Rotaract Club of Tolong has been diligent in strengthening one of its advocacies, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, which is in line with one of Rotary’s areas of focus. With its mother club, Rotary Club of Tolong, we have worked together in patiently advocating and providing healthcare services in the community. One of our activities is a Health Awareness Campaign in support of the End Polio and Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign of Rotary International. The activity was held last October 15, 2022 at Bayawan Paonay Market and was in partnership with the Local Government Unit of Bayawan City. Services offered were free random blood sugar (RBS) testing and free blood pressure (BP) taking.
Rotaractors doing a Free Blood Pressure Taking and Random Blood Sugar Testing. Health Education was given regarding the importance of medication adherence and to have their blood pressure and blood sugar checked regularly.
In spite of the poor weather the whole day, it still didn’t discourage us to continue with the activity and make an impact on the community. We were able to cater for 85 individuals who were very appreciative of the time we chose to spend with them on that rainy day. We’ve also provided brief health education on those who have elevated RBS and BP results and referred them to visit the RHU or their respective doctors for further interventions. Aside from that, printed educational materials about Polio and Breast Cancer were distributed from stall to stall, from vendors to the costumers, and provided them with short facts about these diseases. In the end, it was a great interaction as they showed a willingness to listen and learn.
As Rotaractors, we lead in transforming the community into healthy individuals and strengthen our advocacy for them to gain better understanding and raise their awareness of the present health problems, not just in our community, but also in the world. With the theme, Imagine Rotary, we dream, set goals, and make those come true. Then, in time, we will be able to imagine a future where lives are lived healthily and happily because of what we have done today. Just like what Benjamin Franklin said, “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”. This quote will always be a great reminder to all of us that we should always be keen in keeping an eye on our health, because our health is our only wealth.
Take a step, make a move. Protect your health now.
