Philippine Nurses Association of North Carolina

By: Merly Pascual

The thought of joining the mission for the first time & bringing it to my hometown brought so much excitement. It all started when I witnessed the poverty that had stricken my hometown. The desire to go back to my roots & contribute whatever little we have to offer...to ease the suffering from staggering poverty was so compelling.

I was naive to what lies ahead yet confident & trusting that everything will be all right. The whole experience was a faith journey & the road was neither smooth nor easy. Restrictions, expectations, distant communications, self limitations made my efforts seemingly end in vain. It was during those moments of disappointments when encouragements gently stream through. CMM coordinator, friends, families, co workers sometimes even music or captions from a reading energized & inspired me to move on & bring this mission to the finish line. With restless intention & perseverance, I was led from one person to another, one group to another until nothing was stopping me at any point as the project seemed to have taken a life of its own & all I had to do was cruise along.

It was a humbling experience to coordinate with Sr. Marinela Narvaez Sr. of Social Services, & the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen & Professionals Imus Chapter who were the primary contacts in Cavite . They collaborated w/ local physicians: Dr’s Diez & Ilog (Provincial Office), Dr. Calingasan (Imus Municipal Office) & Dr. Figueroa ( Kalayaan Hospital ). The team brought in their professional skills & delivered a highly organized & intensely coordinated work that the mission went on efficiently & smoothly.

One of the major responsibilities of the coordinator was, fund raising. Members of different North Carolina organizations, co-workers, youths, spouses, friends, fellow Imusenos, all rallied together not just to share their treasure but to reconnect with a community that were normally tied up with their own tasks & jobs. We prepared Filipino foods for Hillsborough Jazz fest; celebrated birthdays, coordinated bowling events, piano concerts, games nights, gala events, … we brought the community together reminding us that we are a family reaching out to our other brothers who are not as privileged as we are. The enthusiasm of everyone made true the words of Herman Melville that “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. Bishop Chito on his last message further confirms this when he said that when we are called to serve, we would never be alone.

The church and the government worked together for the first time enabling them to appreciate & respect one another. Doctors, nurses, dentists & non-clinical volunteers from the US, all over the Philippines together with those from the municipal & provincial office tirelessly worked hand in hand to treat more than 3,000 patients who waited patiently to be seen by these providers some of them waited this long to be seen for the first time. The dedication of the volunteers was so inspiring. On the surgical side of the mission, the doctors & nurses so used to the sophisticated equipments adapted to what a district hospital can offer. Children treated for cleft lip & palate surgeries were given a chance to live more normal lives, a mother having a prolonged labor unable to deliver the baby by a midwife had to have an emergency cesarean section saving the lives of both the mother & child. At the end of the 3rd day, the team was able to do 107 major & minor surgeries in spite of some volunteers getting ill from gastric infection & exhaustion.

Simultaneously, the medical teams were working just as hard in Imus basketball court. Noticeably, some patients were already crippled by their illness that their hope is to be seen by the doctors from this mission as they were unable to afford to be seen in other clinics. The municipal office brought in the mobile x-rays where 38 patients were identified with tuberculosis. Patients needing minor surgeries identified on this area were shuttled to Kalayaan Hospital for treatment. Those who were unable to afford & neglected dental care were seen for the first time. For those who were not able to get the treatments they needed during the mission, referrals were made for follow up thereafter.

By the end of the mission, we had the following statistics:

Total number of patients seen: 3255

Pediatrics……………..1368

Dental…………………460

Adult Medicine……….1323

Surgeries………………105

Finally, CMM left $1,000.00 to Sr. Marilena Narvaez for those who needed follow up treatments. Cautery machine, two surplus EKG machines, pulse oxymeter, & surgical supplies were donated to Kalayaan Hospital . Medicines were left w/ Municipal Health office to share with other patients. Dental supplies & anesthesia were endorsed w/ BCBP for their planned dental mission.