Community health workers (CHWs) are the unsung heroes of the Philippine healthcare system. They perform a pivotal role in the delivery of health services at the grassroots level, making sure everyone gets access to basic health services. With their active involvement, CHWs contribute to community resilience, performing duties beyond what is expected of them, in the face of climate risks that also bring health hazards.
In the resource-challenged barangay of Moriones in San Jose, Tarlac, where flooding along the dirt road is a perennial problem, disrupting economic activities, preventing children from going to school, and exposing the residents to health and safety hazards, the residents decided to act and help themselves. CHWs together with other community members mobilized themselves to mitigate the risks from road flooding. They collected fill dirt (a mixture of rocks, sand, clay and soil), shoveled them into plastic sacks and wheelbarrows, piled the fill dirt over the native soil on the road, and compacted them for stability. With the fill dirt, the elevated road is no longer inundated during heavy rains. This community initiative provides affected residents a reprieve from the worries and disruption resulting from a flooded road, hopefully until such time an elevated, concrete road is constructed by government authorities. “Maraming salamat po sa HFI, aming kapitan at mga kagawad. Akin pong pinapaabot ang taos puso naming pasasalamat na masolusyonan ang aming problema sa pagbabaha.”
The spirit of community self-help and the value for preventive-promotive health in Barangay Moriones were fostered through the project Alay sa Ginhawa at Kalusugan (ALAGA KA) of Health Futures Foundation, Inc. (HFI). The Project provides primary healthcare access to marginalized communities in the Philippines through the construction of Barangay Health Stations and the conduct of an 18-month Community-Based Health and Wellness Program (CBHWP) led by a licensed Community Health Nurse. Through the CBHWP, CHWs are engaged in capacity-building training, which aims to empower and equip them with basic knowledge, skills, and values on health. With the Community Health Nurse, health cluster groups are also formed as new sentinels of health to facilitate health promotion and community mobilization activities at the purok/sitio-level. Cluster members analyze community health and development concerns jointly and take part in planning and implementing activities to achieve holistic health and wellness.
Indeed, through these activities, where public health concerns are identified and resolved by community members, empowerment is realized in achieving shared health and development goals.
