VOHCS Child Survives Kidney Disease

Benchil Villorejo, seven, had been looking forward to joining his class’s nutrition month parade on July 29, 2013, but when the big day came around, he was just too weak to come to school. Dr. John Tabije and nurse Lynn Chan of the Visions of Hope (VOH) health team who were in Isla Puting Bato for their weekly community visit went to his home. Seeing that Benchil's face and abdomen were swollen and that he had difficulty breathing, they brought him immediately to the Ospital ng Maynila.

Dr. Tabije examines Benchil's health, especially as his
swelling becomes apparent. 

Laboratory tests revealed that Benchil was suffering from nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disease that causes the body to lose protein through the urine. His parents – a DVD vendor and a housewife – knew about his condition but did not earn enough to sustain his medication. He also had a few sores.

Benchil is one of 25 pupils of the VOH Christian School at Isla Puting Bato. The school provides free preschool education to children from families that have informally settled living near Manila’s North Harbor.

At the hospital, Benchil’s parents tapped into charity funds for some of his bills. VOH covered other expenses, and staff even braved floods to bring payment for laboratory tests. 

On his second week in the hospital, Benchil’s doctor announced that his condition was critical. The news rattled his family, but the health team’s faith remained strong and they mobilized more people to pray for his recovery. Benchil’s blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels  went down significantly the following week, showing a big improvement in his kidneys. A CT scan also produced normal results, the swelling of his face and abdomen subsided, and he was taken off the ventilator. Early during his fifth week in the hospital, his mother sent a message that Benchil had started walking again!

Benchil was discharged from the hospital on August 29 and is excited to get back to school again. “He is a bright student, he will be able to easily catch up with school work,” Teacher Elsa de Leon, who tutors him at home for the meantime, said. 

Benchil, whose face and body are no longer swollen,
stays at home to recuperate. 

__________________________

According to Dr. Tabije, Benchil’s malnourished condition became evident when the swelling left his face and body. His sores were also caused by poor nutrition. He is being given a nutritional drink and multivitamins daily to help him gain weight and be properly nourished. Please keep praying for Benchil’s health and for provision for his family.

Update as of September 24: 
Benchil has resumed joining classes at VOHCS Isla Puting Bato since September 16. Able to catch up with required modules, he got an average grade of 92% in the first periodical examinations. He ranked fifth in his class. 

Update as of December 17:
It is with heavy hearts that we momentarily say goodbye to Benchil. Last Saturday, he was rushed to the hospital for pneumonia and he passed away the following day. We thank God for his life and his story of hope. His teachers say that he was determined to learn new things and every time he smiled at them, their tiredness went away. Benchil will be missed but we know that he is in a much better place with our Heavenly Father.

VOH Child Thankful for Dental Mission

“Every time I had toothaches, I felt so much pain I could literally punch others. But that changed in a matter of minutes after two of my teeth were extracted. I feel so relieved,” said Elmer (name changed due to the sensitive nature of his story), 16, one of 73 Visions of Hope (VOH) children who received free dental services recently. Two of Elmer's teeth were also saved with flouride application.

In a dental mission led by the Philippine Dental Association of Quezon City (PDA-QC), children from the Magdalena and Puypuy VOH boarding schools attended a lecture on oral health, participated in a toothbrush drill, and got oral health kits. Thirty-six of them underwent fluoride application, 23 had teeth extracted, and one received oral prophylaxis. The dental services were done at the Rose of Sharon House of Friendship in Laguna on July 16, 2013. 

Elmer had been staying at the CCT Magdalena Campus for barely a month when the dental mission was held. Before that, he lived on the street for four years. He sniffed glue, begged for money, and stole from jeepney passengers and resting travelers to make it through a day. A turning point for him was when he and his friends preyed on a couple sleeping along Roxas Boulevard. The couple’s cries of despair upon discovering they lost all their money filled him with guilt and he wanted out. 

Now that he is part of VOH, Elmer dreams of someday reuniting with his parents and three siblings. He was just 12 when he ran away from home in Tacloban City after an argument with his parents. He hopes they have already forgiven him.

In the meantime, he enjoys newfound friendships in Magdalena. He likes that he is able to play basketball and soccer, and tend the garden with the other boys. He regards daily baths, sufficient food, and sleep as blessings because he was deprived of these on the street.

Elmer thanks the volunteer dentists from PDA-QC for giving him his much needed dental care. He prays God would grant them strength and more opportunities to serve more children from the street.

A VOH child undergoes an oral checkup from a
PDA-QC volunteer dentist.

VOH children follow instructions in brushing their
teeth while a volunteer dentist demonstrates.  

100 CCT Partners Give Blood

CCT partners take turns in donating blood on March 16. 

Nineteen Center for Community Transformation (CCT) micro-entrepreneurs in Binan, Laguna gave blood on March 16, 2013 to help meet emergency medical needs of CCT community partners. They were stirred after fellow Binan community partner, Emelosa Mitra, diagnosed with acute renal failure and renal anemia last year, received blood just in time to save her life. The Visions of Hope (VOH) Health Team linked Emelosa to the CCT blood bank for the blood transfusion. (Read more about Emelosa here.) 

Nurses Joy (left) and Leigh (right) from the VOH Health Team, and a
PGH medical technologist (center) are all smiles after the 
mass blood donation in Binan.

Just like the CCT Binan partners, 21 year-old nurse Rellymin Joy Calano was also happy to give blood. Joy was a blood recipient when she contracted dengue in high school. Thankful for how her life was saved by the generosity of others, Joy donated blood on March 9 at the CCT support office, along with 27 other donors. 

Joy has been part of the VOH Health Team leading mass blood donations in CCT communities since last year. Joy says she gives pep talks to first-time blood donors because she knows they can feel nervous about having blood drawn. 

The VOH Health Team also held mass blood donations in partnership with the Philippine General Hospital in Muntinlupa City on February 16 and in Taguig City on March 2. A total of 53 persons donated blood at these gatherings. 

VOH Links CCT Partners to Blood Bank

Virginia Mitra (right) accompanies daughter-in-law Emelosa  (left) 
to pay a visit to the VOH office after a scheduled checkup in PGH .

With resources and time running out, sixty-year-old Virginia Mitra travelled from her home in Binan, Laguna to the Visions of Hope (VOH) office in Manila to take a chance on receiving a blood donation for her daughter-in-law, Emelosa. She felt anxious. But also expecting good news, she brought a water jug to keep the bags of blood in, in case these were available. Community Mobilization Program (CMP) Officer Fe Poblete and Covenant Community Builder Ptr. Deonito Espinosa of Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Binan coordinated with VOH Health Team's Dr. John Tabije who assisted Virginia in tapping into the CCT blood bank in the Philippine General Hospital.

Grateful for the two bags of blood that she acquired for free, Virginia hurriedly left the VOH office and beat a two-hour deadline in delivering the bags to a hospital in Laguna. The following day, Emelosa successfully underwent blood transfusion.

Virginia has been a CCT partner for almost five years now while Emelosa recently joined CCT. Before she became busy caring for Emelosa, Virginia was in a direct selling business. She sold cosmetics and herbal products, and also sewed school uniforms and pillowcases. Emelosa, on the other hand, used to sell prepaid electronic cell phone load and ice to her neighbors. December of 2012 was a time of their family’s “deepest sorrow” because it was when Emelosa was first brought to the hospital for acute renal failure and renal anemia. Since then, everything changed for them – both their businesses were stalled, Emelosa’s five-year-old son has been in the care of relatives, and Emelosa’s husband, Rufino, has to work doubly hard to provide for them.

Both Virginia and Emelosa thank VOH for its assistance during their time of need. They also thank CMP Officer Fe who has been a constant source of support, encouragement, and wisdom. They continue to trust God for Emelosa's healing and for provision for their family.

Encouraged by how Emelosa was helped by the CCT blood bank, the CCT partners in Binan are set to organize a bloodletting activity among themselves, with the help of the VOH Health Team’s doctors and nurses.

VOH Health Team Equips Volunteers

“Bakit ngayon lang?” (Why only now?) asked Lilia Cepe of Taguig as she expressed gratitude for the wealth of information and the training she gained since she became a Visions of Hope (VOH) community health volunteer.

Lilia is one of 51 community health volunteers mentored by VOH doctors and nurses so that they are able to conduct lectures on several health-related topics in communities where the Center for Community Transformation works. Some of the health volunteers were also taught how to take blood pressure as well as read blood sugar level, body temperature, and body weight using basic medical equipment.

VOH community health volunteers from Caloocan City show their 
certificates after attending a VOH training on tuberculosis in March. 
Health training sessions such as this enable volunteers to train 
others in their community. (Photo by the VOH health team)  

In 2012, VOH health volunteers led 440 training sessions on cancer awareness, oral health, tuberculosis, asthma and pneumonia, family planning, leptospirosis, anemia and leukemia, diabetes and hypertension, eye diseases, proper nutrition, and, dengue and malaria. The lectures were held in poor communities in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Cabanatuan City, Angeles City, Davao, General Santos City, Malungon, and Cotabato.   

The VOH health team recognizes the volunteers’ contribution in spreading health information. "The role these volunteers play in saving lives in poor neighborhoods is significant," said Dr. John Tabije, Peer Servant for VOH Health Care Program.  "Those who attend the lectures will be able to recognize symptoms of dreaded diseases immediately and hopefully seek medical help before it's too late, they will understand the importance of taking medicine as scheduled, and will generally be more knowledgeable of the illnesses that can affect them and their families." 

During a Christmas fellowship on December 13, 2012,  Juditha Jordan of Las Pinas was honored for conducting the most number of health lectures in 2012 --  11 lectures attended by a total of 191 participants.  "Sagot sa panalangin ko ang pagiging bahagi ng VOH" (My involvement with VOH is an answer to prayer), Lilia Cepe said during the same activity.

Aside from training community health volunteers, the VOH health team holds clinic consultations, medical and dental missions, Operation Tuli (circumcision), feeding, and pap smear and blood sugar tests, among others.