Bridging gaps. Strengthening Communities.
Pensieve
A pensive recollection of community experiences
Thoughts about the second exposure
“You never know what you have until its’ gone” I’m sure we’ve once used this phrase in our lives. A lot of times we often take for granted the things that we have or the things we lived with thinking that it’ll still be there the next time we open our eyes. But what if, you woke up to the things you are not used to? How will you adjust? How will you live with it? Our team experienced just that as we go on our 2nd community exposure for a month this time. As we once again go back in our community, we experienced how hard it is to live outside the city. Away from the malls, coffee shops, restaurants and all that we had before. We don’t have our cars to go back and forth the town, we don’t have a running water and most especially, we don’t have a good and stable internet connection. But hey! This is not a pity party for us because we have a goal, and that is to be able to feel and experience how our community people live in this kind of environment, this kind of situation without even complaining and help them improve their living conditions. For this exposure, we got to learn about the people more. And how exactly did we do that? We did a house-to -house survey. We went to houses that are along the road, near where we are staying, inside of what seems to be a forest and even going as far as the borders of our neighboring barangay just so we can get to know these people more. While some knew us as the “student doctors”, some thought that we are from some organization that will give them “ayuda”. And in those times, we can’t help but feel a little emotional, learning how they try to survive and live day by day with not much on their pockets and still put up a smile on their faces every time they see us just made us realize how lucky we are and how the world works differently for everyone. As we get to know them, we learned about their living conditions, health conditions and as well as their concerns about the community. And since we have a goal, we list up the problems we identified based on the data that we gathered and made a plan of action in hopes that we can somehow help them. As we end our one-month community immersion, we would surely be more appreciative of what we have. Sure thing, living away from the city is hard, but it’s in how you can adapt to the situation and live with it that you survive. And we, thankfully and luckily survived! We would surely come back being more determined and with a new goal set in our minds- to help the community be healthy and happy. -Dayne Agustin First year medical student
"Only a life lived in the service of others is worth living - Albert Einstein", this is the quote that has been engraved in my mind ever since before I entered medschool. Growing up to be a "probinsyana girl", I always dreamt of becoming a doctor we needed in our community. According to the statistics, more than one billion people never see a healthcare provider in their lives; which is true in Western Mindanao and Sulu Archipelago as one of the most under served areas of the Southern Pacific. The best thing about the Ateneo de Zamboanga University - School of Medicine, students are not just trained to treat the patient by its disease but wholistically; not just in a hospital or clinic setting, but also in places where we are needed most, may it be near or very far to reach. During our community immersion, there's really a lot of realization. We get to reflect how blessed we are to be a blessing to others. I started appreciating the little things in life and how it certainly affects the bigger aspects in someone's being. Who would've thought, that students can help those who are away from medical facilities? who would've thought that medschool is not just all about reading books and learning skills, but it is more than that; it is touching lives and giving hopes to the hopeless? who would've thought that medschool is fun, fellowship and family? As we stayed for a month in the community with classmates of different ethnicity and and a place away from home and modern civilization, it is really an amazing and life changing experience. When we start our task with house to house survey, we had the chance to get to know the people belonging to the poorest of poor, to the houses in a deep forest, to the people deprived by a quality health education and services, and so much more. Those lives, not only motivate us to pursue our mission but also inspires as to be a good doctor someday. Not only did we meet the community members, but also we made friends and family in that place. Our groupmates became our strenght and confidant, our barangay officials, BHW's, and midwife as guardian angels who became our companions towards accomplishing our goals. As we catch a glimpse of the reality in our healthcare system, there's more to life outside the 4 corners of our classroom, and there's a lot of things we have yet to uncover. More learnings, more memories to treasure, more life changing experiences, and more lives to touch. And I'm so blessed to be part of this superb breakthrough in community medicine. And I hope by this experience, I become the doctor my community needed. -Ciarra Zanoria First year medical student
We learned a lot during our one-month stay in the community. We got to know the locals, their customs and beliefs, and how simple life there is, or what we refer to as "bukid life." Although we were away from city lights, the community's way of life taught us to be content, work incredibly hard to help the less fortunate and provide quality service to the locals, especially those who are unable to afford medical care. -Naifa Harain First year medical student
A Song of Earth and Fire It’s been a whole year now, the seasons have changed, and the sun has set on a fantastical journey in plentiful Suclema. From the lush of green, to the red soil, to the vibrant faces of the inhabitants of this fantastical place, one can’t help reminiscing as this writer sits in his living room enjoying a cold hit of ice which reminds him of the days, he spent eating such cold delights with the people he so fondly remembers. Suclema is not only the place where he spent his time completing his requirements to a piece of paper which seems so distant like an iridescent mirage in the scorching heat of the desert but rather a place, he developed an affinity to people and how much joy it brings when one extends himself to bring people out of ignorance and guiding them to a path of enlightenment. You could say Suclema, was a place where he grew into something more than he expected, maybe more wholesome, more in line with his beliefs, more truthful to the questions that linger, this writer begs to assume, only time can tell. -Omar Naeem First year medical student
In cognizance of the fact that the Philippines is a third-world country, it can be said that we do not possess enough resources (in terms of health administration) to be able to buy extremely advanced products and machinery. This presents to us the very hard pill to swallow, the reality that: “mahirap magkasakit.” From a health worker’s perspective, people that come and go to the hospital for admission are those that cannot anymore manage their symptoms and are already very sick with ensuing mounting bills and debts—thus the role of primary prevention is extremely essential to avoid such a predicament. On our previous rotation, we were just able to gather secondary data, there is not much interfacing with the community except for the key officials due to the imposed pandemic restrictions In retrospect, I can say that we are indeed fortunate to be able to afford to study in this prestigious school let alone be in the environment that we are in. In this rotation, we were able to go about into the community and talk and see the people face to face. We saw them in their daily routine, their social environment, and their living conditions. During our stay in the community, we interviewed the people and were able to know their health value-belief system—the things that are important to them, and the things which they considered a problem. This exposure made me realize that indeed beyond the work of a doctor, we are obliged to help our fellow people, maybe not in terms of the financial aspect, but in terms of health care and health management-- preventing diseases from happening and improving the quality of life of the people, as it was written, "To whom much is given, much will be required" -Luke 12:48. -Alve Serna First year medical student
" A journey of a thousan miles begins with a single step" - Lao Tzu A monthful of realization, experiences, and challenges. That's what we've expereince as medical students in our assigned community, which is Barangay Suclema. Every step since the day we got there has been a tough challenge for us medical students, it gave as a glimpse of what harsh reality is and how to adopt different challanges that we were accustomed in the City life. Staying for a month in the community, immersing with the people in Barangay Suclema, we got to know how they forsee the health care system at this present time. We saw the different accustomed beliefs and practices that were used. The challenge for us medical students was not the lack of luxury, but the real challenge for us was to help the people in the community to understand, to develop, to educate and maintain the different health advocacies that is currently present in the Depart of Health. Looking back on our 2nd exposure, we've learned not only to adopt and be flexible, but we've learned to listen to the different voices in the community and understand their situation. It made us realize that there's more than meets the eye in the community. At the start of our MD-MPH program, we're not only aiming for the MD-MPH degree, but we are here to help the people, be the role model for them to follow. "Pro deo et patria" in the service of God and Country. To more hardships, challenges and learning this comming exposures... -Lloyd Obut 1st Year Medical Student
