RIMM gave P200 cash each to the 100 enlisted women to buy food. Pre-screening by FC excluded 15 women due to the following reasons: (1.) had engaged in sex 3 days prior to the pre-screening, (2.) positive test result of pregnancy, (3.) still in the middle of injectable contraception.

The majority of the women were grateful to avail of the implant. The insertion of the bendable match-stick like implant under the skin of the upper arm was painless and it allegedly prevents pregnancy for 3 years. Some young teen below 17 also received the implant.

PE Raymund manged to get 4 indigent women from Usting in Luksuhin to avail of the free implant and Honorary Member Carlito managed the crowd control of the event.

IPP Raymund reported providing financial assistance and working with Friendly Care to perform free ligation to hundreds of women in hospitals in Cavite and Tagaytay. He also relayed statistics on high Teenage Pregnancy in the Philippines. Power point presentation showed many photos of ligation activities and Teenage Pregnancy Forums in Alfonso and Tagaytay.

Honorary Member Jun showed photos of his emergency rescue operations involving many vehicular accidents.

Liezel shared her in-dept insights on issues on the high pregnancy rate in the Philippines and her active involvement during our Teenage Pregnancy Forums.

At the end of the event Rotary Club of Manila members told us that it was an eye-opener for them that family planning is key to prevent over population in the Philippines.

RIMM gave the check donation of P10,000 through Ms. Madz (in orange T-shirt) to aid post-surgery medication cost of FriendlyCare. She issued an Official Receipt of the said donation.

Ms. Madz said FriendlyCare aims to provide its ligation services in the entire Province of Cavite. Ms. Madz told us that FriendlyCare gives financial incentives to the Barangay health worker for every successful ligation referred.

Dr. Liza Capupus (in blue-white blouse) who is a City Health Officer of Tagaytay, strongly supports Family Planning.

Dr. Capupus mentioned the following reasons why the uneducated sector in the Philippines remain in utter poverty and continuing to rise in alarming rate:

• they do not believe or refuse in the usage of any method of contraception
• they believe having more children will help in earning money to put food
  on the table each day; they are lucky if they can have one meal in a day.
• strong influence of the Catholic Church

She said USAID has observed that usage of pills & condoms being provided for free in health centers were mainly used by middle income sector and not by the poorest sector who needs it most which was USAID’s main target. That is part of the reason why USAID has diminished its assistance to the Department of Health. There are now lesser supplies of contraception available for free at health centers.

She also said the Department of Health has trained selected professional health workers to be resource speakers on a subject called “Adolescent Health” wherein teenage pregnancy is discussed in the said subject. There are modules in the program that the trained resource speakers follow as guidelines during the seminar. She assigns her resource speakers on voluntary basis to conduct it at local high schools in Tagaytay. The City Health Head Nurse of Tagaytay will conduct the Adolescent Health seminar at Tagaytay National High School.

She suggested that we approach Dr. Manzo to invite a trained resource speaker on Adolescent Health from her department to participate in our Teenage Pregnancy Forum at Taywanak National High School in Alfonso on Sept, 18.

After attending the Alfonso Women’s Month Celebration an impromptu joint meeting was held at RIMM headquarters attended by Cavite provincial councilor Irene who also is the current president of Rotary Club of Makati Benita (District 3830) and Alfonso Municipal councilor Carol who also is our club’s honorary Rotarian.

Irene suggested further organizing and disciplining the residents of the squatter camp in barangay Gulod, Mangas II in Alfonso, Cavite, taking turns family by family to clean and sanitize the area which was started by RIMM. She said she would bring the issue to the provincial council and study what they can do, hopefully to donate (additional) separate toilets for men and women at least. A separate toilet for men and women was already donated with the help of the local Girl Scout club with the squatter camp men digging the required two holes but the situation is still inadequate for the more than 25 families using them.

In addition to discussing the conditions of the “Samar” squatter camp which have become somewhat more deplorable with the influx of more and more families many other topics were discussed such as family planning, organic farming, and self-sustainability in community service. Irene said that she would invite RIMM to join IMPACT (Innovations and Multi-Sectorial Partnerships to Achieve Control of TB). She has the same visions as RIMM that TB is still underestimated in this country and needs to be eradicated as TB spreads through the air while Rotary’s flagship project polio does not and has earned enough attention and support by now.

RIMM BCP Casey and PE Raymund delivered a van load of bundled firewood. Municipal councilor Carol (Honorary RIMM club Rotarian Carol) had invited Cavite provincial councilor Irene (Pres. of Rotary Club of Makati Buendia in District 3830) to come along and inspect the site to provide her input on achieving long-term solutions.