Issue No. 69 - March - April 2012 - DOH

us came and our own health fiestastarted. It was tiring but we did not mindthe hardship because we saw so manymothers, fathers, and their children enjoyingand participating. We never imagined thatwe would be able to serve 3,740 people,including 361 pregnant women and 722children in just two days.Through the collective effortsand participative support of all majorstakeholders, we have made an impossibilityinto a very wonderful and promising healthpromotion caravan.But I did not expect that our LBKjourney would continue. Our local leaders,mindful of the lack of adequate informationand education as one of the one major factorsthat prevent access to available healthservices, appreciated LBK so much that theydecided to launch our local version of LBK.We called it the SLAM Mobile Health Festival.SLAM stands for the Southern LiguasanAlliance of Municipalities. The alliance iscomposed of other towns like Datu Paglas,Paglat, General Salipada K. Pendatun, Sultansa Barongis, and Pagalungan. The honorablemayors of these towns joined hands andagreed to bring the LBK health caravan todifferent communities.On February 23, we made our firststop in Datu Paglas where more than 1,000fathers, mothers, and children participatedin fun activities and health classes. Otherhealth services like dental care, circumcisionand minor surgery, handwashing program,reflexology and even free haircuts wereadded to the roster of activities.The SLAM mayors also agreed tocustomize a mobile vehicle that would serveas the SLAM LBK vehicle.For a health professional like me,it was very heart-warming to hear localleaders pledge their support to our healthprograms. Mayor Mohammad Paglas said itso fittingly, “We could not achieve optimalhealth for our people without the heroicefforts of our unsung heroes – our healthworkers.”To my team: Municipal HealthOfficers Dr. Renalyn Masukat and Dr.Tina Almirante, our public health nurses,midwives, and barangay health workers, Isay it was a job well done.To the DOH and developmentpartners like the US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), thank you for puttingyour trust in us.Yes, we were in the midst of allthe action of LBK. But we also could notdo it if not for the generous support of ourother partners. Together, we made ripplesof change because we all wanted the samething – provide universal access to qualityhealth care to all people of Maguindanao.Our journey has just started. It’sstill a long way to go for us. But it’s a trip wewill gladly take and remember.And LBK’s message is heard soclearly in Maguindanao. “Walang iwanan sabiyaheng kalusugan!”- o O o -TOP: “Beads of sweat form ripples of change.” Dr. Elizabeth Samama (left) presents the MaguindanaoLBK experience at a lessons learned meeting in December 2011. BOTTOM: Pregnant women line up fortheir pre-natal check up at the LBK bus. (©USAID/HealthPRO/Nancy Pizarro/2011)8 HEALTHbeat I March - April 2012