Tzu Chi Medical Mission 11/14/10

This morning i woke up at 4am, showered and was ready to leave my house and go to manila at 4:30. I got on the car, and passed out because I had 3 hours of sleep. I was worried of Armand because he was not replying to my texts and didn't even call me nor text me. I gave him a call and he finally picked up, that guy always make people worry about him, but in the end shows up and still gets his job done.

So we arrived at the Tzu Chi Great Love Campus in Manila at around 7:30, we registered and Armand arrived shortly after getting lost with the way. We were toured by one of the committee member of the Tzu Chi foundation, she showed us where each department were, PEDIA, General Medicine, Surgery, Dental, then where the rest station, CR were. So we chilled a bit and at around 9o'clock patients started coming in, and we starting getting busy. We were put in the same section(because we requested it, hahaha) in the general medicine section. There were three main rooms there, the patient waiting room(limited to 50 people at a time), the clinic(limited to 10 people at most), and the dispensary room, where patients bring their prescription to to get their medicine. Armand was put in the dispensary room, he's job was to receive the prescriptions of patients and call out the number/names of patients once their medication have been prepared and ready to be distributed. I was put in the clinic with Anny Tien(A former brent student, who now studies in Ateneo), job there was easy, it was a nice air-conditioned room, and we just assist patients where to go, and assist doctors if they need any sort of help. In the clinic were around 10 doctors, 7 general medicine doctors, 2 OB-GNYNE/general medicine doctors, 1 dermatologist, and 2 people who measure blood pressure. Job there was pretty easy, didn't do much, but i just had a thought. For a moment, i thought, gee, these doctors are heroes, they save   lives, their life are successful, not because they're well off, but because their job is to help people, personally i want to be a doctor myself, and that inspired me a bit more.  30 minutes later, i was told to go help out the dispensary room, and from then on i was there till the end of everything... and that isn't anything good. THE DISPENSARY ROOM WAS CHAOTIC AND WAS LITERALLY HELL ON EARTH! okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but it was CROWDED and people complaining EVERYWHERE! PEOPLE WERE SPEAKING TO ME IN SOMETHING I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND AT ALL! One of the committee told Armand not to let me take over his job(call out names to distribute medicine), because i was dumb and i couldnt speak tagalog or anything. Combining to the hot weather and chaotic situation, was so pissed, i mean i was only trying to help... But i let it go! At around 11o'clock we had about an hour of lunch break. After that we had around 100 more patients, it was at around 1:30 until there were no more patients. 

Some learning outcomes and thoughts:

First of all, i was really touched sincerely touched since the beginning when we entered the campus, specifically me, because unlike Armand, I had an idea and a basic background of the Tzu Chi Foundation, because i am a member myself, i donate 100 pesos a month, and because this Organization was established in my home country in Taiwan, I had a sense of pride in me, knowing how much help and support they give to the ones in need. I've always knew, but it felt completely different when your actually there yourself, you can actually feel the warm environment. And that was impacted me a lot. The doctors and committees there were mostly Chinese-Filipino and some Taiwanese, it was so heart warming seeing different nationalities helping each other. And making that happen is the best thing that one can actually have, its priceless. Maybe not during the process but really, in the end, you feel great about yourself, even though my job was just sooo so so small. 

Almost everywhere in the campus, on the walls, there were aphorisms. I read all of them, and one of them especially hit me, "A person's happiness stems not from how much he owns but from how little he complains." After all, isn't happiness what we all strive for? You don't need to necessarily have anything in particular to achieve happiness, it's just all in your mind. Often times we do things to impress people, and to seek attention so that we can feel good about ourselves. so..."Let us compete compete on who is more loving, not on who is more feared."

This is DEFINITELY a worthwhile experience, even though some parts were frustrating, but its the journey of coming out of that frustration that you really achieve something and can be deeply happy about. 

In addition to this, I learned something else....

GAMOT PO? WAIT LANG DITO! HAHAHAHA :D

tzu chi - create a slideshow with music

Update one Student Council

Four months has passed since school started, and ever since school started, the new student council has been in progress. I was introduced to my job as Treasurer, I was told that the Treasurers in the past years didn't do so well, so the pressure was on me. I was told to keep count of money, record specifically the money that comes in and out. Besides from that, everyone in the council has to come up with ideas for upcoming events, we had to brainstorm, because school spirit has died down in the recent years, we need to think more about the events we make, considering the outcomes and results, and participation of students. The acquaintance party that we planned out was a blast. We created a party which would involve everyones participation, and this made the party not boring. Everyone liked it very much. 

Student council is an extra-curriculum for us, but we must stay committed just like how we promised in our speeches. Sometimes it gets frustrating, working with our fellow members in the council, and dealing with school work and life at the same time. 

Our advisor, Ms.Pascual has asked us all to have our own project within the school year, which is to have a fundraiser, either for the council, or for a charity/cause. Everyone has come up with their ideas, except me, i feel like I've been slacking off a bit, I need to get back to it. Couple of weeks ago, before our 5 day weekend, our SC president, Diana An, had her fundraiser, which was to sell korean halo-halo. It was to be honest, the worst planned out plan ever. She did not double check things and so during that day of the fundraiser, it was a mess. I must say, we must be careful with what we do, and make sure things work out and runs smooth as planned.

Right now, i need to stop worrying about others business, and start worrying about my own. I need to push myself to brainstorm and think of fundraiser.

FORM #1: CAS Activity Proposal

This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.

Full Name *

William Ou

Grade *

•  11
•  12

Activity Name *Give your activity a title

Tzu Chi Medical Mission

Activity Description *Describe the activity you wish to undertake. Identify your role and responsibilities. If your activity is collaborative in nature, list down your collaborators.

Tzu Chi is a Buddhist foundation founded in Taiwan. The foundation has supported and helped many people in need, such as the Haiti earthquake, Ondoy typhoon in the Philippines and many more. On November 14 they are having a medical mission in Manila. The main purpose in this medical mission is to provide health care, medicine for free to the less fortunate people in need. My role and responsibility in this event is to help out the doctors with anything they may need help with. There will be a lot of people there, they will need help. My collaborators would be the patients, nurse, doctor, collaborators of the event.

Activity Status *Is this a new activity or an ongoing project?

•  New
•  Ongoing

Activity Core Value *Which core value does your activity address? (Select all that apply.)

•  Creativity
•  Action
•  Service

Goals *What is/are your personal goal/s for this activity? What do you hope to achieve?

My goal is to help out and support as much as I can in this medical mission. The goal of the mission is to provide health care for no cost.

Impact *Who will benefit from this activity? How?

The patients will benefit from this event the most, because mission is made for them. They can receive health care at last, and can be healthy. Everyone else will benefit from experiencing and learning from involving in this event.

Timeline *Where, how often, and for how long will the activity take place? (specific dates if possible)

This event will be held on November 14, 2010 at the Tzu Chi Great Love Campus in 1000 Cordillera corner Lubiran Streets Bacood, Sta. Mesa, Manila. The event last from Sunday morning until Sunday afternoon.

Name of Supervisor *

Mrs. Fang-Lin Chen

Supervisor's Organization *

Tzu Chi Foundation

Supervisor's Information (if not from Brent Int'l. School Subic)Contact Address, Email, Contact Number(s)

Email: fnhsu@hotmail.com Address: Binictican Dr. Mahogany St. 37F SBFZ Contact Number: (047)2500274

Student Agreement

I will commit to the activity at the above-stated time/s and given duration to the best of my ability. I understand that it is my responsibility to see this activity to its completion, and once approved, can only be cancelled through negotiation with the supervisor and the CAS Coordinator. (Click the SUBMIT button to signify your agreement.)