How can I help?

Two weeks ago, a friend shared a study that her niece had been part of. Authored by Cornejo et. al., it provided a baseline assessment aimed at developing policies that could help sustain and build on the gains from efforts aimed to improve early child development. While we are aware of the importance of the first 1,000 days, how much work and focus have gone into the next 1,000 days, which are still very much a phase of rapid growth, and further impacts on a child`s progress and future development?

The paper and the subsequent thoughts it incited not only provided vital pieces of information but, more importantly, served to highlight how each of us, regardless of social class or age, has a role to play in making life truly a little more meaningful, not only for ourselves but also for those with whom we interact. How many of us have been fortunate to be part of chance encounters that have evolved into deeper and nurturing relationships, all because we found out that not only did we share the same values, but we also simply wanted to do something good? It gets you thinking about how the universe conspires to connect us with people who make us realize how little it takes to be of help. For this week and the next, allow me to share two very personal stories of individuals who unknowingly did not realize just how much they had contributed to early childhood development just by staying true to who they were.

Everyone needs inspiration, don’t you agree?

Two pediatric infectious disease colleagues, one from the extreme North and one from the South, have been valued friends since fellowship training. Being low-key, they were initially extremely reluctant to share their stories, thinking that it would be self-serving. It took quite a while to convince them otherwise, but with their kind permission, their stories have been shared in the medical circle through a national pediatric convention and were highlighted in a lecture that I was privileged to deliver close to four years ago, at a dengue summit in Bangkok, where the topic was on social mobilization and capacity building.

“I felt guilty that I couldn’t do much as a private pediatrician, so I decided to be a volunteer for the community.” Selfless and giving, principled and upright, her personal mission started in 2022. Intent on capitalizing on the importance of prevention, a lesson learned from having experienced the pandemic, she embarked on a series of health dialogues in the different barangays, which numbered around 39 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, with the able assistance of child development workers and local health officials. Her main objective was to increase awareness of infectious diseases that can affect the community through a target group of children aged 3 to 5 years old who attended the daycare centers.

It was a brilliant move because she was able to identify and have a captive audience, which not only included children but also parents, caregivers, and barangay health workers as well. In her words, “Interacting with the children at this young age will hopefully create more impact in instilling the correct health information. It will be more difficult later to debunk the false beliefs that may come from exposure to social media and from lay people without a proper health background. Likewise, for the adults, myths, and misconceptions may finally be corrected.”

Listening to her story and reading through her lesson plan, which was simple, straightforward, reproducible, and complemented the yearlong activities set by the Department of Health, one cannot help but feel both encouraged and a little disappointed that, as a country, we cannot seem to get our act together. Here was one person who dug deep into who she was and what she was capable of and shared it. Seeing how far she has gone is a testament to how any person can bring about ripples of change that have the potential to benefit a majority. I would like to believe that all of us have good intentions, but it takes a certain degree of selflessness and self-awareness to be able to muster the courage to act on these.

To this day, her personal mission continues, and she remains undaunted in the face of challenges in her community. I haven’t told her yet, but the paper that I had mentioned earlier showed that the Ilocos region has the highest number of households with children attending early child development programs.