‘Now is the time to serve’

This is the advice of Edren Llanillo, a youth leader, to the youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic that still affects his laid back hometown in Pangasinan, north of the Philippines and where World Vision also works.

“My message for the youth is…share your God-given gifts. No one will start the progressive change but you. Huwag pangunahan ng takot. Umpisahan mo sa maliit na bagay [Don’t let fear deter you. Start in small things],” he said.

True to his words, Edren leads a team of youth that provides basic medical health care and training on first aid and disaster preparedness thru the Go Bike Project which was co-founded by Edren’s friends, Nikko De Mesa and Sheena Mae Quiles, last March 2019.

Using their bikes, the team would go around their village and nearby communities to promote disaster preparedness and perform basic health care among people, adult and children alike.

“We conduct bicycle ‘fun ride’ to also promote the health benefits of cycling, which is a sustainable and Eco-friendly mode of transportation. Bikes can also be our alternative mode of transportation during emergency response,” he explained.

During the strict quarantine period to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many public and private transportation in the Philippines were not allowed to operate, leaving most families to either walk or bike to buy essential needs such as food. Some families relied on government food relief assistance.

It was during this quarantine period that Edren’s Go Biker team provided individuals basic health care. “During ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), we noticed that most of our constituents cannot go to health care centers for a health check. Our heat index that time was reaching 50 degree Celsius. We thought that checking blood pressure is vital to monitor one’s health. Our trained and equipped Go Bikers conducted basic checking and monitoring of vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration and blood sugar testing),” Edren explained.

An individual or household member who needs his/her vital sign checked will only have to call or text any of the Go Bikers who will bike their way to the needed individual.

Not always a smooth ride

Go Bike is a youth-initiated project supported by the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) of Umanday village. Without major funding support, the Go Bike Project would occasionally experience challenges.

“We joined a lot of project proposal and competition for grants. But not all the time there is a project competition, therefore we struggle sometimes. Currently, we lack resources to accommodate other youth volunteers who wanted to become part of the project. We can’t fund their training expenses so they can be certified. We can’t also provide them bicycles for mobilization. These people are still on our waiting list.

“Actually, we have youth, adolescents and children who wanted to become Go Bikers. They are community residents in areas where World Vision works. We wanted to train and accommodate them as well, but we don’t have enough resources,” Edren acknowledged.

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, World Vision has trained youth in its covered communities on basic disaster preparedness and also provided disaster-prone areas with early warning devices such as public address system which serves as government officials’ quickest means to announce important messages during typhoons.

At the moment, Go Bike members are grateful for the fund assistance from the youth council of Umanday village but continue to grab and seek funding opportunities.

Deeper reason

Contrary to one might think, Edren and his Go Bike have no medical background nor were graduates of medical professions. Edren is a multimedia editor and videographer. He thought and started the project because of a deeper reason.

“My father and grandmother died from heart attacks. We failed to give them immediate medical care. My experience on my loved one’s death inspired me to start Go Bike that will prove immediate health care in our village,” he said.

While providing basic health services to people, Go Bike members also worry about the possibility of being infected with COVID-19. “I admit that we are concern about our health as well whenever we do our job. But people are in need of help. So, we just practice basic hygiene practices like wearing of PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment), religiously washing of hands, sanitizing equipments and keeping ourselves healthy. These are our golden rules. We are fully aware what will happen if we do not do these,” Edren said.

Aside from practicing basic hygiene, Go Bike members also have meetings as part of their mental and emotional care. “We conduct regular weekly meetings to have time to talk to each other and unload possible burden while doing the project. We boost each other’s morale and treat everyone as brothers and sisters,” he added.

Edren and his Go Bike members aim to involve more youth in their advocacy, hopefully with support from other sectors such as World Vision. “We are thinking of expanding our Go Bike Project. We hope to have partnership with other organizations soon,” Edren said.