Proactive Kabilin: Connecting Generations Through Preconception Health

Team Proactive Kabilin . From L to R: Ms. Aster Lynn Sur, Liabel Pena, Jeanne Ruth Basas, Jedidiah Sarmiento,
Angelica Obrador, Dr. Christian Gomez (Program Manager, Ideas Positive) (Photo: Ideas Positive/Unilab Foundation)

Volunteer Youth Leaders for Health - Los Baños Chapter (VYLH-LB) as Team Proactive Kabilin, earned a finalist spot in Unilab Foundation’s 7th Ideas Positive Run last February 7 to 11, 2017 during the Boot Camp held in Ace Hotel, Mandaluyong City.

The team comprised of members from four of seven partner organizations of VYLH-LB: Maria Liabel Peña, current VYLH-LB coordinator and VYLH Committee Head of The UPLB Genetics Society, Jeanne Ruth Basas, team leader of Team Proactive Kabilin, from Philippine Association of Nutrition Alpha Omega Chapter, Jedidiah Sarmiento from The UP Community Broadcasters’ Society Inc., and Angelica Obrador from the first community partner of VYLH-LB, the Rotaract Club of Los Banos; under the mentorship of Aster Lynn Sur, RN from UP Manila and VYLH. The project was aptly entitled Kabilin Kalusugan for LB Nanays. “Kabilin” is a bisayan term translated as “legacy,” which was also the batchname of the teammates during the VYLH’s first NCR-South Luzon Cluster Youth Camp last October 2016.

The project merely begun as a positive idea with an altruistic intention of building a healthier Philippines through Preconception Health. Targeting the women (ages 20-35) of Barangay Mayondon, Los Banos, the project focuses on the health of the mother before and between pregnancies by educating and counteracting behaviors which could potentially affect the health of both the mother and the baby. Moreover, the project also aims to mobilize and train the youth and community health workers regarding preconception health. 

Project Kabilin Kalusugan is one of 14 projects across the country that aims to build a healthier Philippines. Spanning health issues such as hunger in the Mangyan community in Oriental Mindoro (AgroPositibo) to mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among Soldiers of Zamboanga City (Hukbong de Obrero Socíal), it just goes to show how Ideas Positive is not just a competition but a platform for the youth to mold a better and healthier nation for the next generations. 

Team Proactive Kabilin is growing more empowered as they enter their 3rd month of the 6-month implementation of the project. Both the community of Barangay Mayondon and students from the University of the Philippines Los Baños are working hand in hand to push through with the success of the project.

Project Kabilin Kalusugan Memoradum of Understanding (MOU) Signing with partner student organizations

The community of Barangay Mayondon has also given a go signal with the approval of the mayor, Hon. Caesar P. Perez, last March 16, 2017 with the guidance of Municipal Health Officer, Dr. Alvin Isidoro. The project was introduced to the residents of the Mayondon during their Barangay Assembly last March 25, 2017. A series of orientations were also conducted throughout the months of February and March to obtain potential partners within the university. 8 university organizations (The UPLB Genetics Society, Philippine Association of Nutrition Alpha Omega Chapter, The UP Community Broadcasters’ Society, UNESCO Club - UPLB, UP Oikos, UP Pabulum Scientia Sodalitas, Alliance of Statistics Majors UPLB and The UPLB Statistical Society) has secured their commitment and support through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing last March 27, 2017 at the Student Union Building with the unwavering support of the Office of Student Affairs directed by Dr. Nina Cadiz and SOAD-OSA office headed by Mr. Jickerson P. Lado. 

The next step of the implementation phase is conducting a survey to obtain the baseline knowledge of the women of Mayondon, the youth, as well as the community health workers in preparation for the module. 

Ideas Positive may stand as a competition, but that is the least defining concept for it. Ideas Positive is the coming together of proactive youth from all over the nation, all with diverse ideas to address the issues within their own communities but united with a single aspiration to help build a better and a healthier nation. More than anything, it is a catalyst of change. Empowering the youth and helping them realize that they are capable, that they can make a difference and that they can shape the future of this country and this world for the better.#

Written by Liabel Pena (Kabilin)
Originally published in GENEWS
The Official Publication of The UPLB Genetics Society