The first couple of days of our mission to the Philippines focused on the “Walking Free” program and how we could better meet the needs of its patients. We had visited the facilities at PGH (Philippine General Hospital) and Clark Air Field. Today would be different since we would be participating in a relief effort which is something that we normally do not do - Physicians for Peace is an organization that focuses primarily on medical education.
During this part of the mission we were supposed to visit the area of the Philippines called Northern Luzon. Unfortunately we were not able to do so because of the damage that the area had sustained from typhoons Ondong and Pepeng. Lyne Abanilla, PFP’s representative on the ground in the Philippines, asked our team if we would like to help hand out relief supplies to victims of the recent flooding caused by the typhoons. The effort would be in Pasig which is part of Metro Manila. We jumped at the chance to help.
We meet Lyne at the Manila Bulletin which is where she works. The Manila Bulletin is the nation’s second oldest newspaper and claims the second largest circulation in the Phlippines. The paper is located in the historic Intramuros section of Manila.
When we arrive we are noisily greeted by a room full of volunteers that are busy packing the supplies that will be taken to Pasig. The volunteers include Rotarians, business owners, and doctors. The volunteers are eagerly making and packing peanut butter sandwiches. We quickly pitch in, and in no time everything is finished and ready for transport. Once loaded, we head for the police station to pick up our police escort and the truck that will transport the supplies and the volunteers.
Once we get to Pasig, we are greeted by our security escorts. Our truck that will carry the volunteers and supplies is a standard troop/personnel carrier. There will be seats for 8 people but about a dozen or so of the volunteers will have to stand up during the trip with only the wire from the surrounding cage to hang on to.
We are escorted by two police vehicles as we leave the compound. As we slowly make our way through traffic we notice that we are waved through at every intersection by the local traffic cops. Apparently word has been sent ahead in order to help ease our way through the heavy traffic.
The traffic, which is always backed up, becomes even harder to work our way through. We realize that this is due to the roads being closed due to the flooding and landslides. Then traffic comes to an abrupt halt. Right in front of us is a section of road that is completely submerged. Our escorts slowly ease their way through the water and for a while look as if they are getting ready to float away. We are nervous and are sure that they are not going to make it but eventually they are out of the water. As we inch our way forward, we are greeted by people in boats and tricycles. Some people are actually swimming or wading in the dirty water. To the left of us we notice personnel bridges made of two by fours supported by wooden bases that have been hastily constructed so that people can get in and out of the area. This is a scene that I had never witnessed and am once again awestruck at the ingenuity of the Filipino people.
Once we make it out of the water we arrive at our destination. Suddenly we are greeted by a large crowd that starts cheering and waving. These are the people that we have been sent to help.
Suddenly we are out of the truck and on the ground. The supplies are taken off of the truck and moved to a gymnasium that will be the main distribution point. There are also a large number of people in the gym. We are told that the people outside have suffered some damage to their homes but their homes are still habitable. The people inside the gym have lost most of their possessions and their homes were destroyed or almost completely destroyed.
While everyone is busy getting the supplies ready for distribution I grab my camera and spot a set of stairs inside the gym where I can get a few good pictures of what is going on inside. As soon as I get to the top of the stairs, a door flies open and I am greeted by a young man. I realize that I am invading someone’s “home”. But instead of being angry, the young man asks if I can take a picture of his family. I agree and suddenly they are all in front of me eagerly posing for the camera. Once again, here is a family that instead of focusing on their terrible loss, are instead trying to have fun by posing for a picture.
I quickly turn around and start snapping pictures of the scene on the gym floor. The sight that appears before me is shocking. These are families that have been dislocated. It looks as if some of them had little or no time to grab anything of value. Dirty blankets and sheets have been erected in an attempt at privacy. Some of the people look as if they do not have any clean clothes. Children are running in and out of the makeshift dwellings playing and laughing. The crowd is starting to murmur with anticipation of a chance to receive some water and a little bit of food.
As I make my way to the floor and start walking in and out of the dwellings, I am greeted by calls of “hello sir”, “good evening sir”, and “how are you doing sir”. Everyone has a smile as I greet them.
After taking pictures for a few minutes I notice that Lyne has the volunteers ready to hand out the supplies to the people inside the gym. I run over and grab a big box of bottled water and drag it on the floor as someone else passes out the bottles. We are told to try to limit each family to one bottle. We need to make sure that everyone, including the people outside, receives their fair share of supplies. The first box empties rather quickly and then we start working on a second box of water. Suddenly people start running up to me and asking “tubig please”, water please. Though I know that every family should have received a bottle of water I cannot turn them down. What if their family is very large? How long has it been since they had fresh drinking water? What if they have small children? So I give them some more. Once again I hear many “thank you sirs” and “salamat po”. Then I spot Doc Montero who is also busy handing out water. Someone is asking him to limit the amount of water that he is giving away. He shouts back that the children keep asking him for water and how can he turn them down. My thoughts exactly.
Eventually mats and blankets are also passed out. A small amount of cooked noodles and bread with peanut butter is given to each family. We are finished handing out supplies to the “residents” of the gym.
Now we shift to the people waiting outside. Everyone is standing in two lines. The supplies start moving down the line but we need to move a little quicker. These people have been waiting for quite some time and we want to make sure that they get their fair share. Lyne is urging everyone to move a little quicker. We certainly don’t want anyone to think that they are going to be left out. It seems that the supplies move a little quicker this time and before we know it we are finished. Through all of the commotion there is no pushing, shoving, fighting or cursing. Everyone is well-behaved and courteous.
Night has come, so we start to gather the few supplies that we have left and put them on the truck. As we make our way to the truck to leave we are greeted with “thank you ate” (older sister), “thank you kuya” (older brother), “thank you sir” or salamat po. Some of the volunteers are on the truck. As I get ready to climb on I hear a child call out “tanapay sir”, “bread please sir”. I notice a box of bread at the end of the truck. I hand the little boy a roll. Then where there was one hand there are now two. So I hand out two more rolls. Now there are four more hands stretched out toward me, so I give up four more rolls. Now there are six and then eight more hands. So I hand out more bread. The people inside the truck are telling me that we need to leave because it is getting late. Suddenly there is a hand around my right arm and then one on my left. Then there is a hand from behind and then I am in the truck.
As we start to leave we pass by a crowd of people. Some of them are cheering while others are waving. I hear some goodbyes and few more salamats and then we are gone.
Our trip out of the flooded area is a bit quicker since it is late and there is a lot less traffic. Once again we receive a free pass because of our escort and because of our mission.
Once we arrive back at the police station it is decided that we will all meet somewhere to eat. We are all thirsty, hungry, and tired. The restaurant of choice is Jolibees. This is the Philippines version of KFC.
When I receive my order and start to eat, I can’t help but wonder how easy it is for me to take for granted that I have the ability to eat anything that I want at anytime but that there were going to be many mouths tonight that would not be fed. Even though I finish my meal, it seems that it is a little harder to swallow than usual.
P.S. - At some point during the relief mission in Pasig a woman handed me a note. The note had her name and phone number. On it she stated that her daughter had scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and asks for help. When I meet Dr. Pipo Bundoc the next day and ask him if he could help he tells me “I can do this”. Once again our friends in the Philippines will come through.
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The work of Physicians for Peace to improve third world health care is vital to those in need. Find out more about our medical missions in the Philippines and how you can make a medical donation to support our international health programs there - visit www.physiciansforpeace.org
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