A. Project Site The project area is a place called Sitio Karahome in Barangay San Isidro, San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. It is located high up in the mountains, and is best accessed by jeep. The roads are muddy, steep and narrow, making them unsuitable for buses. The lands used to belong to the Dumagat tribe, but they allowed the current occupants to build houses there. Many of the people came from provinces in the Visayas like Samar, and many of them lived in Metro Manila before relocating. Around 1987, the occupants were forced to leave, their land taken over by rich landowners.
It wasn’t until around 1998 that the lands were returned to them. It is difficult to get an accurate number of the residents, especially because their houses are somewhat scattered about, but there are probably around 100-200 of them. Most families have an average of four children, and some have as many as six or seven. These children make up about 70-80% of the population. Most of the parents are in their late 20’s or early 30’s, and there are few people who are past their middle 40’s. Agriculture is their main source of livelihood, rice being their main product.
Many of the inhabitants also take on odd jobs whenever the opportunity arises, though this does not account for much of their earnings. A few inhabitants raise animals, but for their own food. They do not have the resources to raise animals commercially. Many of them also grow plants like papayas, bananas and kamoteng kahoy which they bring to Manila to sell. Most inhabitants have at least an elementary education. All the children study at least up to Grade 6 because there is an elementary school nearby. However, not all the children study in high school because of the great distance.
The populace manage to acquire everyday needs like rags and soap and the like from the local sari-sari store, but things like clothes, utensils, furniture and medicine are scarce. B. Implementing Group The project will be implemented by Section A65 of the NSTP=CWTS class facilitated by Mr. Al Obre. II. RATIONALE A. Context of Project We are conducting this project as part of our NSTP-CWTS class, and we are working under COSCA. The goal of our project is to provide affordable medicines and medical supplies to the inhabitants of the community.
Our strategies include: · Finding an affordable supplier of the more commonly used medicines, especially those that do not require prescriptions. · Provide the community with common medical supplies like thermometers, alcohol, bandages and the like. · Transport enough medicines and supplies to the community to last for an extended period of time. · Provide instructions to the community on how to diagnose illnesses and how to use and ration the supplies. · If possible, provide adequate training to the community members in basic first aid. B. Need for the Project.
During our exposure to the community, we found out that only the most general medicines were readily available. There is a doctor who visits the community, but she only comes once a month. The doctor’s clinic is also a great distance away, making it difficult to travel there whenever the need arises. Sometimes they also do not know what illnesses their children have, so they do not know how to treat them. Our project aims to address this need by making medicines for a wider range of illnesses available and by teaching them how to treat common illnesses and injuries without need of a doctor.
We also noticed that the people in the community are thrifty in rationing their food, so they would probably be careful when taking medicines too. This increases the chance that the medicines will last longer. They are also good at learning skills like woodwork and fishing, so it should not be difficult to teach them basic first aid. The difficulty will be in finding suitable instructors for that. III. OBJECTIVES The Project hopes to be mutually beneficial to the community and to us as students of De La Salle University. Hence, 1. Towards the development of the community, the project hopes to: a.
Provide affordable medical supplies which will address a variety of their basic needs b. Enable them to handle common illnesses and injuries without relying on outside aid c. Help maintain the health of the community, especially the children 2. For our own self-development, we are implementing this project to: a. Develop our planning and organizational skills b. Learn to anticipate the needs of others c. Develop compassion and understanding of our fellow man I. FACTORS AFFECTING PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AS STUDENTS Strengths Enthusiasm Cooperation within the class.
Ability to empathize and communicate with the community Weaknesses Lack of seriousness Tardiness Lack of experience with the type of project IN THE COMMUNITY Opportunities Trust between the inhabitants Willingness of the inhabitants to cooperate Inhabitants’ desire to improve their lives Threats Lack of education Distance of the community Preoccupation with earning enough money for basic needs V. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES A. Students of NSTP-CWTS section A65 Our responsibility is to plan this project and to anticipate all the needs that should be addressed.
We are also committed to carrying out this project to the best of our ability. B. Class facilitator (Mr. Al Obre) Mr. Obre’s role is to guide us in the planning of our project and to make sure we understand its importance. C. Interpeoples Exchange (IPEX) IPEX’s role is to introduce us to the community and to assist us in communicating with and understanding the needs of the community. I. PROJECT SCHEMES A. General Mechanisms Kinds of Medicine Vitamin supplements, cough medicines, medicines for flu, diarrhea, headaches, sore throat, sore eyes and other common ailments.
Kinds of Medical Supplies Thermometers, alcohol, bandages, ointments, eyedroppers Storage The supplies can be stored in or beside the community school. It is a centralized place which the whole community has access to. Purchasing of Supplies Affordable supplies can be purchased at Mercury drug store, though we will canvass for better bargains. Age Group Teenagers and parents Subject Matter Basic first aid and diagnosis of common illnesses; proper dosages and application of medicines Selection of Participants Willing volunteers Ratio of Tutor/Tutee One tutor for every five people.