The Valenzuela City government on Monday, Nov. 28, launched the “Balik Eskwela, Bantay Kalusugan sa Valenzuela” mobile medical and dental mission for the city’s public elementary school students as they return to face-to-face classes.
The launching of the program was held at the General T. De Leon Elementary School.
“Ang target po natin ay mailapit na ang medical and dental check-ups sa loob ng paaralan, para po hindi na mahirapan ang ating mga magulang na dalhin pa ang kanilang mga anak sa mga barangay health centers (Our goal is to bring the medical and dental check-ups inside the school, so that the parents would not be burdened to bring their children to our barangay health centers),“ Valenzuela City Mayor Welie “Wes” Gatchalian said.
The local government said that two medical and dental vans and a mobile pharmacy will be fielded to provide necessary medical and dental check-ups to the students.
The vans will stay in a specific school for a week to provide services to the learners before they move to another school to cater to other students, it added.
The program aims to promote medical and oral health among students in the city, provide multivitamins to undernourished kids, and encourage immunization/vaccination of students and parents against diseases.
“Sa nakaraang dalawang taon po, marami ang mga estudyanteng hindi nakapagpa-check up at hindi na po pumapasa sa ating body index, kaya ho ang target natin, ay maipa-check up natin ang ating mga estudyante sa mga doktor na kasama sa mga mobile vans na ito, regarding all the questions na gusto nating itanong tungkol sa health ng ating mga estudyante. Hindi lang po pag-aaral ang tinututukan natin, kundi ang kapakanan din po nila, gusto po natin na malusog sila kapag pumapasok para maging mas maayos ang kanilang pag-aaral (For the past two years, a lot of students were not able to undergo check-ups and are failing in the body index, that is why we aim to get our students checked so that we will be able to ask the doctors all our questions regarding the health of our children. We are not just focusing on their education but also on their well-being. We want them to be healthy to be able to study properly.)
City Health Officer Dr. Marthony Basco, Valenzuela Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Meliton Zurbano, General T. De Leon Elementary School Head Ms. Eufelia Corales, Barangay Gen. T. De Leon Chairman Alfren Caiña, and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairwoman Justine Joy Rivera and Council were also present during the event.
“Alam niyo po, kapag kayo ay bata, apat lang po ang dapat ninyong gawin: una, matulog nang maaga; pangalawa, kumain nang tama; pangatlo, maglaro; at pang-apat, ay dapat maalagaan ang inyong kalusugan, kaya naman inilunsad natin ang Balik Eskwela, Bantay Kalusugan, dahil hindi niyo maggawa ang pagpasok sa eskwela, ang paglalaro, at pag-aaral kung hindi malusog ang inyong pangangatawan (If you are a child, you only have to do four things: first, sleep early; second, eat right; third, play; and fourth, to take care of your health, that is why we launched Balik Eskwela, Bantay Kalusugan because you cannot attend school, play, and study if your body is not healthy),” Basco said.