To increase the knowledge, attitude and practices on teenage pregnancy of not only the teenager residents of Brgy. Cag-an, but as well as their parents and guardians, is one of the goals of the STEP-UP Project in collaboration with LGU Anilao’s “Sa Tamang Panahon” Project. As one of the stepping stones in order to reach this outcome, the team conducted a pretest among the parents last Saturday. As for the pretest among the teens, it was planned to be held next week and will be conducted by clusters of sitios.
An arduous trek up and down the mountains, a strenuous walk along dry and dusty roads, and a grueling trip to and through the sugar cane plantations – all with the scorching heat of the sun beating down the nape of our necks, all of these were encountered by the group in order to reach the distant houses of the residents in Brgy. Cag-an. The team decided to have a house-to-house pretest survey for the parents since it is more difficult for them to gather all of participants. There were seven sitios in the barangay but in order to establish a buddy system for safety, we divided the group into 5, thus the number of sitios was also divided into 5, with two groups assigned to a cluster composing of two neighboring sitios. Sitios Litik and Cabancaban were covered by one group with two members while Sitios Giragid and Tangkong were covered by another group, this time composing of three members since both Giragid and Tangkong are far flung sitios and would require more manpower. The remaining sitios namely Lampuyang, Inadlawan and the barangay Proper were then each covered by a group composed of two members. After a short orientation, the team separated ways and went directly to their designated sitios along with the kagawads and then started the pretest survey.
The sweat and sacrifices have paid off as the team ended the day being productive. But, they finished the survey in just one day which is slightly earlier than what they have expected. Although the team is already tired, they still kept walking keeping in their minds and hearts that Barangay Cag-an needs their help. For the love of serving the community, some of them interviewed the parents while working in the middle of the sugar cane plantation and some hiked a mountain just to reach those faraway houses. Honestly, the team is also blessed to have Barangay Cag-an as their chosen community for the Step-Up Project. The barangay officials as well as the residents accepted them with pleasure and happiness and didn’t have any second thoughts in helping the team in their advocacy. In fact, Barangay Kagawads were very responsive and participative. During the pretest, they accompanied the group the entire day in order to lead the way going to every household. The team admired their generosity and patience in helping and guiding them throughout the day searching for the parents.
Barangay Cag-an is surrounded with good-hearted, hospitable and caring residents. Even though the place is slightly remote and isolated, the residents still manage to survive, live in a simple life and most especially, smile. Aside from that, the team was able to know the stories of some of the families because of their hospitality and welcoming attitude. Due to this, it made them comfortable to communicate with the people.
Next week, the team scheduled another pretest and team building activity among the teens. So, keep updated and watch out for the next post!