Countdown to Homecoming

by: Ida Marionne Arriola 

It has been 107 days since our unexpected departure from our home in Mirangan, Siay, Zamboanga del Sur. Since then, a hundred days or so were spent educating ourselves about the things we needed to learn for the second semester: trauma, infectious diseases and currently maternal and child health module. During these times, we might have forgotten what life was like in Mirangan as we were caught up with all the hustles and bustles of the city life and coping with the stress that comes along with preparing for exams.

Our community exposure helped us evolve as individuals and as a group, we became a community of people hungry for knowledge which we can apply and bring back to our Mirangan. We were always involved in activities as a group and it helped us get to know each other more and grow as a family. We spent birthdays together, studied for hours on end supporting one another and dozens of lunches spent mostly talking about school stuff but always coming back to stories we had when we were in Mirangan. There was something magnetic about that place that holds us all together in one bond, it inspired us to be better student doctors because people were counting on us. The whole experience made us feel so blessed to have known people who were willing to act in bringing about change healthcare wise or for the overall quality of life that we can all hope for in this lifetime.

Spending birthdays together.

In thirty eight days, we are scheduled to return to our home in Mirangan, I hope to see our friends with the same warmth and acceptance as they have shown us upon our first arrival. On our return, we hope to show the council the data we have collected on our prior exposure and begin to prioritize the problems that need socially acceptable and sustainable solutions.

During our month-long stay, we hope to begin building the foundations of what could be the greatest project of our lives as student doctors. It is the most critical phase among the steps that we are going to take in achieving our goals towards a healthier Mirangan. Knowledge we have acquired during the months that passed can be used to help develop the health team’s capabilities and the council’s point of view regarding health care and the whole system. Building a bridge where these two elements could meet would be our key to the future of Mirangan. We aim to determine what moves these people the most, what in their current situation makes them wish it were different, what needs to be changed and what needs to be done, now.

Studying together.

During our surveys, these questions were asked frequently, some residents, to our dismay, are used to the ways of their world that they no longer have it in them to demand for something better, something which every citizen had rights to and I am not just talking about health because education is of much importance as well. The customs and traditions of the people that dictate who they are as a part of an ethnic group or a tribe may or may not get in the way of planning for progress and it remains to be a stumbling block for our group to be able to work towards development without having to defy the values that they pass on from generation to generation. And though it’s a long shot, it would be better if we could work around these traditions through strengthening what is good for the overall health of the people and educating them about certain practices that are unhealthy and which could be modified to still fit their way of living. These and a lot more issues would then be discussed with the people, the council and the health care team to ensure that every element in this plan is well represented and to guarantee that no group feels left out in any way.

Though presented with a very diverse set of people and challenges we chose to perceive as opportunities, a wave of excitement brought about by some degree of uncertainty when we return continually circulates through our system. A lot of hopes and ideas are stirred by this excitement and we hope that it brings out the brilliant initiatives because the outcome of what we hope to begin investing on our return lies not only in the passion we all have for Mirangan. The endless possibilities that lure us into this journey should be shared with the people who live and breathe Mirangan, it is after all, a place they call home. The group knows it would all be worth it if even after we have left this community, activities and programs continue to be implemented year in and year out. And so, it is with a hopeful heart and an open mind that I end this entry with the dreams of sharing with you the future that beholds the beautiful uncharted territory that is, Mirangan.