mission2A
mission2B
international
 mission2c
remarks
|
| AGUMAN MEDICAL MISSION - 2000 It's a labor of love, as signified by these hearts follows you and your cursor around! |
 |
| by ERNEST C. TURLA |
The Aguman Capampangan NW, USA, no
doubt the most popular Kapampangan
association in the whole wide world
(status claim substantiated by internet
surfing), has done it again! For the
second time since 1996 when the young
club was organized during a picnic at
Oaks Park in the City of Roses (Portland,
Oregon, to the uninitiated), it was able
to send a successful medical mission
to the Philippines. Though it was rather
uncommon for a mere social club to commit
itself to such a venture usually
undertaken only by medical societies,
it was nevertheless able to do it
with flying colors! Unlike in 1998
when it was able to serve only three
towns (Bacolor, Magalang and San Fernando),
this time around, with its $75 thousand
worth of medicines, it was able to reach
out 10 towns (with 13 missions), viz.: Lubao,
Masantol, Guagua, Magalang, Sta. Rita, San
Fernando and Angeles City - all in Pampanga;
Concepcion and Tarlac City - both in
Tarlac; and Aringay, La Union.
Furthermore, we have a larger delegation
which made the mission a little easier,
and more fun. Led by the Medical Mission
chairman Rodolfo Alejandrino and the
Aguman president Ernest C. Turla, the
following people made up the "regulars"
in the delegation: Angie Turla, Frida
Alejandrino, Cris Yumul, Mary Balino,
Marita Villanueva, Art Villanueva and
Carmelita Michaelous. Dr. Paul Kahn
(a volunteer), Simeon Mamaril (an honorary
member), Hermes Mallari, Monette Mallari,
Luring Ocampo, Ellen Ramirez, Zeny Pacis
and Jerry Pacis (a special member)
were able to participate in the
distribution of medicine in just their
own hometowns. In all the places we
went to, we were cordially welcomed
and well-received, and cooperation
among the townsfolk was very
remarkable. Tables were set up for
volunteer doctors, and for nurses,
midwives and laymen who helped in the
preparation and dispensing of medicine.
An average of about 250 patients per
location, to my estimate, showed up
for consultation - a turnout that
matched our expectation and fulfilled
our objectives. Lavish feasts, as a way
of expressing gratitude to our charity,
always climaxed each visit to a place,
which usually ended at noontime.
We always went home full (we now all
probably gained a lot of weight eating
lechon and other Filipino delicacies in
every point of destination), and
satisfied due to the enthusiasm and the
expressions of all the people around us.
In some towns, like in Magalang and
Concepcion, we travelled to far-flung
barrios, the boondocks, along rugged,
dusty, lonely rural roads planted to
sugar cane on each side - really scary
at times especially when we would
meet a bunch of mean-looking people.
Fortunately though, in those
towns where the mission took us to the
outskirts rather than to the plaza or
poblacion, it was relatively peaceful,
and it was a "change of phase" to most
of us. If there was fear and anxiety
that really enveloped us, it was on the
airplane (China Airlines) on our trip
to the Philippines. During the first
five hours or so, the plane was shaking
intermittently, with sometimes just
half a minute of letup, and then it
would shake again. We had never gone
through something like that, and it
really scared the daylight out of us!
Marita, Angie, Frida, Cris, Carmelita,
Rudy, Ernie Infante, Pol Ocampo Jr. and I
were all on that plane, and I asked
Marita to lead the rosary while other
passengers around seemed unmindful of
what was going on and were eating their
meal! The only worry we had while we
were in the Philippines conducting the
medical mission was about Mary's prolonged
absence! There just must have been
something about Mary! She had left for
the Philippines over a week ahead of us
and had informed us that she would be
going to Davao to do some legal battle
with the overseer of her business there
or something. However, she did not show
up nor contact us during our first ten
days, and someof us were afraid she might
have met foul play or was "salvaged"
- to use a Filipino slang. Thanks God,
we later learned from
her relatives whom we called in Tarlac,
that she was alive and in fact flying back
to Manila then. She would later say that
she had "sent us a telegram" but which
we just failed to receive! By the way,
I wonder if we still use the telegraph
these days! In Pampanga, in Manila, and
probably elsewhere, cell phones and "text"
phones or whatever they are called, are
ubiquitous! But anyway, as far as the
medical mission is concerned, it came
out pretty good, and I certainly would
like to thank all the members of the
delegation who all put in their time and
effort to make it successful and be
something to rejoice in remembering!
We had a very good start. When we arrived,
Magalang, the hometown of the Alejandrinos,
was celebrating Magalang Foundation Day.
We were invited to their dinner-dance
and program there (held at the Plaza)
and the Aguman was among the recipients
of community awards conferred on
townsfolks there for various achievements.
We had a picture with Mayor Pastor Guiao
handing me a plaque. A couple of weeks
later, the Aguman again received an
award from the Rotary Club of Magalang!
We were so lucky in so many ways! For
instance, like in our case (me and Angie),
we stayed at the Alejandrino residence
during all our stay in the Philippines
(except for a couple of days when we had
no mission), and we slept in their air
conditioned bedroom, depriving Marie
(Frida's daughter)and her kids of their
room for so many days! Almost everyday
Frida and Angie would go to the market
place just a block away (there is a
proliferation of businesses in Magalang
now - a far cry from how it was the last
time I saw it in the 60's.), and so
everyday the dining table was filled with
all sorts of dishes, ranging from "tugak
betute" to "sisig", from "sinigang" to
"asado". Food was always a-plenty, and
never with courses fewer than eight!
There was always fresh carabao milk,
and fresh lemonade or "buko", and we
had abundant supply of fresh fruit from
orchards that abound around the foot of
Mt. Arayat where Magalang was situated.
And their three helpers who spoke Bicol
(led by the oldest sister, Leny) were
really good cooks and very industrious
household help! It was also nice to meet
all the Alejandrino children, namely,
Marie (she had come back home from Japan),
Rey (he came home with his family from
Connecticut for Christmas), Daisy (and
her husband, Gel, and kids, Jerome, etc.)
Pinky, Ruby and Joel. Rudy, as chairman
of the mission, was, at the same time,
our driver. In all our trips with the
medicine to various points, we used their
large van. It is surprising to see how
fast he learned to drive the "Philippine
way"! I just hope it's easy for him to
switch back later when he returns to the U.S.
All throughout our stay there,
we did not encounter any unpleasant
experience, but more than anything else,
we're thankful in that we have been able
to make it back safely. Flashbacks of
what we did there keep coming back to
my mind as I seem to have had a refresher
course on the place I used to live in -
a really new outlook! For instance, new
and numerous businesses line up the road
in Sta. Cruz, Lubao - a far cry from 32
years ago when we left the country.
There are toll freeways (I know they have
been around for quite a while, but...),
we have an SM in San Fernando which is
teeming with shoppers everyday..., and
the NAIA, though still far behind PDX
which is anyway among the best
international airport in the U.S., has
improved very much in appearance
especially in terms of people congestion.
Now is probably the best time
to visit the country, because during our
stay there, the weather had always been
clear, summer-like like what most
westerners like! And now, for the
day-to-day activities we had in
connection with the medical mission as
entered in my diary:
Dec. 11 - Our daughter, Kathy, gave
us a ride to the airport. Conrad Manuel,
who had rented a U-Haul carried the
"balikbayan" boxes of medicine. Charlie
Paras and Ernie Dabu were also there to
help us check in and help with the
luggage. We flew
to San Francisco and waited there for
6 hours before boarding the China
Airlines bound to the Philippines.
That was at 5 minutes past midnight,
Dec. 12. The delegation members in
this flight were Marita, Cris, Carmelita,
Frida, Rudy, Angie and I. (Dr. Paul
Kahn and his little daughter, Amanda,
were able to catch a flight in Seattle.)
Also aboard were Bert Ocampo's brother
(he was taking his brother's place) and
Ernie Infante.
Dec. 13 - Arrived at the airport in Manila
(after a stopover in Taipei). Greeted
and met by Magalang Mayor Guiao who used to
be a high official in Customs, and by Emil
Alejandrino (brother of Rudy), our
main contact person. Angie and I rode
with the Alejandrinos to their home in
Magalang, and a relative was entrusted
to wait for the vehicle that would take
the boxes to our central location, Magalang.
It was a very warm day, and very humid,
we perspired profusely on account of the
scorching heat, and even when it was
December we had to use electric fans.
In that evening, we attended the awards
ceremonies at the invitation of the
municipal officers. After everybody got
his plaque, including ours, and the
dance was about to begin, we took off.
We were really dead-tired and had not
had a wink of sleep (I just can't sleep
when on a plane; and meals served on the
plane always give me stomachaches).
When we got back to the house, I jumped
into bed and slept like a log. The
medical mission begins:
Dec. 14 - We hit the road
early, because we had a long trip ahead
of us. Our first day was in Aringay,
La Union. Joel, the youngest of the
Alejandrino children, was the one at
the wheel, and his vast driving
experience was utilized. When we got there
at around 8:30, work was already in
full swing. Mr. Mamaril met us and took
us inside the school building whose
classroom partition walls had been
removed thereby rendering more space
to both workers and patients. I was
impressed by the the way it was
conducted - so orderly, so
well-organized - each table had a group
of workers doing this and that,
starting with the physicians on one
end, and the dispensers of medicine on
the other end, and those still busy
sorting out the medicines, at another
table, my gosh, I couldn't believe my
eyes! We practically did not have to
do anything anymore except to watch
and sip refreshments! I really can't
think of any other coordinator who did
a better job of coordinating than Mr.
Mamaril who personally approached
everybody in his hometown to avail
himself and volunteer his expertise.
You'd really see cooperation in action
as demonstrated by everybody there.
One could only hope that all the other
towns would just see it and follow suit!
There was also a microphone there, and
Mr. Mamaril introduced each of us and we
were applauded by the doctors and the
waiting patients! Afterwards, we were
taken to a friend of his who had a large
shed in its large front yard. In it was
a table on which was served a lot of
food in luau style. The mayor (Mayor
Juloya) was also kind enough to visit us
there and eat with us. (I was surprised
to know that he had a sister married to
a neighbor of ours in my hometown, Lubao!)
We all enjoyed our stay there and were
thankful to all the people there,
especially Mr. Mamaril who happens to be
also one of us as an honorary member!
As always, after a medical mission, we
rewarded ourselves with sightseeng
activities. We stopped by in Villasis
on our way home and ate at Marita's
friend there, and then in Manaoag whose
nice cathedral we visited. Rudy, Frida,
Ernie, Angie, Carmelita, Marita, Cris
and Paul. (Marita's daughter from
Olongapo was also with us.) (Later,
Angie and I were taken by Joel to
Masantol to bring our box there, and we
slept at her brother Eto's house. Marita
took over the room where we stayed in at
Frida's. She joked saying that she got
promoted!)
Dec. 15 - 2nd day of the medical
mission. Held at a school in barrio
Sta. Lucia as previously designated by
Masantol Mayor Lacap. The mayor
was there to meet us, and she had with
her a few municipal councilors, including
Councilors Magat and Usi. Dr. Rem
dela Cruz (Angie's niece) and Dr.Kahn
provided consultation work, and
puericulture center nurses, and some
teachers helped in the dispensing of
medicine to the numerous people that
came. George Samson of World Medical
Relief and some friends of his came to
see us and to observe how the mission
was administered and he was very
satisfied with what he saw. When it
was all over, the mayor brought us to
the Home Economics building where
there was a heavy lunch prepared for
us by the municipal council. Shortly
afterwards we dropped by Eto's house
where later on we again ate crab and
other seafood. (Rudy, Frida, Ernie,
Angie, Carmelita, Cris and Paul made
up the team.) Angie and I decided to
stay there, as there was no mission the
following day, and all through the night
there was merrymaking among the
Bonifacio clan that were all invited
there on account of us. (While there the
next day, Eddie, my brother-in-law who
had been a "balik-bayan" for two months,
took us to his 3-story mansion under
construction, and joked that I could
also build a 3 million peso-house like
that if I wanted to! I started musing
on how I would live the life of a
millionaire if I live there with my net
retirement income of one thousand plus
a month which at the current exchange
rate would give me fifty thousand pesos
a month!)
Dec. 17 - Next stop: Sta. Rita (Rudy,
Frida, Ernie, Angie, Carmelita, Luring)
It was then Sunday morning. Angie and I
had left Masantol and had come back to
Magalang the previous day. From there,
we headed for Sta. Rita, by way of the
Olongapo-Gapan Road. The medical work
was done on the stage at the town plaza.
We were met by Mayor Art Salalila who
happened to be a nephew of a classmate
of mine, Roberto Salalila. (Roberto, at
69, still looked strong when I saw him,
and we started talking about the good
old days, etc.) I also met Enrique
Guanlao, a high school teacher who
expressed interest in the Kapampangan
dictionary I had written and which I
brought along, and I gave it to him as
a gift. I forgot the name of the doctor
there, but he provided a lot of
consultation work, and the helpers in
the sorting and dispensation of medicine
also did a good job. We ate a hearty
lunch at the Ocampo's who prepared what
they knew were our favorite dishes! On
our way out of town, some of us bought
"puto seco" and "turrones de casoy" -
the trademark Sta. Rita is noted for.
(In the evening, we visited Josie Henson
at Villa Gloria in Angeles)
Dec. 18 (Monday - Rudy, Frida, Ernie,
Angie, Carmelita) Barangay (barrio)
Balitucan in Magalang. Today, the
mission took us to Balitucan which was
located in the hinterlands. We started
out early, right after the break of dawn.
The barrio road, as in most rural areas,
was unpaved and usually not level and
Rudy had to drive slowly. When we got
there, we were surprised to see a nice,
well maintained chapel, large enough to
call a church and it was there where we
waited. Once the tables
where set by the barrio folk and the
medicine was sorted out and the nurses
from town had arrived, the medical work
started. Mayor Guiao and his entourage
came there to see us, and afterwards,
the barrio captain took everybody to
his home nearby where his family had
made a big preparation for us. The food
was great, and we went home "full",
leaving just as when it started to
drizzle. Back at Frida's, in the evening,
there was a party for her teacher-friends
with whom I was also acquainted,
including Mila Felix Jocson (a retired
school district supervisor) whom I had
not seen in years. (Note: A few days later,
we distributed in this town old clothes
donated by customers of Catrick Cleaners
where Frida works. Tricycle drivers in
Masantol also benefited with the Safeway
promotional caps given by Charlie Catala,
owner of Catrick's.)
Dec. 19 Medical mission in Concepcion,
Tarlac We had two far-flung barrios to
serve and we decided to split our group
into two. Marita, Cris and Dr. Kahn
started out from Concepcion town proper
and headed for Balutu, while Rudy, Frida,
Ernie, Angie and Carmelita started out
in Magalang and headed for San Bartolome.
We took the dirt road taking a short cut
(which was also long), passing several
Magalang barangays (why don't they call
them barrios? Isn't the barangay the
biggest unit of government existing
during the Spanish times?) and joing
the ones in Concepcion. The medical
work was held in a building in the front
of the school. Mr. Lacson, the father
of the barrio captain and who was
a cousin of Frida was there to meet us.
His two sons, Andy (a municipal councilor)
and Dr. Lacson (he has a private practice
in Makati) were there too. With the
barrio oficials there to help us,
things ran smoothly, and before
long, we were through with our work. We
were invited at the Lacson residence
nearby, and we had a hearty lunch. ( We
visited Lubao, my hometown later to
check and see if we could drop their box
so they could start sorting it out but
the mayor was not in. We later visited
my cousins, the Zunigas.)
Dec. 20 - Angeles City (Pandan district)
- Rudy, Frida, Ernie, Angie, Marita
Held at the barangay captain's hall.
Barangay Captain Alejandrino and his
men were there to meet us. Doctors and
nurses were there too, and while medical
work was being done, the barangay captain
invited us to his office for refreshments.
During that time City Mayor Carmelo
Lazatin dropped by to see us. I also got
to meet Charlie Paras' brother who was
the barangay captain of Mirasol Village
and whose patients had been brought
there, as it was a joint venture.
Afterwards, the barangay captain took
us to the convent of Msgr. Joe Lacap
(he had previously invited us for
dinner) and we all enjoyed the great
meal he prepared for us. I had invited
Josie Henson to visit us there and I
introduced her to Fr. Lacap so he would
join our Akademya. Later that day,
Josie gave us a tour at Clark, and to
the museums there, and then to a
restaurant at Mimosa. On our way back,
she took us to the clinic of her husband,
Dr. Ben Henson whom we had the chance
to meet. At night in Magalang, we
attended a teachers retirement program
and dinner. I got to talk with Miling,
a friend I had not seen in years, and
met the supervisor, Mr. Sicat. Mayor
Guiao was also there to grace the
occasion. A really busy day!
Dec. 21 - (Rudy, Frida, Ernie, Angie,
Marita and Art) Lubao. It was held at
a center near the municipal building
and adjacent to the Escolastica Romero
Memorial Hospital. My good friend Mr.
Francisco Cunanan, who was the liasion
officer at the Mayor's Office, was there
to meet us. Soon with the help of some
of the nurses, we were all busy sorting
out the medicine. A doctor (I forgot his
name) took charge of the consultations.
Got to talk with with my cousin Lydia
Barin and with Dr. Corazon Dabu (and her
husband , Boy), who happened to be
Frida's "commadre". When the medical work
was over, the doctor gave us a ride to
the home of Bong Pineda which was
camouflaged by a tall wall and gate and
inside of which looked like shangrila...
For the rest of the diary, click:
 http://maxpages.com/mission2/mission2A |
|