2015 April

Happy Easter to all Benefactors, Volunteers and Friends!

Impart to our souls, O Lord, the Spirit of Thy love, that those whom Thou hast fed with the Paschal Mystery may be united in harmony by Thy merciful goodness...

2015 March

Daybreak in Tacloban

In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us 

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death 

and to guide our feet into the way of peace....

((((((((((((  +  )))))))))))  

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Block Rosary Started in the Bunkhouses

One hundred and ten families living in the bunkhouses joined the block Rosary.  All of these families are beneficiaries of the Rosa Mystica Health Mission.  

May the Mother of the Poor be their constant refuge.

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Patients Hoping to Get Relief Through the Mission

From Samar, this boy was brought to the mission in Tacloban

in the hope of obtaining free surgical repair of cleft lip and palate.  

Patient with breast cancer sought help for the surgical removal of breast with cancer. She came with Dr. Maire from Southern Leyte to Tacloban hoping for relief. Mission volunteers brought her to Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center for biopsy and surgery.

Alvin from Samar with a radical cyst on his chin... waiting for his surgery schedule.

Baby Bernardo on February 2015

Baby Bernardo on March 2015

Dr. Maire in the mission chapel in Tacloban
discussing with a mission volunteer the follow up care for a patient in Southern Leyte

waiting for the surgical schedile

Waiting for free medicines

A mission patient.  Hungry.  One among many. 

Hungry family.  The father works as a security guard but his salary is low and comes irregularly.  He can barely feed his children from his earnings.  The mission augments the children's food.
He is asking the mission to help him find other sources of income.

Free meal for patients on the farewell to Dr. Maire Nesta Nic Gerhailt. 

Farewell, Dr. Maire!  

We cannot thank you enough for your dedicated service to the poor.  We pray that God will bless you always.

May the road rise to meet you.  May the wind be always at your back.  May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields.  And until we meet again, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His Hand.

 

If I only had wings, I would fly, I would fly to the sky, I would fly through the winds and beg you to come back...

 

 Farewell, Doc Maire.

Thank you for sharing our simple joys!!!

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 Bon Voyage Virginie and Floriane!

 Thank you for your generous help!

2015 February: Rosa Mystica Health Mission in Tacloban

Page construction is going on... please expect changes...

Venue

The mission was held at the Tacloban City Convention Center, popularly known as the Astrodome.   The office of the City Mayor generously waived the rental fee and allowed us access to electricity. 

Patients

Three thousand, nine hundred and thirty two patients were served in various departments within eight days of mission work.  Because of the free laboratory and diagnostic tests and free surgery (as needed), very many patients lined up but we had to turn down many of them because we could not serve everybody.  

Medical Services

There were three doctors at the pediatric section:  Dr. Emely Lagare from General Santos City, Dr. Loan Phan from the United States of America, and Dr. Ma. June Viray from Iloilo City.  Each of these doctor had an assistant who also served as interpreter.   

The pediatric pharmacy served by French volunteers and two interpreters.

The pediatric pharmacy was manned by 

Magali Burguburu, HR Manager from France

Ombelline Burguburu, Nurse from France

Claire Garnaud, Nurse from France

Anne Maelle Bouillaud, Teacher from France

Caroline Vergez, Nurse from France

and interpreters:  Floralyn Ghela, Rostillen Callo, Rosmar Ordovas, Ralph Brieva, Rose Ann Magcuro

At the Adult Section, there were three general practitioners:

Dr. Maire Nesta Nic Gerhailt from Ireland, assisted by Ronielyn Lagdamen from Tacloban

Dr. Patrick della Bianca from Switzerland, assisted by Sheryll Castor from Quezon City and Joward Ibuyat from Quezon City

Dr. Jean-Pierre Dickes from France, who came with two French physician assistants Dr. Roxane Losco and Dr. Nancy Steinfeld

Paulo Niccolo de Veyra - Nurse from Taclobn and Sunshine Isla - Nurse from Manila - acted as interpreters for Dr. Dickes

A neurologist:  Dr. Didier Genoud from Switzerland, assisted by

A dermatologist:  Dr. Rob Casquejo from the United States of America, assisted by Elizabeth Lopez - Nurse from the USA and Marguerite Pardoe - Nurse from France

An ophthalmologist:  Dr. Elaine Baens Araneta from Manila, assisted by 

An orthopedic surgeon from the Philippine Army came to lend a hand at the last day of the extension clinic.

At the Dental section:  Dr. Nelda Nisperos.  

She was assisted by a dentist from the Philippine Army for a short while.

          Dr. Nelda Nisperos at the Dental Section. 

The adult pharmacy behind the mission altar.

Faithfully serving the adult pharmacy were
Brigitte Coulange, a Doctor of Pharmacy from France
and her assistants:
Bernadette Dickes, Nurse-Midwife from France
Romaine della Bianca, a Nurse from Switzerland
Sophie Challan-Belval, a Secretary from France
Melinda Khor, a Businesswoman from Malaysia
and two Filipino interpreters from the Philippine Army

Spiritual Dimension

Volunteers

The foreign volunteers were exemplary in their patience and endurance.  First, food was exotic.  And many suffered abdominal problems due to the food.  Also, there was a problem with the toilets, although the condition was much better than the previous year.  The toilets at the basement of the Astrodome were already accessible, so the primitive portalets were thankfully rendered unnecessary.  However, there was a problem with the water supply.  There were plastic drums with stagnant water that was used to flush the toilets but there was no water for hand washing.  Bottles of alcohol placed in the lavatories for hand sanitation had a magical way of disappearing.  And the person in charge of monitoring the sanitation of the toilets often got sidetracked with other tasks.  

2015 February

Follow Up Visit to Borogan, Eastern Samar

2015 January

Ocular Visit to Eastern Samar

Mission to Borongan, Eastern Samar

Saving a Foot

2014 December

A Supertyphoon Barraged Towards Samar and Leyte Again!

It was with heightened alert that the patients and mission staff prepared to meet Typhoon Ruby.  An evacuation center was organized in Southern Leyte and the patients and faithful living along the coastline were evacuated.  Rosary vigils were conducted in various mission areas across the country to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to beg for the mercy of God.   After anxious prayers and waiting, cold wind from Siberia interacted with the brewing storm and reduced its intensity.  Still, it wreaked havoc everywhere it passed.  Many towns in Samar were battered.  

Dr. Maire Nesta conducted a medical mission in Southern Leyte while the preparations for the evacuation was under way.

Thanksgiving Procession

December 8:  Patients and faithful in Tacloban, Southern Leyte and Genenral Santos City organized thanksgiving processions in honor of the Immaculate Conception.  Free food was made available to the evacuees.

Ocular Visit to Typhoon-Ravaged Areas

Immediately after the typhoon, ocular visit was conducted to check the conditions of the various mission patients in Leyte and Samar.  Thanks be to God, everybody was safe, poorer than ever, but alive and happy.  So it was determined that they needed only food assistance.  Relief donations coming would therefore be given to directly hit areas in Eastern Samar.  The area was rebel-infested so it was necessary to proceed with caution to ensure the safety of the mission team in delivering relief goods.  Coordination with the military was slow because they had to prioritize the government efforts in clearing the devastated areas and repairing roads and bridges. Due to the long delay, the relief mission was scheduled on January.  

2014 November

Adult Baptism and First Communion

An adult from the mission village in Kawas, after years of preparation and trials, received the Sacrament of Baptism and after a week received his First Communion.

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Ignatian Retreat for Mission Staff and Volunteers

The mission staff and volunteers were granted vacations in order to participate in the spiritual retreats.  "If God does not build the house, they labor in vain who build it."

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Special Patients