Cases of maternal deaths in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) are increasing thus, preventing it is the advocacy of Tacda couple Rosell and Roel in Brgy. Panobolon, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.

Rosell is a Barangay Health Worker (BHW) while Roel is a Tanod Commander. The couple was blessed with three children.

Both couple have good standing record in the community the reason why Rosell was chosen by her members to be their leader. Rosell enjoys the confidence and trusts of her fellow villagers. Since she is one of the empowered BHW, she takes initiative in conducting advocacies to minimize if not stop the highest number of maternal deaths in their barangay.

During the conduct of house to house visit or any barangay activities, Rosell keeps reminding pregnant women to submit themselves into regular check-ups at the same time give birth to Health Facility Based Deliveries so that they would be given proper medical assistance. Her effort turned effective since 2013 when no more maternal deaths had been recorded to their barangay.

On the other hand, Roel, is also currently the caretaker of Kalahi-Cidss pathway project at the said barangay. He is also a member the Panobolon Unified Fisherfolks Association (PUFA).

Both couple attended many seminars and trainings that could help improve their living conditions, disaster preparedness and mitigation.

FAMILY BONDING

“Ang panimalay nga nagahinangpanay kag nagabuligay may kalipay.” (If the family understand and help each other there is always happiness. This is how Tacda couple described their family because for them, family is a blessing and greatest gift from God. That is why they value each member of the family by showing love, respect, understanding and support.

Since the family is living near the house of Rosell’s parents, it is already the children’s practice to ‘bisa’ (bless) with their elders every 6 o’clock in the evening as a sign of respect. Led by the youngest child Francine, they also used to pray together before every meal and going to sleep, thanking God for the food on their table and all the blessings they received for that day.

During weekends, the family woke up early to do their laundry, gardening, cleaning the house and surrounding. The children were also tasked to collect empty plastic bottles to be used as floating device for their seaweeds farming.

No matter how busy they are, the couple spare some play time with their children. They usually play ‘larong lahi’ (Patentero) or ball games at the open field. Roel said it is their way of harnessing the children’s skills in sports and develop the value of sportsmanship since two of their children earlier show interest in sports. During night time, the family bonding session is videoke using their portable DVD player.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

As seaweed and mangrove growers, the couple’s hearts belong to the sea where they spend most of their time fishing and planting.      Through the help of their association members, more mangroves were planted along the shorelines of their village. They helped preserve the mangroves because these used to be the nursery grounds for fishes and other sea creatures. The more mangroves they planted, the more fishes they caught. Mangroves also protect the shorelines from damaging due to storm, waves, floods and erosion.

Despite the couple’s hectic schedule in work and community service, they still manage maintaining a vegetables garden at their backyard where they get their fresh vegetable viand. They planted malunggay, camote, okra, taro shoot, ampalaya, and other root crops. They also have medicinal garden for first-aid use.

The family is also practicing proper waste segregation and disposal. They separate empty plastic bottles and recycled it as floaters in their seaweed farming while the other plastic bottles were used as pots in their hanging vegetable plants. Strictly, they don’t burn plastics or throwing any garbage at the seashore. Meanwhile, they used biodegradable trash particularly those rejected dried seaweeds (make as compost) as natural fertilizer for their vegetable garden.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Being a parent leader and a volunteer BHW, Rosell is making sure that her family avail health services regularly. Equipped with trainings, Rosell is also doing weight and height for children to monitor their average and assist pregnant mothers during check-ups.

On the other side, Rosell, as a Day Care Worker, teaches children on how to keep themselves clean and healthy by taking regular bath, brushing teeth every after meal and eating proper nutritious food everyday. She also taught them how to protect their environment by helping their parents plant more trees, no ‘kaingin’(charcoal making), and maintain a clean surrounding free from dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Community volunteerism runs in the blood. No wonder for Tacda couple when they put themselves into the frame of public service since both of their parents were elected as barangay officials in their respective villages.

As parent leader and newly-appointed Day Care Worker, Rosell continues serving as BHW without any incentives. According to her, she is happy and fulfilled serving the people in their community because even they have no money, they are richer with friends.

The children Rainbelle, Ritz Josel and Francine also help their parents in their own little way in the community activities. Rainbelle is also involve in Campus Journalism and member of the Girl Scouts while Ritz Josel is also an active member of Boy Scouts.

INSPIRATION

The family serves as a role model to their co-beneficiaries, and co-members in the association through their active community involvement.

During the time that their barangay was affected by oil spill in 2006 when Petron-chartered M/T Solar 1 carrying 2.1 million litres of fuel oil sank along Guimaras Strait causing huge oil spill in the entire island, the family voluntarily help in the clean-up drive. Since during that time, all fishermen were banned from fishing due to the possible health risk that the oil spill may bring, the family has resorted to other alternative livelihood such as gardening and raising of cow and goat.

After three years, the island was declared oil spill free.  The family has never lose hope to regain what had lost from them. Instead, they encouraged their co-members to help them plant more mangroves along shorelines to help back the abundance of fish species.

Because of their perseverance and positive outlook in life, the couple gained trust of SEAFDEC. They were given free seeds and training on how to grow seaweed with the condition that once it grows more, they will share these seedlings to their other co-members.

The couple have already shared their seedlings to their co-members who started already growing the seedlings. The planting of seaweeds, however, would take patience because it would take more than three months before harvesting. An investor from Cebu City is buying their dried seaweeds in the amount of P 35.00 per kilo. Every harvest season, each grower can net a profit ranging from P 10,000 to P 15, 000. Since it is already a good source of income, more fishermen were inspired to join with the association that has now 114 members from 15 members who started up years ago.

To the couple, every centavo counts so as every minute saves an earning for their family. People in their community know how hard the couple manage their schedule by serving the community, doing extra works and raring up their children at the same time.

One of these people who personally witness the hard work of these couple is Panobolon Punong Barangay Pedro Gelera. According to him, he trusted these couple because he knew their capacity when it comes to work. “They are also very responsible and the kind of couple that they will not fail and leave you whatever your expectation from them”, he said.

Gelera added the couple serve as inspiration not only to their co-beneficiaries but to the whole community as well.

LIVELIHOOD

The family is striving hard to meet their daily needs and earn more to sustain their daily needs. During seaweeds harvest season, the couple is also selling bottled picked seaweeds. In fact, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Agriculture (DA) had trained them to enhance the preservation of pickled seaweeds including their repackaging.

Since harvesting of seaweeds is seasonal, the family has resorted to other alternative livelihood such as sari-sari store, and raising of cow and goat.

With the cash grant they are receiving every after two months, the couple has able to save some of their income. When they have enough savings, they buy materials for the construction of motorized banca. Their meagre income has took them several months before the boat is ready to be used. For them, the boat is very useful for their daily activities because they use it for fishing, planting of seaweeds, and monitoring of new sea cucumber seedlings which is still under the research study of SEAFDEC.

But more than the cash grant, their being a beneficiary of Pantawid Pamilya empowered them and helped raise their level of well-being as it gave them the opportunity to access other social services and became subsistence.//Montesa G. Caoyonan