Lake Buhi is one of our favorite places in the Philippines. 
The weather is usually cooler, and it is situated where there is more cloud cover and thus rain or at least a mist often. It kind of reminds me of home. The people, of course, are open and friendly, the local government is innovative, proactive and out to serve the people of the region. As mentioned before in blog 8/18/10 we are doing a huge water project there. This time we went to check on progress, attend a graduation ceremony for people who learned how to manage the administrative and maintenance part of a water system. Also we brought two special supportive wheelchairs for people with CP.
We brought with us a medical screening team from Mabuhay Deseret. This is a charity group started in the Philippines by an eye surgeon and ex mission president. They do free eye surgeries, cleft lip and pallet, clubbed feet, burn constrictors, and prosthetics for below the knee amputees. In addition to the surgeries they have a huge house where they provide housing and three meals a day for the patient and caretaker as they prepare for surgery and recover. In the case of clubbed feet this can be very lengthy because it is done in a series of castings. They do this all free of charge for the poor. The screening was very successful they were able to identify and set up surgeries 
for over 150 individuals, and others that they could not help were referred to other potential sources of services. In our everyday lives we are so often bombarded with images of evil things people do and it can give one a dim view of the world. In this field of work we are engaged in we are so blessed to meet and associate with the exact opposite. There are definitely angels among us, and we are so privileged to know them. One such person is Dr. Calveria lovingly referred to as Doc Batoy. He comes from relative wealth but works out of a humble clinic in Buhi. Included is a picture of him being pushed around his clinic in one of our wheelchairs by a young patient. Another picture is a 21 year old young man with severe cerebral palsy in our chair. 
The last two pictures are water pipe being carried up the trail and Dennis speaking at the graduation ceremony.
The weather is usually cooler, and it is situated where there is more cloud cover and thus rain or at least a mist often. It kind of reminds me of home. The people, of course, are open and friendly, the local government is innovative, proactive and out to serve the people of the region. As mentioned before in blog 8/18/10 we are doing a huge water project there. This time we went to check on progress, attend a graduation ceremony for people who learned how to manage the administrative and maintenance part of a water system. Also we brought two special supportive wheelchairs for people with CP.
We brought with us a medical screening team from Mabuhay Deseret. This is a charity group started in the Philippines by an eye surgeon and ex mission president. They do free eye surgeries, cleft lip and pallet, clubbed feet, burn constrictors, and prosthetics for below the knee amputees. In addition to the surgeries they have a huge house where they provide housing and three meals a day for the patient and caretaker as they prepare for surgery and recover. In the case of clubbed feet this can be very lengthy because it is done in a series of castings. They do this all free of charge for the poor. The screening was very successful they were able to identify and set up surgeries 
for over 150 individuals, and others that they could not help were referred to other potential sources of services. In our everyday lives we are so often bombarded with images of evil things people do and it can give one a dim view of the world. In this field of work we are engaged in we are so blessed to meet and associate with the exact opposite. There are definitely angels among us, and we are so privileged to know them. One such person is Dr. Calveria lovingly referred to as Doc Batoy. He comes from relative wealth but works out of a humble clinic in Buhi. Included is a picture of him being pushed around his clinic in one of our wheelchairs by a young patient. Another picture is a 21 year old young man with severe cerebral palsy in our chair. 
The last two pictures are water pipe being carried up the trail and Dennis speaking at the graduation ceremony.
No comments:
Post a Comment