Typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines in 2013, displacing millions of people from their homes and livelihood. Thousands of lives were lost. Rehabilitation of affected communities remain slow.
To commemorate the 5 year anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan, we invite you to participate in a week-long medical mission in Eastern Visayas this November. We will be providing much-needed health services to the fisherfolk and peasant communities impacted by Haiyan. Longer immersion with the communities is also possible upon request.
Why join the medical mission?
Rationale
Eastern Visayas (EV) is one of the poorest regions in the Philippines. Less than 33% of people in EV attains their basic needs. Twenty to thirty percent of youth in EV are undernourished and 60-70% are malnourished. EV also has the second highest child mortality rate of all regions in the country.
In November 2013, the strongest typhoon to ever hit land, Super Typhoon Haiyan, affected over 11 million Filipinos in nine regions in the country. Being ground zero, Eastern Visayas was completely devastated. Millions were displaced from their fishing and farming livelihood and over 15,000 people were killed.
The tragedy also saw the overwhelming response of the community. While the Philippine government responded slowly and inadequately, community based organizations around the Philippines and all over the world urgently raised support to provide food, housing materials, medicines, and livelihood resources to the victims.
Five years later, rehabilitation remains slow. In some resettlement sites, the villages still lack access to potable water. Many houses built for typhoon victims use substandard materials, making them vulnerable to the next disaster. Many are also still demanding that long-overdue financial assistance promised to them be disbursed.
Access to social services such as healthcare has been lacking. Poverty, exacerbated by government neglect and regular typhoons, has caused the deterioration of the health of community members. Lack of education on health and well-being, as well as lack of access to doctors and health professionals, aggravate the conditions of the people. Examples of conditions needing health education include diabetes, hypertension, respiratory infections, skin diseases, and trauma and stress management.
It is in this light that the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and Kabataan Alliance invite concerned members of the community in the US to a medical mission in Eastern Visayas on the 5th anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan.
Goals of Medical Mission
Provide medical services and support to community members.
Learn about the needs and conditions of the communities.
Create action steps for long-term sustainable support and collaboration with the communities.
Specifications
The 5-day mission will consist of a simultaneous a) surgical medical mission in a hospital and b) a medical clinic in one or more of the communities.
Surgical Medical Mission
Local surgeons and anesthesiologists will be present to guide these surgeries. Our aim is to serve 140 patients for surgery. The common afflictions of patients are hernia, hydrocele, hemangioma, goiter, and cysts.
Medical Clinic
The clinic will include routine registration, checking of vital signs, triage, doctor consultation, and pharmacy. The target is to serve 300 people for medical intervention and psychosocial analysis, including children.
Who are we looking for to join this medical mission?
Health professionals and workers
If you are a surgeon, doctor, nurse, nurse assistant, physical therapist, medical aide, or health student, you can greatly contribute your knowledge and skills to this medical mission.
Educators, artists, writers, musicians, photographers, filmmakers
Even if you are not in the health field, there is a place for you in this mission! You will be oriented in your role during the medical mission for tasks that do not require medical expertise. If you have experience working with kids and youth, your skills will come in handy. We also plan to create a documentation project for the mission and community-based learning experience, including articles, songs, photos and videos, that can be used after the mission for our ongoing work to support the communities.
Community members
Any community member who would like to offer their time, skills, and energy to support people in the Philippines is welcome to join the mission. As we contribute, let’s engage with, listen to, and learn from those in need.
Extended Community-Based Learning Engagement (CBL)
For those who are available for a longer period of time and would like to integrate further with the communities, we are open to arranging a Community-Based Learning (CBL) program based on the conditions and capacity of our host organizations and objectives of participants. We welcome and encourage these requests.
Interested? Please fill out this Participant Application Form
For more information, please contact: info@nafconusa.org or415-683-6835