In the past RI Club Multinational Manila had assisted the Alfonso Community in supporting their ligation efforts in cooperation with Friendly Care Foundation by providing transportation and Recovery Assistance for indigent women.
Continuing these efforts three of our club Rotarians attended the November 7th, 2014 ligation program for the whole province of Cavite conducted by Friendly Care in Trece Martires. We were very impressed by the dedication of the doctors and staff, the determination of the women desiring ligation as well as the hard work of the spokespeople for POPCOM (Commission on Population) that had informed many indigent women about Friendly Care’s ligation programs. Club members therefore announced that Recovery Assistance would also be provi ded from now on to all indigent women from throughout Cavite voluntarily undergoing ligation as an effective means of family planning and provided such cash assistance along with bottled water. Such Recovery Assistance would also be extended into the Manila area during the month of December as part of impromptu Christmas giving parties during the day-long ligation procedures and may be extended there into the New Year depending on the club’s finances.
November 7 turned out to be an almost 16 hour program as one of the ladies, having had already 11 pregnancies by her mid-thirties, was desperate for the ligation procedure despite being a borderline candidate because of high blood pressure. As per the doctor’s advice she required post-surgery overnight hospital observation. The club then coordinated with the hospital staff and Friendly Care by purchasing the needed medication, bringing the husband to the hospital for support and providing care and food for the eight still surviving children remaining in the cramped bunkhouse overnight. All turned out well.
Building up on these experiences and with the support of population control proponents the club has started a parallel effective family planning program of providing support for vasectomy as an additional effective avenue of population control in an effort to lighten the heavy burden on women.
