Introduction

One of the requirements for this semester was the internship in Public Health

Nutrition. It was the first phase where we were assigned to go through. The other

phases are the hospital and food service which will take place in a hotel. The

National Nutrition Council has chosen the place where we would be conducting

our 250 hours of practicum. We were assigned in the Municipality of Carmen,

Cebu.

The Municipality of Carmen lies at the Northeastern coast of Cebu Province

and is approximately 38.6 kilometers from Cebu City. It is bounded on the North

by the Municipality of Catmon; on the South by the City of Danao; on the West by

the Municipality of Tuburan; and on the East by Camotes Sea. According to the

2015 census, it has a population of 51,325. Carmen is composed of 21

Barangays namely; Baring, Cantipay, Cantumog, Cantukong, Caurasan, Cogon

East, Cogon West, Corte, Dawis Norte, Dawis Sur, Hagnaya, Ipil, Lanipga,

Liboron, Lower Natimao-an, Luyang, Poblacion, Puente, Sac-on, Triumfo and

upper Natimao-an.

Carmen, Cebu, was founded as a town on June 16, 1851, by Facundo Buot.

It was originally named as Bugho, but eventually renamed by a Spaniard

chronicler. After the coming of the Spaniards, baptism was held as one of the

steps taken to Christianize all the natives of Bugho. During the first baptismal

ceremony, only one woman was baptized. She happened to be wearing a

necklace bearing the name "Birhen sa Carmen". A Spaniard who served as a

recorder to take down important notes asked her for the name of the village

before the ceremony took place. She thought the white man was referring to her

necklace because he was looking at it. She answered, "Birhen sa Carmen". Not

long after that, the town was named CARMEN by the Spaniards.
 The chosen barangay that we were assigned to was Barangay Sac-on. It is a

small barangay composed of 7 Sitios; Baucan, Luayan, Lagundi, Casia,

Cabanbanan, Cumunal and Centro, with the total population of more than a

1000. The barangay hall is located at Sitio Baucan and not at the centro because

it is harder to get there. It is a 30 minute ride from the municipal proper and is

located at the mountainous area. People in the community has a hard time in

purchasing their food supply, especially seafood, due to long hours of travel and

it is more expensive to go to the town proper, instead they just rely to the

manglalako or the vendors that goes around places to sell products with their

motorcycle. Difficulty in life and lack of proper education among the parents were

some of the underlying causes of malnutrition of the children in Barangay Sac-

on. The common work for fathers are farming, motorcycle driver or construction

worker; while the mothers do some farming, and very few owns a small business

or what we call sari-sari store, but higher numbers of the mothers were plain

housewife and teenagers. Some cannot afford to buy nutritious food.

 Activities Done
(Accomplished with Documentations)

Operation Timbang

Pabasa sa
Nutrisyon for
Mothers

Pabasa sa Nutrisyon for Children

Blood Pressure Taking

Cooking Demo
 Learnings and Reflection
During the internship in Barangay Sac-on we were able to learn and experience

the following:

1.) Difficulty in travelling to Barangay Sac-on was one of the hardest parts of

our internship. Although, it was worth the pain and stress because we were able

to share the knowledge and ideas of proper nutrition.

2.) Some individuals in the barangay are not highly educated. We learned that

one must be patient when dealing with them, especially the older individuals.

3.) Educating parents through Pabasa sa Nutrisyon was effective in

spreading the knowledge and use of proper nutrition. It should be a part of the

first few days of Public Health internship immersion in the community.

4.) We were also able to help our BNS by talking to the barangay officials

about how important it is to have a budget for nutrition.

5.) We were able to help organize the structure of the barangays Barangay

Nutrition Committee.

6.) We helped the barangay officials and BHWs to realize that a spot map is

important and is needed to be updated regularly which led to the making of a

better spot map.

7.) Interns should be physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially ready

once in they are assigned to their specific barangays.

 Recommendation
To the upcoming interns:

1.) Be prepared to deal with people in the community. Some may be

hard headed because they seem to think that what they are already doing

is correct and they do not want to be corrected. This may also be due to

how they were raised and taught by their parents.

2.) See to it that you are prepared for the topics you are going to

discuss, especially in Pabasa sa Nutrisyon because the people are surely

going to ask for clarifications and for the things they do not understand.

3.) Be physically ready. Especially to those who are assigned in

mountainous areas. The travel alone is already rough, but once you go out

to do your OPTs and house to house inspections, or even going to the

schools, it can be very difficult. You will be passing through small

pathways.

4.) Be sure to budget your money wisely, because you will be

spending more once you are in your assigned area. And that the

barangays do not have the budget to spend for the lacking materials and

supplies needed.
 For Unfinished Activities

> Operation Timbang: The operation timbang of some Sitios were not finish

due to Bagyong Auring.

> BNAP Implementation: Implementing of all the proposed projects.

> Pabasa sa Nutrisyon: Some Sitios that are far from the proper area are

too difficult to reach because there is no proper road and it could also be

dangerous to go to.

For S.F.E Improvement

Suggestions are as follows:

There should be a shuttle bus for taking students to and from the

designated province to ensure the safety of each student.

That each group will compose of at least 4-5 members to fairly

distribute work load and financial expenses.

It is best that the instructor visits each barangay at least once in two

weeks to monitor and give advice for both the BNS and the students.