With my own ears, I heard the parents’ agony as they escorted their child’s lifeless body towards the emergency room. Right in front of me, I witnessed other people’s pain and it wretched me. The dreams of an innocent 10-year-old child were taken. The child succumbed to dehydration due to fever and diarrhea which lasted for three days. His mother regretfully explained that due to financial constraints and their distance from the community hospital, their son was not able to receive medical attention. I was taken aback and the only thing I could do at that time was to sympathize silently. That moment hit me and made me realize that something must be done—if I could be of help, then maybe I could save lives and revive the patient’s dying dreams.

My experience of seeing that child pass away during my work immersion was the turning point of my life. I originally took Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) during my senior year because of my desire to be different from my family of healthcare providers. But then, fate brought me to the billing department of Tumauini Community Hospital where the emergency room was situated just in front of the front desk where the dreadful loss of the family took place. Each day, I saw different scenarios of people asking for help. They came from different walks of life and suffer from various ailments.

Though I am not directly involved, I felt my desire shifting. From being a business student, I changed my path and pursued the innate calling thriving in me of being a health care provider. Maybe, being in the medical field already runs in my family’s blood. As a student, I grew up joining varying student organizations. I am a journalist since my early school days and I have been in different competitions from the school-based level to the prestigious national level. I also held the highest positions as President in the student council and Editor-in-chief in school publication for two years which opened doors for me to work with diverse student-led associations in Isabela. Currently, I am an active member of Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Council of District 3 and the Youth Head of Committee on Health in our barangay, the founder of Kakofun—a youth-led organization bridging health care gaps in communities and the project head of “Project Bak2Bak: Balik-Kumpyansa sa Bakuna”. I am also a campus minister in Christian Formation of Saint Paul University, Philippines (SPUP) and a member of our student-led organization in the College of Nursing. My ride as a student-leader and student-journalist broadened my own understanding of the community and has fueled altruism to the needy.

As a writer and a leader, I witnessed and shared stories of people and these gave me so much fulfillment, but I always have a sense of giving back to the community. With my experiences as a student nurse, it is my mission to make gentle ways of helping the community and convey a message that it is not hard to make a difference, especially during these trying times. During my first year in nursing school, I juggled both my academics and my responsibilities as a youth leader in our community. Being on this track, offered me the avenue to work with health programs that are close to my heart. I have this sense of compassion for the marginalized groups and children in our communities. Working in community development is tedious, but I never felt tired knowing that even in simple things, I am able to make a big difference.

Before the lockdown was imposed nationwide, just two weeks before my first hospital rotation, I had clear plans on how to fulfill my duties in the hospital. However, the pandemic bombarded everyone and our country’s healthcare system was strained. As a future nurse, I have set in mind what kind of health care provider I would be. With an explorative mindset I have, and as someone who fears being boxed in the four corners of my room as we shift to distance learning, I always try to distinguish possible ways to maximize things under my hand—which are the theories and skills taught in nursing school. I don’t want to sit idly and wait for the situation to get better. With the help and support of my family, community officials, and the young people in my community, I fueled my courage and started an initiative as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With adequate provision, I spearheaded the distribution of food packs and health kits, information dissemination, delivery of basic health services such as blood pressure taking to vulnerable groups, health education on COVID-19, and hypertension as the prevalent non-communicable disease in our community. I was also one of the heads in organizing donation drives to raise funds used in the response conducted during the first few months of enhanced community quarantine to alleviate the situations of the affected families and after the onslaught of typhoon Ulysses which devastated the Cagayan Valley region. On the other hand, there was an opportunity opened by Unilab Foundation's Ideas Positive and Positive Youth Development Network to young people like me which I immediately proposed to our group. It was not difficult for me to identify the subject to develop because I had plenty of inspirations, to begin with. One of these was my neighbor, a victim of Poliomyelitis—an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus also shortly known as Polio. With her situation, I sometimes think how far she could have been if only the vaccine for Polio had reached her. She could have lived her life with flying colors together with her family. But again, dreams were shattered just because of a disease that is completely preventable by vaccine. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken immunization on a whole new meaning. Suddenly, parents are facing an urgent challenge: how to protect themselves and their children from a rapidly spreading infectious disease.

The COVID-19 virus is terrible proof that outbreaks can happen in any country. And, in an interconnected world, an outbreak anywhere is threat to children. The spread of other diseases especially vaccine-preventable diseases didn't stop. In fact, the Philippines faced a polio outbreak even before we had a COVID-19 pandemic. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef)- Philippines expresses concern that at least two million Filipino children below one-year-old may miss out on vaccinations because of the current pandemic. Thus, if we allow COVID-19 to disrupt immunization programs, our region will face a new crisis at a time when health systems are already strained. In Barangay District 3, Tumauini, Isabela, despite the increasing number of Fully Immunized Children (FIC), 1 in every 4 infants missed out on their scheduled vaccine- this remains a challenge to health care workers in the municipality even before the pandemic. Reasons for this postponement include a low level of awareness and knowledge, lack of motivation to continue routine infant immunization, and absence of an update and monitoring system. In addition, parents in the barangay expressed their fear to bring their children to the nearest health centers due their possible exposure to COVID-19. Consequently, delaying vaccines due to COVID-19 can deprive children in the community of lifesaving preventive care.

This led me to establish “Project Bak2Bak: Balik Kumpyansa sa Bakuna”. It is a youth-led initiative addressing our community’s pressing health concerns. It basically aims to design strategies that complement the government and other health sectors’ efforts in addressing the disruptions of routine infant immunization due to the present health crisis. Three key interventions were anchored in improving knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents and the community namely, BAKunawaan, a health education program on immunization, BAKugawaran, a merit-based system for fully immunized children, and BAKumustahan a phone-based update and monitoring system to ensure the continuity of this preventive measure. Consistent with the belief of Project BaK2Bak is that given the right opportunity and proper support, Filipinos can make a difference.

This project also targets to engage youth in championing vaccines and immunizations in the community. I always believe in the power of the youth. Young people can make a positive change and a positive outlook within the community. Project BaK2Bak is an investment in the youth, for the youth, and for the children- the next generation of young people.

After a year of its implementation, the project was able to ensure that no children in our community are left behind regarding immunization amidst the pandemic. I am also humbled to have been part of the government and other health sectors’ battle cry to end the polio outbreak in the country. Through Project BaK2Bak, our community was able to build its first-ever Barangay Health Station which symbolizes the importance of primary health care in bridging the health gaps in the community. Furthermore, the project was able to mobilize the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) in continuing the project’s interventions. I have always been wanted that through Project BaK2Bak I can also help our community to be self-reliant making the community aware of its potential and resources bring about self-appreciation.

Currently, our project is taking a big leap in championing the vaccines against COVID-19 in an effort to help our country achieve herd immunity through the youth as drivers of health information. With this project, I know that step by step, together with my colleagues, I can contribute to building a healthier Philippines. At present, I am focusing on developing an interventional study on training programs on blood pressure taking of BHWs during a pandemic since there were no formal trainings enforced. Since recent studies on the COVID-19 patient survival rate found that patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders are at risk of illness severity and mortality, thus, a training program to BHWs as they are deemed in increasingly playing a role in the delivery of basic health services, particularly in times of public health emergency, by connecting grassroots areas to primary health care.

I took up Nursing, not because of my family’s legacy in the field of health, I chose this journey because it is the career I envisioned myself committing to while serving the community. And, nursing was able to unleash this prodigious compassion within me. I learned greater things which I know, will eventually become my steppingstone in achieving greater heights. The stories of the 10-year-old child in the emergency room and my neighbor keep me motivated to continue nursing. Once I truly become a professional health provider, then maybe I don’t have to stay and be appalled anymore at my place when someone is on the verge of dying. I can take a step forward and be the best instrument that I can to save lives and to revive the patient’s dying dreams.