Most of my EV activities are focused on hepatitis B, but I thought I would blog about another huge part and passion of my life: Project Philippines. In the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to be a member of approximately 15 college students from around the world (Stanford, Harvard, a medical school in Malaysia, etc.). Together, we traveled to Cebu City in the central Visayan region of the Philippines to establish a gastrointestinal worm campaign.
Gastrointestinal worms? Most people in the developed world are not even aware that worms are a problem worldwide. Case in point: I once called the Save the Children (which is a prominent children's health NGO) office in Washington, D.C. to set up an appointment with their school and nutrition programs director, and the receptionist said, "Worms? I thought only dogs and cats got worms." Well, 2 billion people worldwide are infected with gastrointestinal worms. In other words, 1/3 of the world's population has been infected with GI worms at one point in their lives. While there isn't high mortality associated with GI worm infection, the level of morbidity is astounding. They cause anemia, malnutrition, intestinal blockage and bleeding, growth retardation, and impaired cognitive development. Furthermore, there are the "invisible" effects; numerous studies have shown that infection with GI worms causes school absenteeism and decreased wages in the future. The tragedy of the situation is that these infections can be treated with a simple pill taken every six months. And the pill only costs 2 cents.
In the city of Cebu, 7 out of 10 children are infected with GI worms. In the barangay (a district) of Alaska Mumbaling, 88% of the children are infected with GI worms. Project Philippines was established to launch a GI worm prevention campaign that would ensure that the children of Alaska receive de-worming tablets and the information necessary to engage in preventive behaviors. I was a team member in 2008 and was one of the project's co-leaders in 2009. Our project was three-pronged: (1) the development and delivery of a health curriculum about gastrointestinal worm prevention to 3000 students at Alaska Elementary; (2) a community workshop for 200 adults about GI worm prevention and treatment; and (3) leadership workshops for local high school students. For me, the unique aspect of our project has always been the leadership workshops for the local high school students. Through these workshops, we seek to equip the students with skills and information necessary to be service leaders in their community. We discuss concepts like service leadership and social justice. These workshops are our sustainability component because let's face it: 15 foreign college students can only do so much (we won't even discuss if it's good or bad) in a developing country in 2 weeks. But after we leave, these amazing high school students continue this campaign by engaging in various activities such as painting murals and doing educational presentations around the city. It sounds so cliche, but these kids are the future leaders of the Philippines. Every time I think about them, I am reminded that there is good in this world and that often it exists in the youth. Too often are youth ignored because of what is perceived as naivete and idealism. But I see youth as inspired and enthusiastic; they are a resource that needs to be utilized to its fullest capacity.
On a different but related vein, please remember that Manila has been destroyed by a series of typhoons recently. The press coverage is essentially nil at this point, but that doesn't mean that Manila isn't struggling to rebuild itself in the wake of the destruction. Don't let this be the next Hurricane Katrina. Take the time to do some research, and donate to the various relief efforts. Even $5 will help!
