Fr Tex Pauron: health and the Gospel in rural areas of Mindanao
The Botika sa Kapilya (Chapel Pharmacy) programme provides drugs and medical consultations to poor people in the region, thanks to the Jesuit missionary, with the help of Catholic health workers, who are also catechists. About 102 people have benefitted from the initiative that reaches out to people struggling with hunger and the effects of El Niño.
Manila (AsiaNews) – Botika sa Kapilya or Chapel Pharmacy is a programme designed to meet the primary healthcare needs in rural areas in the southern Philippines.
The service, which takes its name from the Santo Niño chapel in El Gaucho (Mindanao), is supported by Fr Alberto “Tex” Pauron, a Jesuit missionary from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro.
The clergyman, who is also involved in other pastoral work in the region, including teaching, is assisted by Empowered Catholic Health Workers (ECHWs), who not only provide healthcare to the poor and disadvantaged people in the Muslim-majority south, but are also dedicated to evangelisation.
Mindanao, the country's second largest island, has a population of more than 25 million; for decades, it has been the scene of violence between insurgent groups and government troops.
“We continue to meet a basic need, health care, and the response from the community has been positive," Fr Pauron said. Because poverty is one of the main causes of distress among residents, many avoid seeking medical care.
"This programme is a means to an end, which is evangelisation,” he explains. “ECHWs are active in their respective Catholic chapels and serve as well as catechists," he explained.
At the start, the ECHW team had 10 members but now there are 12, from the indigenous communities of Malitbog, Bukidnon and other areas.
Currently, 102 people – farmers, carpenters, vendors, and drivers – are benefitting from the programme, mostly residents in and around Puerto Cagayan de Oro.
Because of El Niño, a climate phenomenon responsible for rising temperatures, things have become worse for the poor.
“In Bayawa, where we run a feeding programme, a feeding session was held on Good Friday, a sign that people are hungry," Jesuit missionary noted. "Our help is offered without a messianic complex, hoping that people will experience God's love through our good works.”
Botika sa Kapilya is part of the magisterium of Fr Tex Pauron in the region, which led him to see that health issues and problems did not receive enough attention.
The programme started first in isolated "barangays" (villages) in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental province, to meet the basic medical needs of disadvantaged people who do not always have access to medicines.
After completing some basic training on how to care for local patients, ECHWs offer medical services to “adopted” communities.
The first goal of Chapel Pharmacy is to provide communities with high-quality, reasonably priced, and easily accessible medicines, which are supplied by Fr Pauron to the health workers, who then handle the distribution.
ECHWs are also called to listen to and learn about patients’ needs. The staff then verifies all the information and record their answers. Fr Pauron reviews the collected information and informs the health workers of the next steps, such as follow-up visits or laboratory tests.
In El Gaucho, three ECHW volunteers are active: Jhonalyn Cabayag, Anita Restoration, and Gretchen Noval.
The peculiarity of the programme is that it is run by the Church, which also supports community activities in the parishes, especially in rural areas. It also addresses the needs of disadvantaged people by lending them money if they cannot pay for needed medicines.
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