MILAN: GOVERNMENT OUTREACH PROGRAM, CONTINUES

The series of free medical and dental check up being conducted by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Office (OWWA) here in Milan continues as the government strengthened its outreach program. The initiative which is being done every other Sunday in the different Filipino communities here is being made possible thru the help of Express Padala S.p.A. or the Equittable-PCIBank Milan Branch headed by Caesar Carnecer and the volunteered Filipino nurses mostly from Ospedale San Rafaelle.Labor Attache’ Atty. Araceli Maraya said that the project was formally launched during the Migrants Workers Day last June 15, 2006 at the PCG office as part of its commitment to serve the Pinoy migrants in Milan and other parts of Northern Italy. Maraya adds that the free check up particularly aims to help OFWs especially those who are still undocumented and can not avail yet the Italian free medical services extended to “carta sanitaria” holders. The medical team is headed by Malu de la Fuente, Head Nurse of Ospedale San Rafaelle with some friendly Italian doctors like Dr. Gianluca Piccinini and Dr. Luca Vigano and Dentist Tess Arceo, leads the dental team. As of this writing, the team has already visited five different communities to conduct their medical/dental mission; the first was made last July 2 at the Filipino Community of San Lorenzo in Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore in Corso Porta Ticenese, 35. The second mission was made last July 16, at Pallalido Sports Complex among the members and supporters of Jesus Is Lord (JIL). The active medical team which is also composed of volunteered nurses like Tess Buenabente, Annabelle Daquiz, Pacencia Paulino, Glenda Zarate, Elsie Rebosa, Sonny Realuyo and Noel Dolz took their annual summer holidays last mid of July until the end of August. On September 3 however, the team resumed their free medical/dental mission. The new season of the outreach program then started with Samar-Leyte Workers Association of Milan on September 3 at Via Lattanzio, 58 and on Septemtember 17, the team extended their services to the members and supporters of Chiesa Christiana Evangelica Internazionale in Via Tertulliano.De la Fuente expressed satisfaction on the program as she quips “masaya kasi marami kaming natutulungan at marami ring tumutulong sa amin to be able to keep the program going”. Meanwhile Carnecer said that this is not the first time they had funded a free medical and dental check up for the migrant workers. He said, they had started the program years ago even before the merging of PCI and Equittable Bank but they were inactive for a couple of years because of in availability of volunteered nurses and dentists. However this is the second year that they had done the project since the merging. Carnecer also added that they are giving honorarium for the Italian doctors but the nurses are purely volunteers. Asked what were the common illness or complaints they usually received from the people availing the free check up, Dr. Piccinini said that majority of them complains hypertension and so he recommends a low-salt or non-salt diet at all to the patients. Aside from hypertension, Piccinini said that several also complains diabetes, headaches or cervical pains.

Zita Baron Vinluan