TWENTY medical scholars of The First Gentleman Foundation, Inc. (FGFI) passed the medical board last year and were now working in the barrios. The scholars come from the University of the Philippines (43); Pamantasan Lungsod ng Maynila (52); and Western Visayas State University (5).
Juris Umali Soliman, president of the foundation, told me 20 new graduates were reviewing for the board this year. The rest are finishing their fourth and fifth years in medical school.
Put up by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo in 2003, the foundation has been able to attract young people willing to work in the rural areas. Fully supported by private funds, the foundation doesn?t only give tuition, but a medical bag for each doctor and the needed medicines in the barrios as well. Juris was able to interview some new doctors whom she referred to as ?hope of the country.?
Walking 7 hours
Juris didn?t realize how far the barrios were until this young doctor told her that he has to walk seven hours every day to be able to reach his assigned area.
Dr. Winnie Umali who is assigned in San Quentin, Abra said, ?Being a barrio doctor entails a lot of sacrifice. San Quentin, Abra is a sleepy town composed of six barangay (villages) of about 6,000 people. Some barangay can only be reached by boat.?
Winnie, from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), is one of the first 20 medical scholars of FGFI?s Bagong Doktor Para sa Bayan (BDB) project. This first batch of BDB scholars is now part of Batch 25 of the Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) program of the Department of Health, deployed to remote areas for two years.
Leaving a sick mother
Another barrio doctor, Dr. Romelei Camiling, had to leave her mother who was diagnosed with cancer, to her sister and Juris to fulfill her commitment as in Agutaya, Palawan.
Last month, she and her fiancée Arvin Jay Alfonso had a beach wedding in Agutaya. Repaying her for her sacrifices, the people made preparations for their wedding, including the bridal gown.
In the middle of conflict
Dr. Lemuel Non, who placed eighth in the 2008 medical board exams, related how shocked he was when he arrived in Kiamba, Saranggani. Hostilities between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke out. More than 800 indigent patients, mostly from the T?boli tribe in three evacuation centers needed medical attention.
At the risk of being kidnapped, Lemuel accepted the challenge. He streamlined healthcare delivery, mobilized men and women much older than him, educating them about sanitation and malaria prevention, among others.
?Nothing, not the books in medical school, prepared me for this. It was so heartwarming to see that just my presence calmed the people in the evacuation centers,? Lemuel said.
