The final weeks in our community will forever be an indelible memory of the ups and downs of our 4-year affair with our community. These memories will be records that will occupy a special place in each of our hearts. As our time dwindle to days, to weeks, to hours and to seconds, the memories of a simple lifestyle, the mountainous landscapes, the glorious cerulean sea, will linger in our memories with fresh emotions. As we bid farewell, it marks as a day of excitement as we proceed to our respective way of life. 

 

As excitement grows, a tinge of melancholy follows. Is saying goodbye an occasion to celebrate? As things come full circle, the attachment that was fostered through the years, in our not so humble opinion, can never be broken. Let’s just say that one’s goodbye is an affectionate way of saying “we will miss you dearly and remember you fondly.” 

 

In the brief months we spent here the past 4 years, it dawned with the thoughts of community projects, cooking duties, chores and presentations. But as the sun sets to welcome the dawn of departure, each of us will have different kinds of thoughts and burdens. The familiar site of playful bickering, laughter and food trips will only be reminisced while catching up over samgyup or milk teas. That is the beauty of life – to meet, to love and then to depart. 

 

Over the 4 recent years, we met amazing, dedicated and generous people who we’ve grown to care deeply. Operating during a pandemic, the same people showed compassion and dedication in spite of the rigorous demands of our projects. The BHWs we fondly called our “Ates” made our stay more comfortable than we can ask for. They stood true to being the ones we can always call for assistance without asking anything in return. 

 

We can only hope that the contributions we made, pioneered and attempted to sustain, can last as long as it could. The brief stay we had in the last 4 years shaped each one of us in becoming men and women for others. To embody cura personalis and MAGIS, these exemplify the spirit of true Ateneans. As we stand at the pinnacle of this triumphant end, let it be known that whatever we did was but a small blot in our community’s canvass. No matter how far we’ve come, no matter how many projects we pioneered, none of those matters. All that matters is the willingness to believe that something, no matter how minute, is better than nothing and that something made all the difference in one person’s life. In the same way, it made us realize that those who have the least have the most for us to learn from. These evidently told us the truth – that oftentimes the world is unkind, that life is indeed unfair, but to see life’s significance amidst these repercussions, makes us realize that life is worth fighting for.

 

As we take one last bow, once again, this is the barangay kneeling before Dona Josefa to the north, sheltered by cozy Nipaan to the south, worships Santo Rosario to the East and bathed by the sun’s rays from the Sea of Sulu to its west, this has been Barangay Motibot. Pro Deo Et Patria: in the service of God and Country.

ANDREI P. SAN LUIS

LEVEL IV, ADZU-SOM

"Every good thing must come to an end." 

4 years of dedication and service would not be possible without the presence and support of our Barangay Council, Barangay Health Center Team, Motibot Elementary School, and most especially, the residents of Brgy. Motibot.

May we impart new knowledge and skills emphasizing the importance of health to each and everyone. We can only hope that the contributions we made, pioneered and attempted to sustain, can last as long as it could. 

Padayong ang atong pag-paningkamot para sa mahimsog na kinabuhi para sa tanan sa Barangay Motibot! 

Kinasing-kasing namong pag-pasalamat sa inyong tanan. ❤️ 

Satellite comes from the Latin word “satellit” which means attendant. Hence, the Satellite Health Station serves as a beacon to attend and provide remedy to residents of uphill sectors around Barangay Motibot. 

The distance and rough terrains of the barangay poses a challenge for acquisition of medical services. So instead of them going to health centers, Team Motibot, with the initiative of our stakeholders, thought of bringing the health center TO THEM; to date, health services available include NCD-risk screening, blood pressure and BMI monitoring. With our devoted BHWs, it will be a venue for the provision of initial response for medical emergencies.

This initiative significantly reduced travel and time spent and the risk of further injury due to travel be prevented. To a further extent, it also eased the burden of 2 of our BHWs who have to trek from their homes in these uphill sectors from going down and back up to tirelessly render their duties to their residents.

Padayon ang atong pag-paningkamot, Motibot!

High prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure  has been the no.1 identified health problem in barangay Motibot. In the 2018 barangay-wide survey it is the leading cause of illness and the statistics revealed an alarming high no. Of hypertension-related mortality in the barangay. 

Efforts to decrease the prevalence of hypertension in the barangay have included increasing  knowledge and awareness of the public and BHWs, equipping the BHWs in the screening of hypertension, and encouraging the general public to adhere to treatment. These efforts were solidified by the strong partnership with the BHS and Barangay Council. 

In 4 years, Significant progress has been made in increasing the awareness, detection, adherence to pharmacologic and nonphharmacologic management, and control of hypertension. A satellite health station has also been established in Upper Motibot in order to cater to those who  live far from the health station.

The general objective which is to decrease the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension by 25% in congruence to the SDG has been achieved! 

The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital- Mark Hyman. 

Keep going Motibot! Padayon sa pagpaningkamot aron makab-ot ang kaayuhan diri sa Barangay Motibot.

APPLE ROSE B. CALUD

LEVEL IV, ADZU-SOM

Team Motibot, together with the Barangay Health Workers, Barangay Health Nurse, and Barangay Officials, have been committed to improve the Health Emergency Response System in Barangay Motibot. The main objective is to immediately respond and render basic first aid during medical emergencies. In an effort to realize this vision, various plans and activities were made through the years.

Core team was established and trained with Basic Life Support and First Aid last January 2020. The core team are equipped and responsible for the immediate response during medical emergencies. Emergency hotlines were posted in key areas in the Barangay. Through this, citizens of Motibot will be able to directly call and seek help for immediate transport.

Barangay Health Emergency Response Team was finally ordained last July 2021 with the assistance of our Barangay Health Nurse, Barangay Health Workers, and Barangay Officials.

Since then, supplies and equipment were already procured including a transport vehicle, stretcher, oxygen tank, neck brace, splints, bandages, cravats, and first aid kits. The council has committed to the maintenance of medical supplies and equipments which they have included in their annual budget. 

To date, the BHERT is functional and have been addressing medical emergencies such as hypertension-related emergencies, vehicular accidents, pregnancy-related emergencies, COVID-related emergencies, and others. They provide first aid management and immediate transport to appropriate referral facilities.

In addition to this, the Satellite Health Station was inaugurated to cater to the residents of Upper Motibot. Services are made available for sectors 6 and 7 to ensure that health is not only for an exclusive few. 

In the last 4 years, the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team, is now equipped with the necessary training, equipment and certification to assert lifesaving measures around the barangay. As we come full circle, it redefined purpose as a calling – a calling to serve and to save.

SAKUR T. IBRAHIM

LEVEL IV, ADZU - SOM

“WHEN YOU REFUSE TO REUSE, IT’S THE EARTH YOU ABUSE”

-VICHAROO

Solid waste management is a universal issue that matters to every single person in the world. And with over 90% of waste openly dumped or burned in low-income countries, it is the poor and most vulnerable who are disproportionately affected. Solid waste management was really a problem in barangay Motibot, until it became a serious issue to the people, the council took action on it, on its process of attaining proper solid waste management it was a bumpy road with an uphill and downhill battle that they have to face. 

January 2019, we were immersed in barangay Motibot and found out that improper solid waste management was really a problem they’re trying to combat. The council did some adaptation of ordinance and resolution, became active in promoting proper waste segregation in each household and educating each household that segregation should start at home, did several sectoral clean-up and coastal clean-up. The group did waste analysis computation of waste in barangay Motibot and found out that most of the waste collected were biodegradable, followed by recyclable, residuals then special trash. In the process of evaluation, we were successful at first as it is reflected by the award received by the council for the being the 2^nd in Solid waste management in Sindangan next to barangay Upper Inuman.

Long-term effects should be the primary goal of solid waste management, as discipline should be instilled in each household member and practice should start at home. Repeated health teaching, constant reminder, giving of IEC materials, posting of IEC in designated areas in Barangay Motibot, several surprise visit and inspection, construction of pet holding facility and trash bin out of recycled bottled water, several coastal and sectoral clean-up and involving the stakeholders are just some of the things that can help, support and promote solid waste management, but in the end we still need to target the roots which is what the group is doing, educating the youth in Barangay Motibot and in Motibot Elementary School, doing several and repeated health teaching in each member of the households in each sector, pointing out the importance of proper waste management, and it should start at home and parents should be engaged and start teaching their kids the importance of proper segregation and how it can impact the environment. 

Numbers of households practicing proper waste segregation increased from 90.56% in 2019 to 97% in 2022, households practicing composting from 48.23% in 2019 to 95% in 2022, households practicing recycling from 5.12% in 2019 to 76% in 2022 and non-practice of open burning from 85.83% in 2019 to 96% in 2022. In general, the group were able to achieve and increase the number of households practicing proper solid waste management from 35% to 92.91% based on the definition of Solid Waste Management in Barangay Motibot by the year 2022.

NURULLAJI A. AGUIL

LEVEL IV, ADZU - SOM

    Due to the pandemic, all of the team's community health programs experienced issues during their transition to remote implementation. The same is true for the responsible pet ownership program. The program was one of those that the group unanimously decided should be terminated due to difficulties caused by its remote implementation and the significant change in priorities and response that the Pandemic imposed on the entire Municipality of Sindangan.

    Some effects were seen in the barangay even after the program was ended and no further interventions were started. When other community projects required sector by sector evaluation in the previous two community rotations, pets were seen on leashes, and some pet owners were seen using the pet cards distributed in 2021 and during the barangay's 2021 pet vaccination. Additionally, all of the pre-test participants (2020) passed the post-test when the post-test evaluation was conducted. No cases of rabies or dog/cat bites have been reported. All of these effects were seen even throughout the last two community rotation of the group even there were no additional intervention since the project's end in 2021.

    Soft copies of the pet cards and the barangay Pet registry were given to the barangay council and the barangay health center. According to the Department of Agriculture Municipality of Sindangan, they have a sufficient budget for anti-rabies vaccine but are having difficulty obtaining them due to a lack of supply, so the barangay still did not have a community-wide pet vaccination for this year. Pet cards and registries, on the other hand, can be used to track anti-rabies pet vaccinations in the barangay.

    These were the group's actions prior to termination, the team's actions hoped to have an impact on moving the community towards the project's long-term goal in the future.

    These were some of pet owners of the barangay and were using the pet cards for their pets seen on the groups last 2 community rotation on the barangay. 

  

  

 

 

ROLDAN F. LEGAL JR.

LEVEL IV, ADZU - SOM