A GROUP OF YOUNG medical students went out of their way to reach the far-flung village of Tacayan in Capiz to help eradicate a mosquito-borne disease through Unilab’s Ideas Positive, and they’re now calling on fellow youth to act on their own positive ideas.

In the town of Tapaz, Capiz, lies Barangay Tacayan, a geographically isolated and disadvantaged area (GIDA) home to indigenous people. The community faces staggering logistical challenges just getting health services delivered. Reaching the barangay takes five hours, crossing three mountains and a river. Children take this route to school. Mothers take it to give birth. Fathers walk it every day for work or supplies from town.

That’s the path Team Sinag chose to take.

Team Sinag is made up of University of the Philippines Manila medical students Leonard Tan and Chelsea Fandiñola, and University of the Philippines Visayas public health students Adrian Dofitas, Gian Sampani, and Judy Parrenas, mentored by Dr. Philip Ian Padilla. One team member, Leonard, has been visiting Tacayan since 2009 and considers it his second home.

The health gap

Tacayan is the only community in Capiz still affected by filariasis, a mosquito-borne disease that causes affected body parts to become enlarged. Leah Gialen, midwife to Tacayan and two other communities, explains, “Marami ditong sagingan na tinitirhan ng lamok. Yung filariasis galing sa lamok lilipat sa iba. Dati, hindi namin naiintindihan kung bakit lumalaki yung itlog, suso, at binti ng mga tao dito.”

Leonard explains, “Neglected tropical disease ito. It’s also the leading cause of permanent disability. ‘Yung gamot libreng pumapasok, kaya lang hindi naaabot ang Tacayan.”

Concepcion Diaz, chieftain of the Panay-Bukidnon community in Tacayan, adds, “Dito sa amin, hindi nila alam na meron silang sakit na maaaring makahawa pala sa kanilang pamilya. Hindi nila alam kung anong epekto sa buhay nila.”

Turning ideas into reality

This alarming health issue is what pushed Leonard to gather his friends and spark change in Tacayan. The team joined Ideas Positive, driven by passion and armed with an idea worth pursuing.

Ideas Positive is Unilab Foundation’s youth engagement program, encouraging teams nationwide to come up with ideas that address community health issues. Teams with the strongest ideas get the chance to turn them into reality, through a boot camp and seed funding of up to P100,000 to implement their projects. By tackling community health issues, these youth teams help advance Unilab Foundation’s mission of building a healthier Philippines.

With their plan to eradicate filariasis in Tacayan, Team Sinag made it into the top 15 teams of Ideas Positive Run 6. By stretching their seed money and securing sponsorships, the team built a system to raise residents’ awareness of the disease, encourage precautions, and get medication to those already infected. They also ran educational campaigns, distributed mosquito nets to every family, and handed out protective gear to farmers.

“Nagpa-mass drug administration kami. Pinaboto namin sila ng representative per sitio, at nag-oath-taking sila. Nag-undergo din sila ng training headed by a midwife, para matuto sila mag-distribute ng gamot, mag-record-keeping, at mag-monitor ng progress,” Leonard explains.

A healthier Tacayan

The community says no one has ever done anything quite like Team Sinag’s project. “Masaya kami dahil dumating yung Team Sinag dito sa barangay. ‘Yung mga tao, natuto sila, at excited na sila mag-zero yung filariasis,” Leah shares.

For their contribution to the health of Tacayan’s residents, all Team Sinag members were inducted as honorary residents of the barangay. Adrian shares, “We had a goal: to stop the transmission of filariasis in Tacayan, and to educate the people on preventing this debilitating disease. But when it was time to leave, we realized that we had learned so much more from them, than they from us.”

For improving the lives of Tacayan’s residents through their project, “Oplan Tacayan: Pagtapna Sang Filaria,” Team Sinag took third place at the Ideas Positive Run 6 Grand Finals last August 12.

Now part of the Ideas Positive Alumni Community, Adrian is actively encouraging other young people to make a difference. “You don’t need to wait for a sign from the universe to tell you to go and change the world. You have the power to decide. Don’t wait. You have the power to change the world, and you can start now.”

Got an idea that could help solve a health issue in your community? Ideas Positive Run 7 is now accepting entries. Visit www.ideaspositive.org or email hello@ideaspositive.org for more information.