May 14, 2024
On May 12 to 14, 2024, Fr. Aristelo Miranda, MI, Executive Director of the Camillian Disaster Service International had a monitoring visit in Cebu to verify if project activities are implemented as scheduled, to identify issues regarding the implementation of the project, and to meet and listen to the direct beneficiaries of the project.
The monitoring visit began with a meeting of the project staff who updated the activities which have been implemented in the first year of the project. Fr. Miranda then visited the four project areas where he participated in the activities of the people’s organizations as they shared with him their experiences learned in the project.
In Sitio Lawis, Fr. Miranda listened as a community health worker (CHW) gave a health education to the members of the Sitio Lawis Pasil Women’s Association. In Sitio Tierra Dulce, the CHWs made herbal medicine skin ointment made from the bark of kalachuhi, kamunggay and panyawan. In Nangka Ville and Wang Yu, he listened the sharings of the members of the associations. The residents thanked Fr. Miranda for CADIS support to the project which proved to be beneficial to them in terms of disaster preparedness and promotion of primary health care.
During the exit meeting of Fr. Aris with the project staff on March 14, 2024, he made some recommendations to improve the project implementation. Recommendations including the following, namely: to network and coordinate their activities with their respective parishes, to assist the people’s associations in applying for accreditation of their associations with their respective local government units (LGU) and national government agencies especially the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Another recommendation was to pay attention to mental health issues and the building of psychosocial skills of the community health workers considering the stress and anxiety of the residents se people living in inhumane conditions with a constant threat of non-natural calamities such as demolition and fire. The staff committed to carry out the recommendations of Fr. Miranda.
