Saturday, October 25, 2008 Roperos: At ground level By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
THERE are things you get to know about life in the countryside when you visit the area frequently. Life is relaxed---none of the constant ringing of the phone, less temptation of the city nightlife, and less drinking sessions.
But you see also some depressing sides when you drift with the mainstream of rural life. When I was still in knee pants and lived in the town, I was never affected by the pain felt by the neighbors.
But life is different now. I get exasperated when mothers come around to complain about being asked to pay P50 medical consultation fee when they bring their sick baby to the district hospital.
One mother said that when she brought her child to the Puericulture Center to ask for medicine, she was asked for a prescription from the hospital. But she did not have it because she could not afford the consultation fee. She did not get the medicine.
I thought doctors of public hospitals treat anyone for free.
Certainly, only the poor would go to a district hospital for treatment of ailments that would cost money if brought to a private doctor. Most town folks are concerned only with three general areas: food, education, and good health.
First off, even low income families in the city are concerned with their daily bread. It is a basic need for it goes even with the town’s elite, only that they have stocks of cereal and canned goods. Even the freezer is full of meat and fish.
But majority of the town folks are on subsistence economy level. The family head works to feed his family, in his own rice or corn patch, doing odd jobs, or going to sea.
Children’s education is the second priority, and this is where they often suffer in silence. It is to the President’s credit that she ordered the DepEd to ease on collection of school contributions/donations. Yet, collections like for monthly contributions, sinking fund, school publication, classroom repairs, etc. continue.
Once in a while, some schools like the Sangat National High School gets lucky, as beneficiary of donations from abroad. A foundation headed by a former resident of San Fernando town, donated computers to the school.
Unluckily, though, the computers were received by the town mayor who reportedly took the good ones, and then loaded the rest in dump trucks, delivered them to the school, and dumped them on the school ground. Read the tagasanfernando.blog.com for developments.
Finally, there’s the family’s health, which we have already tackled above.
