One of the most important parts of a community exposure is establishing rapport with the community people. Without such rapport, one could not introduce change nor be one with the community. But before anything else, before we mingle with the people, before we go to the different landmarks, before we meet the health team, we should pay a courtesy call to the Mayor of the municipality. The Mayor is the highest ranked official which is responsible in leading, implementing and making decisions for his municipality. Having a good rapport with the mayor makes it easier to gain his support when implementing interventions or introducing a project.
Our assigned community is located in the municipality of Sergio Osmena, who is headed by the incumbent Mayor Richard Magsalay. On the fourth day of our stay in Barangay Venus, we were scheduled to pay a visit to the municipal hall and at the same time we had a chance to have the courtesy call to Mayor Magsalay. At around 9am we arrived at the municipal hall. Three other groups were also present during that time. Doctor Fatima Kunting, who is our community preceptor, was kind enough to lead us during the call. Mayor Magsalay welcomed us warmly. He introduced us to his municipal officials. He discussed about the different services available in his area and mentioned how good the health care system of his municipality is. He talked about the progress of his municipality. He mentioned the different problems his community is experiencing. He also made mention the different successful projects he had and the ongoing and remaining projects in his term. He’s also pretty open about any suggestions we may have with regards to his municipality that will benefit his people. He made it clear that we’re staying in a community where peace and order is not a problem. Mayor Magsalay made sure that we are safe in his municipality.
It was a short but meaningful visit. Mayor Magsalay is glad that once again his municipality was one of the chosen places Ateneo de Zamboanga University –School of Medicine picked to serve. Our first rotation in the community was basically to establish rapport with the community and it is just the first step in becoming one with them. On our second rotation we will make sure that we will not only continue to establish rapport with the community but also be equipped with more skills and knowledge to be a great help in the community.
