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.
SETTING YOUR SIGHTS FOR LUOP
Barangay Luop was formerly a sitio of
Barangay Minsulao, Siay, Zamboanga Del Sur. Diplahan, where was the barangay
falls under, was made into a Municipal on December 19, 1979 and sitio Luop was
separated from Minsulao and created as a independent Barangay. Mr. Owhang Maro,
a subanen man, gave Luop its name. Luop came from subanen word “Look” which
means a creek or a river, in her case connecting to the Sibugay river.
Barangay Luop comprises of a mixture of Bisaya and Ilonggo,
with the latter containing the majority of the residents. Majority of the
population embrace Iglesia ni Cristo as their religion. However, despite
the diversities in religion, culture and language, the residents still manage
to coexist and live harmoniously with each other.
Access to a public Day care Center, Preschool and elementary school are
available in the barangay. The secondary school that caters to the students of
Luop is located at the adjacent barngay Minsulao and the nearest tertiary level
school is found at the adjacent Munipality of Buug, which is 8 Kilometers from
the Municipality of Diplahan.
A Barangay Health Station structure is available in the barangay but
the health personnel cater to their health needs only twice a month. There were
also 6 Barangay Health Worker (BHW) in the barangay with one representative per
purok. The nearest hospital is the Wilfredo S. Palma Hospital that is located
40 kilometers away from the barangay Luop.
The Barangay’s power supply is
coming from the ZamSurECo. The water system is Level II; their main water
source came from a Large water tank that is chlorinated every 1st
week of every Saturday of the month.
Residents of
Luop especially adolescents are actively involved in sports activities
especially basketball. For this purpose,
the covered court/ basketball court is being utilizednot just for special events
but is also used for sports. Male residents especially adolescents regularly
play basketball every Saturday and the barangay officials also usually organize
basketball tournament during their barangay feast. Some female adolescents also
play volleyball and badminton as part of their leisure activities at the
covered court.
TOP 5 PROBLEMS OF BARANGAY LUOP
A thought I read recently: "Problems are part of life -- they go together with being alive. And every community has problems, too; they go together with being a community. That's just a fact of community life."
As I read this thought I cannot help but shake my head and agree. Indeed, problems are part of life and just like people, communities have problems too. Communities, like people, try to solve their problems and analyzing those problems helps in their solution.
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| Top 10 Problems identified by each Purok of Brgy. Luop |
Many problems were raised in the event, but following a close examination of the issues presented, the following top 5 problems were highlighted:
1. Inaccessible health care delivery system
The top of the list is the inaccessibility of the health care delivery system in the barangay. It is very important to know what does "inaccessibility" means in this context as this may cause confusion. A pertinent information about Brgy. Luop that could help us enlighten their perception of "inaccessiblity" is that, it is one of the few barangays in the Municipality that has been blessed with a Health Center. However, the midwife in charge of Brgy Luop also have the same responsibilities with other barangays. Thus, the main problem of the residents of Brgy. Luop is not about the absence of a health care facility but rather the absence of a mainstay health personnel that could address their health care necessities at the time they need it.
2. Lack of alternative source of livelihood
Another frequently occurring concern of the Brgy people is the need for an alternative source of livelihood. The primary source of livelihood in the barangay is farming and farmers are usually men. Thus, women are usually left at home and tend the needs of the family like performing household chores. However for most of the time, house tending ends early leaving the women, usually mothers, more free time. It is this free time that they want to make use of to be productive and help their husbands earn for the household.
3. Sanitation
Sanitation is a global problem. In fact according to World Health Organization (WHO) an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation globally. If the current trend continues, by 2015 there will be 2.7 billion people without access to basic sanitation. Brgy Luop is in no exception to this global issue. Underlying issues that add to this challenge is the poor knowledge in waste segregation and disposal as well as not implementing the Solid Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003) as mandated by the law.
4. High Incidence of Malnutrition
According to WHO, Malnutrition is a major health problem, especially in developing countries (including the Philippines). Malnutrition essentially means “bad nourishment”. It concerns not enough as well as too much food, the wrong types of food, and the body's response to a wide range of infections that result in malabsorption of nutrients or the inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health.
There are many contributory factors of malnutrition in Brgy Luop but the main cause as mentioned by the community people is poverty. It is because of poverty that people are not able to eat the right kind of food they need. Lack of money means lack of food and lack of food, more often than not, can lead to malnutrition especially for children. Another contributory factors may be the sanitation problems and lack of proper knowledge on the proper nutrition especially of children.
5. High Incidence of Hypertension
The last but not the least problem seen by the community people is the growing number of residents that are diagnosed to be hypertensive. The lack of adequate knowledge on how to prevent, manage and treat hypertension even worsen the situation. Thus the community people opted to have this problem be tackled.
Those were the problems identified by the community people. We opt ,together with all the stakeholders involved, to help the community stand against these issues and conquer them on their own. It is also important to know that true happiness comes not when we get rid of all our problems, but when we change our relationship to them, when we see our problems as a potential source of awakening, opportunities to practice patience, learn and grow with other people all for the sake of the One who created us.PROBLEM PRIORITIZATION
After completion of
house-to-house survey, data collation, analysis and interpretation, Laom Luop group met and decided to utilize bottom-up
approach in the prioritization and ranking of the identified problem of the
community. This approach was carried out
by presenting the surveyed data to the community residents (bottom) allowing
them to identify and prioritize problems that are salient, measurable,
realistic and attainable, and this then later presented to the barangay officials (up) where they had
the final say as to which problems should be addressed according to salience
and feasibility. This method was employed to avoid hawthorne effect and
contamination of the problem selection process. Two separate assemblies were
conducted with the aim of bringing people together in order to come up with the top 10 problems of the community, rank them
according to salience, and craft a common vision for the progress and
development of the community. 
The first assembly was held on April 11, 2014 at Luop Multi-Purpose Covered Court. This was dubbed as “Community Meeting ug Salo-Salo” and attended by 120 residents. Activities conducted were registration, BP taking for adults, weighing of children 0-5 years of age, presentation of survey results, problem identification by purok, prioritization of perceived problems through ballot voting, and tallying of votes by the medical students. Intermission numbers from six (6) puroks were rendered and raffle draws and prizes were also given.
The program proper started at 1 pm and ended at 5 pm. Overall, the assembly was a success and the objectives were met. The second assembly was held on April 14, 2014 at the Barangay Hall and attended by the barangay officials. This was started by explaining the purpose of the assembly and followed by presentation of survey results, problem identification and prioritization.
The result of the problems identified by the community residents was also presented to them and compared with their identified problems, after which, they ranked which problems should be addressed first according to felt need and feasibility. At the end, 5 problems were specifically chosen and ranked and these are: Poor Access to Health Care Delivery System, Lack of Alternative Sources of Income, Improper Solid Waste Management, High Incidence of Malnutrition, and High Incidence of Hypertension. These problems will be the bases for the formulation of our Comprehensive Health Plans which we hope will be minimized or solved before we leave the place by 2016.
It is an arduous task considering the lack of time and resources
that we have but the group believes that with people’s active involvement and
commitment throughout the process, our goals will be met and sustainability
will be ensured. Both assemblies were successful and ended with a discussion on
next steps: "short, medium and long term strategies" collaboratively
decided upon by the assemblies’ participants.HOUSE TO HOUSE SURVEY
One of the first step in
community assessment is doing a house-to-house survey among the households of
Luop, Diplahan Zamboanga Sibugay. We arrived at our community on March 29,
2014, Saturday and on Monday we prepared our survey questionnaires. Immediately
on Tuesday we started to survey the households, we need to survey at least 75%
of the households in the barangay. Our questionnaire comprises queries that
would assess the living condition holistically of each household in the
barangay. It focuses on the different facets
of life such as Environmental, Economic, Social and most specially Health.
Our Barangay is composed of
162 households divided into 6 puroks. Each household is surveyed at an average time
of 30 minutes, since everybody in the group can speak and understand bisaya we managed to cover an average of
30 households per day. We just divided ourselves into 4 groups assigned to
different puroks. Initially we surveyed the farthest purok which is the purok 6
and 5 and followed by the the last 4 puroks. We have complexity in covering
100% of the households because at that time its harvest season in the barangay
and the majority of the populace spend their day time at the farm harvesting
and at the same time they are celebrating the anniversary of their barangay so
almost all the people are very busy and hard to find at their house.
At the end of the week on Friday April 4 we hit the 132nd
household and that is 80% of the entire households in the barangay. Since this
number of households already represents the entire Barangay, we use the
weekends collating the data for us to analyze the results of our 4-day survey.
We appreciate every little bit of the time that the community people has
offered us, despite of their busy schedule they still gave us a warm welcome in
their humble home. And this made as reached our goal.
LAOM LUOP: AN INTRODUCTION
Simple living, breath taking view, fresh air, and where people will welcome you warmly; there’s no other place to be but in our lovely community where we call our second home. Zamboanga Sibugay is subdivided into 16 municipalities and one of the municipalities is Diplahan.
As a medical student of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, we are being exposed and assigned to a particular community. We are to bring change as well as do health education. We also in turn learn a lot from our exposure.
Our community is
more or less sixteen kilometres away from the highway. We are assigned at
Barangay Luop, Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay. The main source of livelihood is
farming since its land area is surrounded by a large area of rice fields. Our
community is not as remote as what we expected. Actually, they are quite
progressive and capable on their own if it’s not for the flood that they often
experience every now and then. They have mini grocery stores, vendors of fresh
fish coming in from nearby barangay, the residents have many fruit trees and
they also have gardens of vegetables such as eggplants and string beans. The
houses are built not far from each other; they are mostly made up of mixed
materials while some houses are made up of light materials. They have 1
elementary school, a Health Center and a day care center. The roads going to
our barangay is paved and concrete except for some areas prior to reaching our
barangay.
Barangay Luop is
made up of six puroks. Barangay Luop is situated 40 kilometers away
from the provincial capitol. It has 6 puroks and bounded by Barangay Pilar at
the North; Barangay Minsulao at the East; Barangay Boyugan at the West and
Barangay Baligasan at the South boundary.The people
of our community are peace loving, hospitable and hardworking. To sum it all
up, out community is a wonderful place.
