A special skills training was conducted on January 12, 13, 14, 2018, for 45 community health workers (CHWs) in the three communities of the community-based health programs (CBHP) project supported by the Committee of German Doctors for Developing Countries.
The communities are SitioSawsawan, Barangay San Roque, Talisay City, PurokTambis, Umapad, Mandaue City, andSitioIntramuros, Poblacion Cordova in Cordova.
The special skills training is part of the project, “Sustaining community-based health programs to promote health and prevent disease in Cebu.”
The training allowed them to share their experiences and the successes that they have reaped in the project. They also gave insights and recommendations to each other on how they can work together in the project even after the project terminates in April 2018.
The topics of leadership, basic organizing, and resource generation were appropriate considering that the project is about to end. With effective leadership, the CHWs will become more capable of leading the residents in their various activities including the health education classes and mobilizing them to get involved in the health campaigns such as the nutrition program, production of herbal plants and cultivation of vegetables in their backyards and cleanliness campaigns.
The inputs on basic organizing taught the CHWs on the requisites needed in order to establish their people’s organization in their communities. Since there is no PO existing in their sitios yet and a PO is necessary in order to unify the residents along a common vision, mission and goals (VMG), the CHWs were in full agreement that they should all work to pave way for the eventual establishment of a PO. Thus, they realized that it was necessary to meet with other concerned residents in order to draft the VMG of a PO and to lay down plans on how a PO will be formed, including the election of officers. Workshops were held on the steps they shall take and the dates for future meetings.
The topic on resource generation taught the CHWs how to develop networks and tap government agencies and non-government organizations for material, human, financial and technical support in order to sustain their project activities particularly since the project is about to end.
