Life moves on for Epifania
My name is Epifania Parado, 60 years old, and an ADRA community partner from Brgy. Cambahanon, Alang-Alang, Leyte. I am a widow living on my own. Sometimes, I get support from my children. In 2013, we lost our home and our rice farm to the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan. The aftermath of the typhoon was unimaginable — worse […]
Mobile theatre play explores sexual and reproductive health for students in Camarines Sur
How do you make health class more exciting? The EMBRACE project in Camarines Sur is tackling teen reproductive health knowledge through an interactive theatre project called “Love Your Life,”aiming to teach high school students the importance of taking charge of your reproductive health. Performed by Team Kriyeyyytibs, a group of creatives and performers from Manila, […]
Finding room to grow in your own backyard
Paula is a young mother, originally from Laguna, but has been living in Presentacion for the past two years with her four year old son. “He’ll be five next Sunday,” she tells me as we sit on a bench in Dolo, San Jose. In many ways, she has made the journey here for him, whether […]
Planning for parenthood
For the second to last weeks in January, the EMBRACE MCH Field Assistants set to work in their communities with the the second in a series of Reflect Learning Units. This unit focused on the importance of family planning in parenthood, child spacing, options surrounding family planning, and the risk factors with pregnancies. The EMBRACE […]
Taking a stand against SAM
Naga City was the spot for medical professionals in mid-January, as the MCH team unveiled their training on severe acute malnutrition (SAM) for health care leaders within the four communities of the EMBRACE project. The training aimed to tackle a serious and heartbreaking issue within health care – preventing the deaths of severely malnourished young […]
Taking steps toward safer motherhood
After months of preparation, and weeks of training before the Christmas holidays, the MCH team began to roll out the REFLECT trainings lead by the new EMBRACE volunteers. The first topic being conducted this week focuses on safe motherhood, and will give the barangay health workers and volunteers the skills needed to start to conduct […]
Sewing the Seams of Hope
For residents of the municipality of Ajuy in Iloilo, sustaining a new livelihood venture can often be difficult. Lanie Dianseen, a 53-year-old mother of three, runs down some of the costs: “Every day, there’s travel expenses, food, and then training.” Lanie is part of a community association that has been receiving advanced dressmaking and sewing […]
Defying the odds in San Jose
Balancing on crutches when we arrive, Esther Misolas is tending to her garden and keeping a watchful eye on her young granddaughter who is playing not far from their small home by the side of a busy road. At fifty-eight years old Esther is the main caretaker for her family of four, and has been […]
Combating malnutrition takes a village
In the heat of the midday sun, groups of community health volunteers (CHV) dispersed across the island barangay of Sumaoy to start collecting data on the families within their own communities. The women, all important leaders within their community, were tasked with interviewing family heads and finding important information on the ways in which malnutrition […]
Wriggling toward a more sustainable future
In the coastal community of San Jose, Victor Mendoza, a community leader, is spearheading a very interesting initiative. Mendoza is involved with worm farming – also known as vermiculture. His involvement in vermi culture is one of the ways this leader is looking to improve the community around him. It is the rainy season here in […]