Several months of intense boot-camp style medical and dental training, sanctioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) did not make us instant doctors and dentists. But for the villagers served during the medical missions in between trainings, it didn't matter whether there are MDs or RNs and DMDs attached after our names...seeing stethoscopes around our necks and the many medications, vitamins, pain relievers, vaccines, antibioticas and other medications we brought along were enough assurance for them that they will get relief from the ailments that they have. We certainly filled the big void- ---in the villages where there is no doctor...where there is no dentist. Respiratory ailments particularly pneumonia among children were some of the most common illnesses that we encountered.
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| under the watchful guidance of licensed medical doctors, we assessed and provided medical care |
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| wound dressing... |
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| a pneumonia patient... |
Participants and volunteer doctors, dentists and nurses from Australia and Canada and Philippines set a base camp in the rural outskirt of Calapan Mindoro. Participants were from the U.S., New Zealand, Canada and Australia. The Mercy Link- a New Zealand based NGO conducted the medical training with emphasis on the World Health Organization's IMCI strategy (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness). The purpose of the training was to develop primary health care providers in the villages of any developing country where doctors are not available. With missionary doctors, nurses and dentists teaching the course, we spent long hours in the classroom and hands-on training. With the watchful guidance of our instructors, the medical mission outreaches to the Mangyan villages gave us the opportunity to practice what we learned during the training. It was a life changing experience to be immersed in the reality of what some poor people in the villages don't have----the very basic medical services.
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| some of the Mangyan villages are accessible only by 4-wheel drive vehicles or by foot |
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| the village of Lantuyang is accessible only by foot through a hanging bridge.. |
There were times we encountered difficult cases where we were not equipped to handle. They were referred to the provincial hospital of Mindoro which is several hours by motor vehicle away from the villages. Transportation is a major problem for the villagers. The Mangyans are known to walk for days to get to the nearest town. This is one of the primary reasons (in addition to lack of resources to pay the medical fees) why they don't venture to seek medical attention.
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| when high fever comes with other symptoms...our 4-wheel drive vehicle becomes an ambulance to the more than 3-hours trip to the provincial hospital in Mindoro town |
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| the team at work in a Mangyan village |
The faces of some of the patients from the barangays and the Mangyan villages...
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| Mangyan patients waiting for their turns.. |
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| patients from the barangay... |
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| more Mangyan patients... |
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| where there is no dentist... |
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| teaching the Mangyan children dental care.. |
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| where there is no optometrist ....in the barangays.... |
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| fitting the glasses... |
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| optometry in the barangay community... |
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| where there is no pharmacist... |
Every week, we took turns manning the makeshift pharmacy while the rest of the team, under the supervision of doctors do the assessments and dispensing the appropriate medications that were in our inventory. Dispensing medication in the villages was always a challenges as patients normally don't have historical knowledge of their potential allergic reactions to certain medications. Part of our training was also to develop our own herbal medications from local herbal plants. The Philippine government actively supports the use of herbal medicine, that they formed the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997. Out of the ten herbs listed by the DOH, we were only able to use 5--those that we found to grow in the forests of Mindoro. We found Akapulko, when mixed with other ingredients to form into an ointment very effective for fungal infections and other skin diseases.
These are the ten common herbs which have been endorsed by the Philippine Department of Health.
- Akapulko- English translation; ringworm bush it is used for fungal infections and ringworm
- Ampalaya- English translation; Bitter gourd or bitter melon used for treating diabetes.
- Bawang - Garlic used for reducing cholesterol therefore it helps to control blood pressure.
- Bayabas - English translation; guava, it is used as an antiseptic and can be employed as a mouth wash.
- Lagundi- English translation; chasteberry, it is used to treat such ailments as coughs and asthma
- Niyog-niyogan- English translation; Chinese honey suckle it is used for intestinal infestation
- Sambong- English translation: Blumea camphora it is used as a diuretic.
- Tsaang Gubat- Know as forest tea, it is used for gastroenteritis, stomach pains, diarrhea as well as an antidote bleeding and poisonous snakebites
- Ulasimang Bato known as pansit-pansitan it used for arthritis and gout.
- Yerba Buena -English translation peppermint, it is used as an analgesic to relieve pains and aches around the body.
