UP medical students help QC barangay get back on its feet
By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines–These fraternity “brods” are leading the way in showing what true brotherhood is all about.
For the past several days now, members of the Phi Kappa Mu, a fraternity based at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine campus on Pedro Gil Street in Manila, have been juggling their time between studying and helping victims get back on their feet from the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy.”
The medical fraternity of doctors and medical students has been conducting relief operations particularly in Barangay Bagong Silangan, a low-lying area near the boundary of Quezon City and San Mateo, Rizal province, and among the hardest-hit communities in Metro Manila.
Apart from relief operations, Phi Kappa Mu members are also busy conducting medical missions in Barangay Bagong Silangan and in other affected areas as well.
According to Dr. Andro Fernandez, an anesthesiologist who has been leading the fraternity in conducting the mission since 2004, when Aurora and Quezon provinces were ravaged by a series of typhoons, they chose Barangay Bagong Silangan because it was, at that time, the “least served” area.
“Initially, that particular area did not draw much attention because relief efforts of the government and other organizations were concentrated on Marikina and Cainta (Rizal). But the following day, news reports said more than 30 people died there because of Ondoy,” he said.
Apart from the relief operations, Phi Kappa Mu members are now also busy conducting medical missions in Barangay Bagong Silangan and in other affected areas as well.
Images of grief
“Seeing the images of grief on TV, we decided to focus on that area,” the doctor added, saying the sight of coffins sharing space with evacuees at the multi-purpose center was what struck him most.
A day prior to the relief operations, Fernandez inspected the relocation site at the barangay and saw first-hand the urgent need for basic necessities.
Fernandez later led more than 30 medical students composed of fraternity brothers and sorority sisters from the Phi Lambda Delta Sorority in distributing blankets and goods to 200 families relocated at the multipurpose center. Priority, however, was given to families of those who died after being swept away by floodwaters.
On the same day, the group also distributed relief goods to Gawad Kalinga (GK) Brookside, home to at least 800 families whose houses were submerged in water.
“The GK site was a badly-hit community. The floodwaters were almost roof level in most of the houses. But many of the residents returned to their homes despite the mud and the terrible stench from the combined smell of floodwater, mud and sewers,” Fernandez said. “This was precisely what I wanted to show the brods and the “sis,”“ he added.
Apart from relief goods and blankets, the fraternity also prepared and distributed cooked food to the families.
“We brought steamed rice and boiled eggs because the people in Barangay Bagong Silangan could not cook as everything was wet and most of their appliances were not working,” said Fernandez, whose wife and three children also helped in the relief efforts.
According to Bayani Pasco Jr., the fraternity”s superior exemplar, the funds used for the relief operations were sourced from the local Phi Kappa MU Alumni Association and Phi International, a nonstock, nonprofit organization based in California and composed of fraternity members residing in North America and elsewhere in the world.
Donations from overseas
“We mobilized our brothers practicing all over the country and the world, and donations started pouring in,” said Pasco. “The fraternity was initially able to raise $5,000 for our relief efforts. We”re still receiving more pledges.”
Pasco added that part of the money raised will also be shared with members who were also affected by the floods.
The frat official admitted that their group faced various challenges in the course of conducting the relief operations.
“Our first challenge was how to get much-needed funds. Fortunately, many responded to the call, especially our members abroad,” he said. “Another challenge was how we were supposed to prioritize the recipients because no matter how big an amount we are able to raise, we knew it would not be enough.”
The fraternity also had to contend with the chaos caused by kibitzers during the distribution of goods.
“There were hundreds of evacuees but there were also thousands in the area who were nakikiusyoso lang (only kibitzers),” Fernandez said. “When we visited the area for the first time, we heard victims who were complaining because they usually got nothing, while those who benefited were the ones not affected at all by the calamity.”
“That was my initial fear”that what we could share would benefit those who do not really deserve it,” Fernandez added, saying that as soon as they got to the area, some 200 people had already lined up, waiting for the relief packs to be distributed.
“So what I did was to ask them, “Who among you have been bereaved”“ No one answered and eventually, they left,” he said.
That is the reason why the fraternity directly approached bereaved families at the evacuation center, he said.
In the case of the GK community, the group thought it was more efficient to course all donated goods to the GK organization.
“It was more organized at the GK site. And with GK in charge of the distribution, resources were optimized with the goods equally distributed to all families,” Fernandez added.
While he is thankful that the fraternity was given the opportunity to help, Fernandez said he wished they could offer a long-term solution to the problem.
Barangay Bagong Silangan has become a repository of practically all illegal settlers from Metro Manila whose houses had been demolished, he noted.
“Where will the government relocate the residents” Certainly not in areas where those with means reside. Bagong Silangan is a low-lying area that is not even safe for its residents,” Fernandez lamented.
“We can give relief operations today, next week, next month, but these are temporary measures, and the conditions in the area remain. Who knows what will happen when the next typhoon comes around”“ he added. “I hope families living in critical areas like Bagong Silangan are given a more permanent solution to prevent the loss of more lives during natural or manmade disasters.”
Still, Fernandez said he was glad the fraternity was around to help.
“We felt we had to do something for the victims, knowing that the government could only give so much,” he said.