, the distance of the barangay from the
provincial hospital or RHU make it extremely difficult for patients from the
barangay to go to these places.
Active Luop Emergency Response team
was born out of the idea that handling of cases first-hand and referral should be
done by knowledgeable people within the community itself. This is why a core
team was formed. Composed of the same members with the AHA!, the ALERT core
group exists to respond to emergency and non-emergency cases and refer them to
the appropriate places for treatment and management. It was deemed necessary to
have the AHA! and ALERT team to share their members to avoid crowding in the
health station when they have their duties, and so as to be able to address
both emergent and non-emergent cases common in the community.
The ALERT had their first session
last October 13, 2014 where they set things straight by delineating the tasks
and responsibilities of the core team. The group was also asked to list down the
most common forms of emergencies that happens in the community and this
included wounds and bleeding, animal bites, poisoning, fractures, and burns. They
have also been given a lecture on basic first aid, which was preceded by a post
test.
A second session was conducted
thereafter on October 15, 2014 where the top 5 listed emergency cases were
discussed thoroughly and was immediately followed by a post test.
To address the issue on patient
transport, which is one of the problems identified for case referral, a session
on proper patient transport was done last October 17, 2014. The members of the
core team were initially asked to identify the different ways they know of how
to transport patients, and a formal lecture followed. Knowledge was assessed
through a post-test done directly after the end of the lecture.
Finally, last October 21, 2014, the
members of the ALERT core team along with their Project Coordinator, Ms. Mary
Antonette Torres, met to discuss their tasks and responsibilities as a team. It
was also a day made especially to create their Vision, Mission, and schedule of
BHS rotation. They also tackled on the request for budget from the IRA and
tried to identify a vehicle which the community would use for transport of
patients. More importantly, the group was taught on the proper method of recording
and reporting patients – a feat they have to do while the medical students are
away.
Campaign Against Malnutrition – an Initiative on its Way to Fruition
Malnutrition
continues to pester mankind despite approaches to trample it down. The ever
growing and dynamic needs of children and pregnant women make it more difficult
to address concerns of nutrition. Moreover, there is this misconception that
malnutrition only comes in the form of being just underweight or thin, making
people blinded by the fact that a lot of children are also suffering from
obesity, stunting, wasting and vitamin deficiencies. In reality, we are aware
that malnutrition is before our very eyes, but we choose to ignore it because
of either lack of information or motivation.
Luop
Anti-Malnutrition Team was built in the hope that through community
participation, the ever growing rate of malnutrition in Barangay Luop (almost 40%
or 26 out of 66 children ages 0-5 years old) can be put to a stop. Since the
conception of the LAMT last October 8, 2014, several activities have been
successfully carried out by the team, and most of them are independent from the
assistance of the medical students. This independence was all made possible by
the Training Seminar rolled out for the members of the LAMT, which consisted
primarily of the delineation of the tasks and purpose of the LAMT, introduction
to proper nutrition, safe and proper breastfeeding practices, complimentary
feeding for children, and growth monitoring. Since this is a 2-day seminar held
last October 9 and 10, an orientation to Nutritional Diary was also given out
to the members of the team. Evaluation was done after to assess knowledge
gained from the seminar.
A mother’s class
for pregnant women was conducted by our very own Project Coordinator against
Malnutrition, Pratima Lakibul, last October 14, 2014 during the pre-natal
check-up of the expectant mothers. LAMT members where there to watch in order
to gain insight on what to do during the next pre-natal check-ups. This project
is to run once a month during each pre-natal visit of expectant mothers.
On
October 16, 2014, during the barangay assembly, the Luop-Anti Malnutrition team
had their very first independent activity wherein they were the ones in charge
of the “Operasyon Timbang” for children ages 0-5 years old. Making sure that
children got to be weighed during the program, the medical students, in
coordination with the LAMT members went around the barangay days prior to
invite households, putting emphasis that children 5 years and below should be
brought during the assembly for nutritional assessment. The weighing of the
children took place during the registration of the attendees of the assembly.
At the depth of the
program, the LAMT members rolled out a “Pag-istoryahan ta ang KALUSUGAN”
program, which was designed to emphasize on proper nutrition and its
importance. This program, initiated by the LAMT members gave significance to
the essence of Go, Grow and Glow foods in the development and nourishment of children,
and to the common causes and signs of malnutrition.
A consultation
program entitled “Wastong Nutrisyon Laban sa Malnutrisyon” conducted last
October 18-19 was carried out by the LAMT again independently. This was done in
order to impart to mothers and primary caregivers of children ages 0-5 years
old the importance of giving a nutritious meal in order to combat malnutrition.
This program exceeded our expectations because of the preparedness of the LAMT –
they spearheaded a feeding program given to almost 50 children. The feeding
involved giving of Champorado to
children ages 1-5, and a self-constructed Cerelac
to those under 1 year. This Ceralac-inspired
meal for children below 1 year included red squash, carrots, okra, string beans
and potato, all of which were mashed. Despite the mixture being made purely of
vegetables, we ended up kids asking for more of the food (even the medical
students wanted more!).
Finally, to end
the roll of projects for malnutrition on a high for this exposure, a cooking
show contest sponsored by the ADZU SOM representatives to Luop was done. A
total of 5 out of 6 puroks competed in the said activity which was done to
increase community’s awareness on the nutritious foods that could be prepared
for young children, malnourished or not. Purok Dos bested the other groups with
their sumptuous Ginisang Monggo with Kalabasa, topped up with alugbati, talong, string beans, malunggay,
and grilled fish. Their explanation of the different nutrients offered by
the vegetables and the full composition of their meal with Go, Glow and Grow
foods made their dish the best for the judges.Finding the Good in Extra Livelihood
Barangay Luop, Diplahan is mainly an
agricultural land with farming as its main source of income for most of the
residents. Unfortunately, apart from the fact that the crops that are being
planted take too long a time to yield, the barangay is also one of the 11
listed under the Flood-prone Barangays in Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Moreover, only at least 25% of the total population have extra sources of
income meaning that more than 70% of the households rely solely on farming
(which is seasonal) to provide for the basic needs of the family.
The community exposure prior, the
barangay residents identified lack of alternative sources of livelihood as 2nd
of the most pressing problems they are facing as a whole. Although Team Luop
admits that this is a tough task to fulfil, there is no way we could deny that
lack of income will impact the community people’s health and health seeking
behaviors in a big way. In lieu with this, the Team considered all the options
to be able to provide at least half of the households with no alternative
sources of income with one, and this began with the conceptualization of the
Kabuhayan Patrol Team.
Headed by their project coordinator,
Mark Anthony Paredes, the newly formed Kabuhayan Patrol Team (KPT) composed of
the Barangay Captain (chairman), Barangay Kagawad
on Agriculture (vice-chair), and 6 purok leaders, the group began their quest
in search for appropriate alternative sources of income that most of the
community people will benefit from. Last October 10, 2014, at seven (7) in the
evening, the KPT gathered for a brainstorming of ideas on how to come up with
the list of alternative sources they could choose from. Knowing that the
community leaders know the capabilities of their people the best, and knowing
that it is they who see the growing needs of the community first hand, the
project coordinator initiated this event to be able to formulate a game plan on
the different activities to come in the following exposure.
Immediately after the brainstorming,
wherein the core team listed several agencies they could tap into, Mr. Paredes
went about downtown Diplahan to check on the different agencies the core team
listed. Among them were Department of Agricultur and Department of Labor. Plans
are also being made to look into what TESDA could offer, seeing that a few of
the residents of Luop have been graduates of TESDA themselves (courses such as
haircutting and cooking).
Core Group Team Building
Struggling to choose the best time
for the implementation of the Team building because of the availability of the
people, Team Luop decided with the community people to hold it on October 12,
2014 at 5 in the afternoon (as this was the time most of them are free from
their work). With the schedule in hand, preparations were done and it was
decided that just a set of games with moral lessons incorporated are to be
carried out. In turn, each station had to have a facilitator who would give out
the synthesis of the station game. Moreover, to encourage a healthy
competition, the different core group members were mixed up and were randomly
divided into 4 groups for the competition – Red Team, Blue Team, Black Team,
and Yellow Team.
October 12 came and the activity
pushed through. This was held in the Barangay Gymnasium and began with the
registration of the different core group members, who all wore shirts of their
respective team colors. In total, there was an 80% attendance of the core team
members. Unfortunately, there were groups with a very few number of members, so
a grace period of 30 minutes was given for the others to arrive and join the
game. In the light of team play and healthy competition on the other hand, some
of the participants went out of their way to call other members of the group to
attend the team building.
In a more unfortunate turn out of
events though, at about 6 in the evening, a barangay-wide black out deprived us
of the light that we need to go on with our activity. Despite this, the people
stayed behind and one of the participants, Mr. Danny Boy Allegado offered his
generator for us to be able to utilize the gymnasium still to go on with our
programs. This took some time so the organizers of the Team Building to have a
picture taking of each group amidst the darkness. Also, to utilize the time
well, game instructions were given out and a period of 10 minutes was given for
the groups to think of group names and make a group cheer.
The team building commenced at about
7:30 in the evening with the group cheer of each team. The Blue Birds
(facilitated by Mark Anthony Paredes), Yellow Tigers (facilitated by Edward Jay
Azman), Red Alert Team (facilitated by Sherhata Adjid) and Black Bug Team
(facilitated by Pratima Lakibul)all gave stellar performances and did not show
any signs of wanting to go home. Since yellow team only had 4 members, we
restricted each station to only a 4 players at a time to have an unbiased basis
for judging the winners. The following games with their moral lesson were done:
1. Longest Line –
station 1 was facilitated by Jamera Hajijul. This station bore the lesson of Resourcefulness since members of the
group were only allowed to use what they have in their bodies to form the
longest possible lines they can. Some groups even resorted to removal of bras
to augment to the line. Some in shoes removed their shoelaces to use in the
line. Even others did not hesitate to lie down on the floor to make the lines
longer.
2. Calamansi Relay
– station 2 was facilitated by Mary
Antonette Torres. This station came in with the lesson of Patience. While others are at work or still using some materials
one also need (like in the case of the person still completing the course of
the relay), the other players should be patient enough to wait for the rest to
finish. The speed of the tasks to be accomplished is not the priority, but it
is the quality and the thought that everything should be done within the
allotted time – no rush, no impatience.
3. Plate Relay –
this 3rd station was facilitated by Weena Joyce Fernandez, and had a
theme of Unity. This game is played
by using plates 1 more than the number of members playing (in this case, 5).
The first player is to lay down the first plate in front and step on it. He
then throws a second plate for him to step on and for the 2nd player
to step on the first plate (and so on). The group needs to transfer from one
plate to another together, maintaining both feet inside the plate. All groups
completed the race together without leaving anyone behind, which is the essence
of the game – UNITY.
4. Egg Catch –
the 4th station was manned by Madilou Dimple Sabellina. This part of
the game wanted to imply that Care
should be exercised in handling resources – material or manpower. The games
general idea is that the participants should throw the eggs at coordinates that
get farther and farther from each other. Game stops if the egg is crushed. Most
team got past 5 coordinates and we believe that the message has been set across
well.
Finally,
an extra game Paint Me a Picture was
done while game master, Kerwin Emil Faustino computed the scores to arrive at
the winner. This game tried to exemplify Creativity
which is needed in carrying out several, if not all of the projects for the
problems to be solved. More importantly, what was really pushed for during the
team building activity was Team Work and
Camaraderie, both of which are
essential to a successful working relationship between core team members and
members of the community.
Core Group Formation
October 4, 2014 marked the day of our return to the Barangay we cherish dearly in our hearts. It has been 6 months since the last exposure and we sure have a lot of catching up to do. This means that we had to make several activities work in order to make up for the time lost several semesters prior, making sure that we had a solid foundation to kick-start from for our 10-month exposure the following year.
Six months ago, five community problems surfaced from our barangay assembly – these were the community people’s most immediate concern in the barangay. These problems became the basis of our work, thus the birth of 5 Community Health Plans. Along with these 5 Comprehensive Health Plans came the several strategies and activities which needed to be done in order to provide solutions to the problems before us. As any good foundation would need, the group decided early on that the different projects needed Core Teams to carry out the projects in behalf of the ADZU SOM Students. This formation of the core teams will also ensure in part the sustainability of the different projects that are up for implementation.
We met with the community leaders – Barangay officials and Purok presidents –last Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 5:00PM to present the proposed Organizational charts of the core teams for the different projects. Each of the project heads gave an overview of their team structure, giving emphasis on the roles of each of the members of the core team. The enthusiasm of the attendees showed in their faces and the core team formation became unexpectedly easy as the community leaders fell in love with the different projects and teams presented to them.
As there were only limited number of barangay leaders and the different project coordinators needed around 50core team members (ranging from 8-12 members per core team), most of those present were allowed to be part of 2 core teams at a time. Also, Hon. Wilson Montales, the Barangay Captain, became an obligate member of all core teams, becoming the head of the 5 core teams. Each team also needed 6 purok leaders to become point persons for the 6 puroks in the barangay. At the end of the night, 5 core teams were formed:
1. Luop Anti-Malnutrition Team (LAMT)
2. Active Luop Emergency Response Team (ALERT)
3. Kabuhayan Patrol Team (KPT)
4. Anti-hypertensive Association (AHA!)
5. SWM Committee
Thus, L.A.K.A.S. Luop team was born, spearheaded by the project coordinators and to be led by the Barangay Captain. Also, to avoid confusion and overlap of duty schedules in the Barangay Health Station, the members of the ALERT and AHA team consisted of the same group of people. Both teams as well are co-headed by Ms. Rosie Braganza, the Midwife assigned to Luop.
The night concluded with a picture-taking with the different core teams and an announcement of the several upcoming activities and trainings they would be receiving. A team building was also scheduled for the group in order to instil in them values of camaraderie and team work. All were hopeful that the night would be the springboard to the success of the projects and a step to a better and more progressive Luop.
