The Journey to Mampweng

January 10th, 2018: The Journey to Mampweng 

By: Kilen Eilefson

A 4 am wake up call greeted us Tuesday morning to kick off our day of travel. After loading our provisions into the bus, we took off towards our home for the next three days; the small village Mampweng, but the story is in the journey.

Leaving MJ before 5 am allowed us to see a Manila which we hadn't seen, a Manila without standstill traffic on every street. As we headed north, there was a noticeable change in the air. This was the first time we had been outside the limits of Manila since we arrived, and it felt great to step outside of the bus and breathe in fresh, cool air. Driving down the highway we were able to take in the views of the mountains upcoming, and the miles upon miles of rice fields that lined the road. The road to Olongapo was a scenic one to say the least.

Just before Olongapo, we reached the city of Subic. This city has a strong history of World War 2, as it is home to an American Naval base https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subic_Bay. Because of this, the roads are marked like they are back home; with stop signs, crosswalks, and traffic lights which the drivers shockingly follow. The quieter atmosphere of Subic makes it a relaxing place to be, and a place that I have decided I will one day return to.

Upon arriving in Olongapo, we stopped at its local market to buy fresh fish, chicken, and pork. Walking through the area where the butchers were making their cuts was slightly traumatic for some, but a memorable experience for all. We were able to see pig heads, hooves, ears, ground beef being made, and just about every part of every animal that was being sold. After gathering our meals, we met our guide for the trip, Ma'am Ging Tabujara, a Mary Johnston graduate with extensive experience as a missionary nurse in Laos, Cambodia, is the community health nurse who will be working with us and has been working with the community we stayed with.

Before leaving for the community, Ma'am Ging took us to the public health office to meet the city Doctor, Dr. Rodrick Bustamante. He was very happy to have us and explained to us the different health initiatives that were going on in the city, especially the controversial issues that have been surrounding the Dengue virus vaccine. It is very clear to us that Dr. Bustamante plays a huge role in his community's overall health, and devotes much of his time ensuring that his community is getting the health attention it needs.

After our meeting, we finally headed to the community in the afternoon. The bus dropped us off with our things a little less than 2 miles from the village, as the roads were unsuitable for bus travel. This left us to carry our personal bags, while our provisions were placed on a converted motorcycle to be taken to the village. After about 45 minutes of hiking through the heat, we came to the crest of a hill and looked down to see our home for the next 3 days; Mampweng-home to the Aeta (indigenous people of the Philippines) http://originalpeople.org/the-aeta-people-indigenous-tribe-of-the-philippines/

Soon after arriving, we set up our sleeping mats and mosquito nets in the village church. The mosquito nets ended up being more of a challenge than we had thought to set up, but in the end, everyone had a spot under the protection of a net. Soon after this, Chief Rani came and met us, and took us on our first tour of the village. We were then able to meet the community members for the first time and get a layout in our minds for our survey we were to complete the next day. It was a great way to cap off an exciting full day excursion and left us ready to crawl onto our mats for the night.