TBpeople PH Discipleship: Calamba, Laguna – Region 4a

After our Pampanga escapade, TBpeople PH Team visited our Region 4a City Association Leaders. The goal is to create, establish and form a discipleship emerging leader for the advocacy that we have located in region 4a and represent TBPeople Philippines in their respective cities too just like in Pampanga, Region 3.

We have our first Meet & Greet Face to Face Kamustahan with TBpeople PH Region 4a Leaders. Our first Stop is in Los Baños STC with Nurse Joan Bautista. This is the STC where Anthony Refresca, one on our leaders and officer in Laguna, who completed his MDR treatment. Nurse Joan shared the daily situation of STC. Also, they are currently under renovation that’s why patients only come here once a month. We were welcomed warmly by the Nurse Joan and was happy to know on what TBPeople Philippines has been doing, we also shared with her the Anthony will be the Vice President of the City Association that we will be establishing in Laguna and if there are any patients that needs moral support and someone to talk to about their current journey Anthony is very much ready to offer peer support.

Second stop is in Parian Health Center. Where we have been able to meet the barangay health center supervisor/midwife Mylene Calinagan the initial introduction wasn’t that smooth but eventually we were able to introduce Anthony as the Vice President of City Association that will be established in region 4 who also resides within their barangay jurisdiction in Parian.

To know more about Anthony, our third stop is in Anthony’s workplace in Canlubang Laguna where he’s currently employed. Anthony’s co-workers got along well with his work and his co-workers were kind and especially his supervisor even commented that Anthony is very goon in his work, after Anthony’s treatment it gave him new hope to start another life.

Later afternoon we have met Lorelyn Del Mundo, A DSTB Survivor and advocate, a persevering school teacher at Southville 6 Elementary School. Lorelyn or “Lhorz”, shared with the group what her day-to-day life is and even shared her experiences while on treatment. She gave us a tour on the school where she practices her teaching and introduced us to her fellow teacher which welcomed us warmly questions were very curious about the groups mission and vision,

The group also had a mini- TB literacy education with Lhorz’s fellow teacher and they were all surprised with how little do they know about TB.

Southville 6 Elementary School teachers would like to have a TB literacy discussion with kids and TB People PH agreed as this would be a great venue to engage Parents and Students to know more about the TB disease and to promote better understanding and correct information of the disease.

Teacher Lhorz’s fellow teachers were happy knowing that she will be one of the leaders in Calamba and mentioned that she will for sure do a great job.

After the school visit, we visited Brgy.Kay-Anlog Health Center with Supervisor/Midwife Donna. This is the health center where Teacher Lhorz received her treatment and Ma’am Donna welcomed us warmly. She shared with us how they approach and treat their patients.  We were also able to introduced Teacher Lhorz as the President of the City Association in Region 4 and Anthony as Vice President. We were able to share our goal for the City Association and Discipleship we are aiming to do and after sharing the barangay health center’s process and approach to their barangay jurisdiction, we all can say that their center has one of best process plan and a good role model to other health center facility. At the end of our visit there we are glad that Brgy. Kay-Anlog supports our vision and as we are proud to say we aim to partner with them with advocacy event in the future. Before the day end, we visited and met up with Wil Tolentino and with Grace Atienza. Grace is an MDRTB Survivor for a few years now and Wil had affirmed that they will be joining the City Association and Discipleship, as per Wil, He is eager to be an advocate and share his story to inspire others as a person who’s still under treatment he can provide fresh input on what is the current situation of PWTB under treatment and can provide insights as to what things are good to have and continue to have and to be further supported.

Our Laguna escapade brings hope to our leader and members; hope that our organization could do more in their city until we reach the nearby cities and to spread awareness and share the advocacy that we have in our organization by creating City Associations and discipleship. They will also be given training on how to be an effective leader to help their LGU and for our country to be TBFREEPH.

We’re all grateful of this experience because it opened our eyes on how some of our health care facilities approach their patients and their process within their jurisdiction. As we head home, we are filled with much hope and inspiration for a better future and a more accessible treatment response.

Watch out for our next adventure! See you in Manila!

TRIVIA: Did you know? The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been visiting the Regional TB Infirmary in Calamba, Laguna province, since 2014. We have provided material (lab supplies, personal protective equipment, TB mass screening supplies/equipment, etc.) and TB technical support (quarterly monitoring from the ICRC TB team and annual program reviews from external consultants, building of linkages with DOH, provincial/city health offices and partners such as PBSP-Global Fund and USAID, and inputs for policy changes on infirmary operations). In 2019, ICRC also provided support to expand cells, renovate the kitchen facilities and TB laboratory. (ICRC Handout, 2020, ‘PHOTO ESSAY: Lessons from TB in Philippine jails to help in fight vs COVID-19’, ABS-CBN NEWS, 24 March 2020, accessed 20 May 2022, <https://news.abs-cbn.com>.

With the support of Stop TB Partnership

Reference:

ICRC Handout, 2020, ‘PHOTO ESSAY: Lessons from TB in Philippine jails to help in fight vs COVID-19’, ABS-CBN NEWS, 24 March 2020, accessed 20 May 2022, <https://news.abs-cbn.com>