Cotabato Trip - Ron Cristian Pangilinan (Ron)

Hi Appco Philippines! Here is Ron's side of the interview on their Cotabato experience with UNICEF...
To read Ayie's part of it, please click Ayie's Interview 


Recently, between 19th and 21st July 2011, two of Appco Philippines' FRs were given a great opportunity to be a part of a 3Day 2Night trip to Cotabato which is located in one of the most controversial region of the Philippines, Mindanao. Maria Lourdes Resayo, better known as Ayie and Ron Cristian Pangilinan, better known as Ron were both given an opportunity to travel along with UNICEF delegates Kristine Carbon, Michelle Borromeo, George Velardo and Angela to experience first hand, the feeding and health care programs provided by UNICEF to children in Cotabato city. Both Ayie and Ron were moved by their experience with the children of UNICEF and Appco Philippines has exclusive details of their trip, right here on Appco Philippines Blog. Here is an excerpt from some of Ron's experiences throughout the trip.


1. How did you get the opportunity to be a part of this trip?

We both had acquired many long term donors for Unicef, we have very low attrition rate and we were also told, it was because of our good work ethics when we were on the field.

2. How was the environment in Cotabato when you arrived? 

We landed in Maginadanao since the airport is in Magindanao. Cotobato is 40mins to 1hr journey from the airport. Every 800m-1km has a checkpoint. It's like an inactive war zone. We can't go out at night without the permission of the Unicef staff. There was this incident, we called for McDo and Jollibee for delivery at night but their services end by 5pm. So we ordered delivery from a restaurant which was just 3mins walk, just because the Sun is down. We have to be back to the hotel before the sun goes down because It's not a very safe environment after sun down. Most parts of Cotobato are still under-developed. There are a large number of NGOs there.

3. What were the activities done by all of you in the course of the 3 days?
On our day 1, we went to Unicef satellite office. I learned that Unicef has only one satellite office here in the Philippines aside from their office located in Makati. It is because, the situation in cotabato and Maguindanao is quiet severe, where the poverty is extreme and can be compared to Somalia. We discussed on some protocol for security purposes. We can’t roam around cotabato without the presence of UNICEF delegates. We also discussed why UNICEF focuses in Mindanao when it comes to severe acute malnutrition and the programs that's being implemented to solve the problems faced in the region.On our day 2, we went to a rural health unit in Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat. I’ve been a registered nurse for quiet sometime and have seen a lot of malnourished children in some part of Luzon but never have I seen a situation which compares to Maguindanao. Infants and toddlers are literally approaching death due to severe acute  malnutrition. We saw this first hand in a case presented to us, of a 3 month old infant with a “wasting” situation. It was really alarming and heart breaking.
On our day 3 we went to some Poblacion. It means baranggay to them. We saw the aftermath of the flood. We also saw some residual marks of the flood in the roads, houses and streets. Following that, we also went to the evacuation center. Some people still live in the evacuation center because their houses were completely destroyed by the flood. We also visited a tertiary Hospital which has a high success rate in implementing CMAM (Community based Management of Acute Malnutrition). Lastly, we visited a site where some volunteer Doctors were doing stress management for the flood victims.





4. What did you manage to learn about the steps/actions taken by Unicef to provide proper support for the malnourished children?

I can see that Unicef's program really work. They keep the children in the program until the children are out of their malnourished state and at a stable healthy condition. I can clearly see now, the dedication Unicef Philippines has to helping under-nourished children. They first give the families emergency packs. After that, they provide them with health care support, and then comes, malnutrition program. I am really impressed by their dedication as they always make sure there's an abundance of stock  of their emergency packs and they prepare them way before so that they're always ready. They also make it a point to follow proper system when treating the children. It's Great Effort!

5. How was your experience being with the affected children and their parents?

I was very shocked to find that children here in the Philippines actually die very young due to malnutrition. There was a 3month old baby who we rushed to the hospital due to severe malnutrition. We managed to revive the baby at the time, but just two weeks later, we received news that the child did not make it. It's very sad, cuz you really see all these happening and they are just  2hrs plane ride from where we are. It's quite moving for us, seeing these kids. However, they also bring us happiness through their smile. We see good improvement in most of the children. You can see they are better nourished as they go through the program. There are children whose records show that they have very much improved in health since few weeks before. When you see improvements like this, it serves your purpose of working very hard on the field for them everyday.

6. How did this trip help you with your interaction with potential donors on the field?

Now, I have a higher purpose at the back of my mind when I talk to customers and don't tire easily because I have seen how much my efforts are of help to the children. Besides that, I have a clear picture of how an individual's contribution will support the children. Therefore, I am now able to share the process of it with lots of clarity.

7. Did you face any disadvantages being on the field after the moving experience you had in Cotobato? If yes, how did you overcome it? 

During my first few presentations after I came back from the trip, I faced some struggles as the experience was still fresh and every 'NO' became more difficult to accept because I knew what a person is potentially saying 'NO' to and how their refusal will impact the helpless children. I would say, I did become a little emotional. However, I managed to recover myself very quickly as I understood TWO things clearly. Firstly, there will be people saying 'NO' to us. Our duty is to find the ones who say 'YES'. Secondly, I realized very quickly, as the person responsible for finding support for these children, I cannot give up hope or let it affect me..If I get disheartened, who is going to sign up with me and help the children? So I just focus on my numbers and work to find the Type 3 people who can help! 

8. What's you advice to people out there as a brand awareness representative for Unicef?
(Click PLAY on the video below to find out Ron's Answer to this question)

A Huge Thank You to Both Ayie & Ron for spending some time with us to tell their stories...

Go Appco Philippines!!