January 23, 2019. On its 2019 First Quarter Board of Trustees Meeting, FDAI opens to the public two facilities that are deemed important for the attainment of the organization’s goals and objectives.
One facility that was opened is named Dangpanan, a transient house for Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) in Agusan del Sur. FDAI holds that BHWs who are hospitalized or act as watchers of patient/s at the D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital must be provided with a place to rest, recreate, freshen up and cook food. This is to address the fact that the hospital is always crowded and BHWs are denied space for them to rest.
Acknowledging the huge contributions of BHWs as frontliners in the delivery of health services – particularly in the elimination of malaria in Agusan del Sur – FDAI built the Dangpanan for them. Also acknowledging that BHWs exert extra efforts to provide relatively comfortable spaces for center-based health workers when they are in the barangays to deliver health services; they need to be provided relatively comfortable spaces when they are in Patin-ay for hospitalization-related reasons.
The Dangpanan shall be run by FDAI in partnership with Agusan del Sur BHW Federation.
Another facility that was opened by FDAI to the public is the Tun-ananan or the Learning Center that is purposely built to advance the organization’s vision of Full Humanity Development. Important books, magazines, journals, and the like are made available in the facility for interested parties.
The facility was built through a grant from KNH Germany and from FDAI’s revenues. The books featured in the facility are mostly donations from Bantay Kita – Publish What You Pay Philippines through its Mindanao Coordinator Beverly F. Besmanos; Natural Resource Governance Institute through its former Asia-Pacific Director Jelson T. Garcia; Department of the Interior and Local Government through Agusan del Sur Provincial Director Arlyn Ann R. Sanchez; Third World Network through its Philippine Coordinator Atty. Lee Aruelo and Paglilingkod Batas Pangkapatiran Foundation through its Finance Officer Marian A. Palabon. Also featured in the facility are the books published by FDAI, mostly written by Dr. Rex T. Linao.
The Board of Trustees of FDAI also took the lead in the ground-breaking for the organization’s enhanced Baligyaanan. FDAI has been operating an organic store within the Hygeia IntegraMeds Center but the organization welcomes the grant from the Department of Agriculture – Provincial Government of Agusan Sur for the construction of Organic Trading Post, which FDAI names Baligyaanan. The Baligyaanan is to be located in a more strategic place within the Hygeia IntegraMeds Center and is designed to sell more varied organic products and integrative medicines.
