before our departure to Germany                                    Palms and banana trees were cut down

With a donation from the German European School in Manila, we were able to by new chairs for the children at the local primary school. The handover took placeon October 1st. It is hard to imagine that here at school not every child has an own chair to sit on. When we went to explore we saw that many of the children were either sitting on the ground or two children had to share a chair. also the condition of the existing chairs was terrible. The pictures show it.

On 15 October, the awards ceremony was held at B.Braun Melsungen. We had participated in the competition "What touches us" and we won the 1st prize,

which was endowed with 7,000 €. Thanks to all who voted in this online-voting for our project.

We are very glad, that the independent jury decided to give the price to us. We will use the trophy money to promote our project here in Bugko.

On November 24, visited us again council Roland Räuber with Angela Wöhle, also from the council of Steinen. Angela Wöhle was able to experience our daily clinical flow and she wasimpressed, how many patients searched for our help and how many different deseases we are usually treating. She herself is a nurse and could therefore judge our work.

In the afternoon we visited our children in the various groups of our nutrition program.

With your support we could also repair classrooms in elementary school. As reported in the last letter typhoon Glenda has caused many damage here in Bugko.

The School Board still has its attention to the region of Tacloban, where the typhoon Haiyan had destroyed nearly every building.

For the first Advent we had the seniors of Bugko here. We organized group games, there was food and music. Her joy was our joy and it was a good idea, as in the past we had made much for the children at Bugko, now we had more than 140 elderly guests here. Many of them are single and lonely people and never had experienced such a celebration. The dance legs were swinging into the evening hours.

Newsletter September 2014

                                                                                         Bugko, in September 2014

Dear members, friends and supporters of Mabuhay!

Dentist Dr. Carsten Hansen and his wife Doris came for a second time from Wildeshausen to us, from April 12 to Mai 2, for dental services . They brought a lot of dental material, which was used immediately. The patients were standing in line before 6 o`clock in the morning.  In contrast to his first "visit"  in 2012 Dr. Hansen was able to perform much more tooth-preserving treatment.. A total of 370 patients was treated. Of great interest was our fluoride prophylaxis-program, initiated by the Hilfswerk Deutscher Zahnärzte. Every year more children take part in it, they are examined, supplied with fluoride and if necessary with dental care regularly. Dr. Hansen confirmed, that this program is on the right way to improve the dental health of the people. Now daily come a lot of patients  for dental prophylaxis. The population's awareness for healthy teeth grows increasingly.

some teeth could be saved ...

fluoride prophylaxis program

No soon as Carsten and Doris Hansen had parted, we packed our teaching materials for 1000 students from kindergarten up to the 6th grade. This happened in connection with the typhoon aid to help affected families. Each bag was individually packed and equipped with the necessary materials, depending on the class.

The handover took place on June 2nd. All the students were happy, inspected the contents and wore their backpacks proudly home. Once again, many thanks to the Hilfswerk Deutscher Zahnärzte.

Many people could be treated and we are very glad that Dr. Lindner will come again in January. Then he will stay 6 weeks. His stay was disturbed by the typhoons Glenda and Henry, who in quick succession had caused great damage here in Bugko. I reported separately. As a result, we had two weeks no electricity and what that means I do not need to explain in detail. Our last visitor for this summer was on July 30 Svenja Bär from Olpe / Sauerland. She made a 3-week work experience with us before she begins her studies in anthropology in fall.

Thanks to all who had supported us in the action "What touches us" of  the Company Braun Hygiene. We got this time as many votes as never before. It was voted for our project around the world, with the proud result of 3118 votes. Now an independent jury will decide, we hope for our Projekt. End of September, we will  know the winners. Keep your fingers crossed!

More good news reached us in late August. The Hilfswerk Deutscher Zahnärzte, headed by Dr. Winter will pay the expenses for the construction of a new multi-purpose building on our property. About the background and the progress of the new building, I will report in my next newsletter.

Again we were able to help many people and we also can  perform new actions. All this is only possible  with your support.

So once again Salamat (Thank you) to everybody from Bugko!

With best wishes for a beautiful fall I am your

Sabine Korth

Newsletter April 2014

Bugko, April 2014

Dear members, friends and supporters of Mabuhay!

On January 3, 2014, our annual General Meeting was held. Sr. Veronica and I could be back again and this time the room in Haus Elisabeth was almost too small, many had come to hear about the project and in particular an update of Typhoon Haiyan. We experienced it directly and were able to give first-hand information. Many photos underlined the disaster which left the Philippines, particularly the islands of Samar and Leyte helpless. The re- construction will take a long time to be completed and we once again thank everyone who has supported us in this work and still do it.

Back in Bugko on January 8, we had stormy weather. It started with lots of rain, due to a low pressure area, which was just revolving over Samar. Strong winds, heavy rain and again the electricity was cut off as a result. Therefore, the communication was again very limited earlier this year. Many areas were flooded and the newly planted rice floated and were totally destroyed.

On January 9, we went directly to St. Rita, Samar, to bring relief supplies. We did this in conjunction with IIP (International Initiative for Philippines). The region around St. Rita is also affected by Typhoon Haiyan, but from the international aid still not much is seen. We brought cooking pots and hygiene articles. I think the pictures show very clearly how much is left to do and how little international aid has also been used.

On January 16, we did our first Medical / Dental Mission of this year. As always, we accommodated many patients at once. Our volunteers are well-trained and work as a team and coordinate from patient registration to giving instructions on how to take the medications. Often the space is limited and the circumstances more than are far beyond imagining.

On February 5, Max Reinsberg from Bonn came to us. He is an operational technican assistant by profession and works in an operating room in Bonn. In the clinic, he was confronted with various works. These included measuring of blood pressure, applying bandages, intramuscular injections and consultation with the patients. He stayed until 24 February.

On February 11, the World Day of the Sick, was again our  "Surgical Mission" in conjunction with ISM (International Surgical Mission). We perform ambulant operations in Mabuhay clinic. Dr. Paul Radway, the leader of the group, came himself and performed in one day 35 operations. Our patients have been waiting for him, because they can not afford the cost even for these small operations. Patients with major surgery, such as inguinal hernias, breast tumors, thyroid enlargement, uterine enlargement, etc., were examined on February 4 and operated the local hospital in Biri, a barrier island of Samar. These Missions are free for patients. They are operated and supplied with all necessary medications. For many years we have been working together with ISM and we always have many patients who benefit from this free operations. All our volunteers were in use.

As the “holiday season” of Dra. Padilla ended, on March 6, my parents came to us. Also they did not come for holiday, but to take care of the patients. Since their last visit here much happened in the clinic and they were amazed. Since we have a rapidly increasing number of patients with disorders of the musculoskeletal system and with pain, the orthopedic doctor was expected for a long time. The patients were queuing. Large and small patients were in good hands with the two. They are a good team so we could treat every day, many patients by the medical specialist. Overall, in the short time nearly 1,000 patients came to us.

One of the highlights was a Medical Mission in Las Navas, a town in Northern Samar about 60km away from us. In just one day my parents had 205 patients with orthopedic diseases. We just worked on the village square under the simplest conditions. The spectators was not in shortage throughout the day and even the rain did not deter the patients to come to us. Before the day was over, we were already asked when the German doctor will return.

Before the end of my report I would like to give a little glimps on the latest development about Typhoon Haiyan, who hit parts of Samar and devastated most of Leyte so hard. In Bugko we initially supplied rice, foods and other relief assistance towe those families who were much affected. On February 6, we set up a kind of “soup kitchen” in front of the clinic and gave hundreds of residents a Filipino noodle dish called (pansit).

All the nipa huts along the coastline in Bugko were destroyed by the typhoon were repaired immediately after they got native materials from us. Also our Medical Missions helped the people very much at the early stage.

In Tacloban, Leyte , the roads are cleared and the many dead bodies that previously were still lying on the roadside , were buried in mass graves. There are groceries open and also some shops are opened again. The state has built so-called emergency shelters. Some restaurants, gasoline stations, schools and hospitals are opened again. The power poles are back. Superficially, it all sounds positive , but when you look at it closer , this once thriving city is in ruins and this applies not only to the houses. There are still over 1500 missing persons, foods are greatly overpriced the emergency shelters are sub-standard . Unemployment is high and people see no future. There is still no constant power supply, and many houses are still not even connected to the power supply . Many Taclobanons build their huts on the destroyed old ones and use the materials from the rubble . Also, they do not heed to the 40Meters No–Built Zone Policy from the sea, which was set by the government. Skilled workers are leaving the city and work in Manila in non-professional fields, just to have work. Where is the big international aid gone? It seems that many donations from all around the world is still in Manila. In March, a large part of the relief supplies will be reduced. This is terrible as many people in Tacloban depend on them , as they can not afford expensive food .The second phase of our assistance aimed at a long-term assistance to give people a new hope and an income. Therefore, we choose to build boats. This gives people jobs and subsequently by fishing they can have small income from which they can feed their families. At the beginning of the school year we will distribute educational materials, as people have really lost everything. Sad to say but it seems our small initiatives are much faster effective than big international help. It has much to do with bureaucracy. So I thank you again very much for the many large and small donations. We would not have gone through this difficult time without your support and we could not have passed out this much help to those affected. It’s still a long way, but I think our initiatives really brought the necessary help and we will continue to do so as long as we have the means to do it . Here are a few recent pictures :

For all of you here and your generous help, in many ways, we thank you so very much. It is so clear to us again and again that our concern in this part of the world is also yours.

And so I greet you in a warm connectedness from Bugko

Yours

Sabine Korth

Salamat (Thank you) from Bugko!

Charity between palm trees and wooden huts of Max Reinberg

Feb. 2014

With the first rays of the new day, the small propeller plane reached the runway of Catarman. I'm glad to finally be on the island of Samar and thus the goal of my journey. Sister Sabine is waiting jeep to me. The air is humid and full of the morning sounds of a rural environment. Having Catarman behind us, we follow the newly built road in the direction Bugko. It goes past palm trees, rice fields and numerous small huts. Even now I'm sure that this will be a very special experience for me here. Finally the road ("the Crossing") forks and then immersed already a large iron gate, on which is to be read in bright lettering "Mabuhay". Bugko and the clinic "Mabuhay" is reached.

Before the door waiting for me, besides the two playful Hofhunden, a wide smiling sister Veronica, who greeted me with a hug and me a shell necklace hanging around his neck As I will soon learn, this warm friendliness is exemplary for my time to come here in the Philippines.

The Philippines is a beautiful spot on earth, characterized by crystal-clear sea, countless coconut trees and the green thicket of the jungle. Here in Bugko most people live in small huts, often without running water or electricity. The fields are ordered with the Carabau (a bison). Rice, coconuts and fishing are the main supply branches.

I was very impressed with how friendly the people came to meet me. Not only in normal use, in purchasing or common basketball, but also in the clinic. Hours of waiting is accepted with patience and serenity to accept without complaint when a case must be forwarded unfortunately due to lack of funds.

In clinical routine, it is always an interesting experience, with what simple means of diagnosis and treatment can also work. In "Mabuhay" is still primarily the man in focus and less turnover and profitability. Especially with difficult cases, however, you can see how many more opportunities we have in Germany, and learns to appreciate these very different. This concerns not only medical care, but it all starts at the daily safe power or the shower in the morning.

Also impressive is the gratitude that is brought against any of the people, even if, as here, is only a small part of the Great. Always have a smile and "Salamat" on his lips. It does not always peaceful and hectic. I have found particularly strong contrast to our hectic world in Germany. The Filipinos have their very own pace.

Admirable is to see what has been built here with the clinic Mabuhay midst of huts, palm trees and rice fields. And in view of the catchment area (after all, some of the patients had up to 2 days arrival) and the high number of patients is also quickly realized how important this facility. More sad it is that this commitment is often more affected (in particular by the government) and only rarely experienced direct support. As examples I can mention the costly bureaucracy, paradoxical donations editions or even the withdrawal of the clinic doctor with no prospect of replacement here. Our support from Germany is therefore all the more important. Especially since you yourself can make with little money, sometimes a lot here. At no point was the me more aware as a terminally ill patient could not pay their trip to the surgery in Catarman. It was by 35 PHP (1 Euro = approx. 61PHP), without which the patient would inevitably died from sepsis or bleeding.

I had the opportunity to spend time there and can only say that this is an experience not to be missed. Something quite different. I myself have learned a lot in the Philippines not only in the medical field, but also a lot about the culture and the people.

I thank you for the welcome and the nice time in Bugko! I will always remember with a smile on his lips at the time in the Philippines, even if it was so short.

Max Reinberg,  March 2014

Sabine Korth 03.03.14 / 11:52

Life after Typhoon Haiyan

The Foundation's Fund German Dentists (HDZ) has received a € 15,000 donation from the company Novadent (HH) for the Taifungeschädigten in the Philippines. Sabine Korth reports of the situation on the ground.

Three months have passed. Here in Bugko environment and the situation is largely under control. We have here for weeks fed the families who have lost their livelihoods due to the typhoon. Farmers who had cultivated rice and could not reap, and especially fishermen whose boats were destroyed. The damaged cabins received new roofs.

Rebuilt: With support for the HDZ Sabine Korth could fix with helpers in Bugko huts or rebuild.

We also have various relief operations - so-called Medical Missions - carried out to serve many of the sick. Immediately after the typhoon, there were many injured by flying roofs, wood and other. In the second phase of the mission we saw more of the bronchial disorders, gastro-intestinal tract and skin diseases caused by contaminated water.