Written By Phoebe Coloma, CBN Asia
Barangay East Villaflores in Maayon, Capiz seems to have fully recovered from the effects of Typhoon Yolanda. But if one takes a closer look at the community and talks to the people, one discovers a different story.
“The community doesn’t have an onsite doctor or nurse. If the people need medical attention, they have to go to the municipal health center in town which is an hour away and only has one doctor and one nurse to service the medical needs of 32 villages,” reveals Emmylou Dumagpi, Maayon’s Municipal Health Nurse.
And so when the people learned that Operation Blessing will have a medical mission at the local elementary school, they flocked to the site and seized the opportunity to see a doctor. One of those who came was Jerry.
Jerry lost his house after Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines. He tried to start over by going back to work but his foot was run over by a truck on his first day of work. He went to the hospital to have his foot treated. But when an Operation Blessing doctor saw him at the medical mission a month after his accident, his foot was still swollen and infected.
At the medical mission, Jerry’s wound was properly cleaned and dressed. He was also given a cleaning solution and creams for his wound and antibiotics for his infection.
“He could lose his leg if the wound infection had spread all over his body or if it had turned into gangrene,” says Diane Aquino, the nurse who attended to Jerry.
Jerry was just one of the 347 individuals that Operation Blessing attended to that day.
“We are very grateful to Operation Blessing for making the effort to go to our village and help us. We really appreciate all the medicines and the relief goods you have given. Thank you, thank you very much,” enthuses Marilou Betita, the President of East Villaflores’ Civilian Volunteer Health Workers.
To date, Operation Blessing has already served over 420,000 individuals in their simultaneous relief and rehabilitation efforts, medical mission, trauma and prayer counseling in the areas worst-hit by Yolanda.
Help Operation Blessing help more Typhoon Yolanda survivors. You too can be a part of this humanitarian effort.
Partner with Operation Blessing now by calling or texting these numbers: (+632) 477-7806/ 0939-9215543/ 0922-8036922/ 0917-5812603. You can also like and share Operation Blessing’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/obphil, or follow OB on Twitter, @obphil.
