Vol 37 Issue 5
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALPHA PHI OMEGA GREATER LOS ANGELES ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
June 2017
Humanitarian mission brings hope to Philippine village In some parts of the Philippines, basic and affordable health care remains inaccessible. But on May 25, 2017, help arrived in a small town in South Cotabato, one of the country’s most populous province, and also one of the poorest.
APOGLA Ann ual Camping 2017 Annual By Bro. Ferdie Yambot All roads led to Lake Perris Campground #6 during APOGLA’s Annual Memorial Day camping starting Friday –May 26 till Monday –May 29, 2017. A grand total of 95 people composing of 83 adults and 12 youngsters enjoyed the camaraderie and the merriments whole affair long. To start with, Camping Chair Alvin Nonato and crew got so busy with needed preparations and upon reaching the site, the tough task of unloading the truck and organizing the kitchen stuff and supplies got both muscles and mind boggling! Amidst all these, Bro Alvin still had the energy to fix the camping banner. HAIST! Though it was announced upfront that only 5 regular meals are budgeted, it ended up that there was never a dull moment at the kitchen. With VP Bobet Peneza being one of the earliest birds (along with SamC, RonaldA and FY), even the Friday dinner was sumptuous with bring-alongs being shared and complemented by a zesty dinuguan which also served as the first pulutan. Ha ha!
A few souls were up (drinking and shooting breeze) whole nite through as they helped the early risers cook breakfast of fried scrambled eggs with tomatoes, fried smoked fish (tinapa) along with diced tomatoes, onions , ginger and lemon to neutralize the salts. And BOOM . . . no one got hungry! Saturday lunch was the same way as those who came by noon shared their bring-alongs and more good souls bringing fresh sweet corn, breads, munchies and the likes for everyones’ consumption. And of course, from there-on, all meals/foods came from the kitchen mill prepared by volunteer kusineros and utility men and women. Worth mentioning were the slow roast lechon by VP BobetP, courtesy of kind donors (also kaldereta kambing) and the Ilocano style pinakbet of Bro Art and GieR (cooked before our eyes), both served at Sunday lunch. YUM YUM YUM
A team of health professionals and volunteers provided free medical, dental, optical and surgical services to at least 3,000 impoverished residents of Lake Sebu, including members of the T’boli tribe. Indigenous peoples like the T’boli remain to be one of the most neglected sectors of Philippine society. “There’s not much access to basic health services here,” observed Irma H. Almazan, current president of Alpha Phi Omega Alumni Council of North America (APOACNA), the group sponsoring the medical and humanitarian mission.
And of course the APO juices were like eternal springs . . . from fine spirits to quality beers! Card games, you ask(?)… Yes, multiple sessions resulting in more than $400 tong/rake. (not bad, Eh)
The APO delegation was composed of alumni volunteers from around 50 states, including five medical professionals. Funding came from foreign donations solicited from Almazan’s friends and colleagues, and from private groups based in New York City.
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