by Jessa Tordesillas

The farmers of Sitio Rero-an were, once again, gathered for a supplementary lecture on first aid. It was a lecture that the team conducted together with the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) of Cabatuan.

First aid is the immediate care that is given to a person when they are either injured or ill until there is an availability of full medical treatment. The Philippines is considered as an agricultural country. In 2015 the recorded overall labor force of the country totaled 41.34 million, 11.29 million of which are working in the agricultural sector. Pesticide exposure, injuries that they may obtain from the equipments that they used while farming, musculoskeletal disorders, diseases caused by prolonged exposure to the sun are just a few of the wide range occupational hazard that these farmers may experience. Many consider farming as one of the most dangerous jobs worldwide and many of these farmers are prone to occupational accidents where application of first aid is a must.

The farmers who attended the lecture were oriented on the role that a first aider plays when accidents occur. They were taught of the proper ways of handling different situations where there is an accident such as fainting, nose bleed, and how to handle different types of wounds and fractures. Part of the lecture was the use of indigenous materials that they could easily obtain on the site of the accident. The lecture continued on to the demonstration of the proper way of bandaging different kinds of injuries.

It was yet, again, a job well done! It was not only the members of the team who deserve to be congratulated but also to all who helped make the event successful despite the rainy weather.