FIRST RANAO PAR ZONE HEALTH CARE TRAINING LAUNCHED  By Mei Solocasa

MAY 04-08, 2009, Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Norte--Peacebuilders Community, Reach International and ECOWeb worked together to start the Healthcare Training and Services in this municipality.  The 2-day training was participated by 32 people from the 6 baranggays (Nunungan, Pyangamangaan, Pantao, Kablangan, Pantao Raya, Poblacion) of the municipality.  On the third day, the trainees were exposed to a medical clinic accommodating 82 patients who come from the said barangays.

The medical team was welcomed warmly by the Maranao community, and was given the opportunity to live closely with their language and culture. In spite of the hardships to rehabilitate their communities after the devastation caused by armed encounters that happened last August 2008, the team was warmly offered with places to sleep and food to eat during the stay. The team was hosted in Poblacion during the first 3 days of the healthcare training, and was hosted in Pyangamangaan during the remaining 2 days of the medical clinic.

The people in these communities hardly get checked-up by a medical doctor.  They do not even have much opportunities to visit the municipal health center. The roads are almost impossible to pass through due to its perilous condition. If it is heavily raining, people prefer to walk for 5 hours, rather than ride on a horse or truck or motorcycle and risk falling on the cliff or meet an accident on the “roller-coaster” road. The nearest health center from where the team held its medical clinic is 2 hours walk away, and this is one of the reasons why pregnant women don’t get pre-natal check-up, thus increasing the cases of pregnancy complications, such as hemorrhaging, septicemia (infection), abortion, and etc.

It is a fulfillment to the team to get started in Poona Piagapo, and we continue to pray that the 32 healthcare trainees would be sustained for the next 9 months of the training. We are doing our best so that the 82 patients would remember the healthcare teachings that we shared with them.  In our public health trainings, we stress that a lot of remedies to their diseases could be easily found in their own community, such as corn silk tea for edematous pregnant women, steam therapy for those who could hardly breathe due to phlegm and nasal secretions, and a lot more.

The five-day work of the medical team seemed to be a five-day vacation. The work became enjoyable as we all shared our strengths and weaknesses with each other. Most members of our team also learned some Maranao words and phrases, and were able to appreciate the distinctive taste of Maranao dishes due to its spices—locally called "palapa" (a mixture of onion, ginger, and chilli).

The first week of training finally began.  I'm looking forward for more meaningful moments with the Maranao people in the next months to come.  In spite of the differences on our languages, beliefs, religions, and cultures, I've again experienced, that love---outweighs our differences.


(Follow Mei Solocasa's journey on Facebook!)