Today marked the continuation of our community outreach, with my third dedicated partner: Mercy Kasama Meralyn. We set out to visit the babies under her care, including Meiyare Hael of San Miguel; Kendrick Anacaya, Sophia Ragaodao, Steve Taganna, and Ariana Teston of San Roque; and Lian Vivero of Sto. Niño. My previous visits with the other Mercy Kasamas provided an incredible surge of motivation, fueling my desire to reach even more families. This program allows us to extend crucial care and support not just to the infants, but also to their mothers, who consistently demonstrate A+ effort to ensure their children grow into healthy, capable individuals.
Encountering these families is genuinely heartwarming, especially when I see how deeply appreciative, they are of the support provided by the 1000 Days Program. It’s reassuring to see that most mothers thoroughly grasp the importance of monitoring their baby’s growth, understanding where their child stands on their developmental journey, and tracking their baby’s developmental milestones. The simple act of having a reliable source to ask questions, a trustworthy professional who can confirm whether a practice is beneficial or not, is profoundly helpful to them. Connecting with this diverse set of families is a rich, two-way exchange; they are not the only ones learning. I am constantly learning from their resilience and dedication, an experience for which I am deeply grateful.
Looking ahead, I sincerely hope this impactful program continues and inspires the start of similar initiatives. The support it provides to vulnerable families is immeasurably valuable.
We must continue to stress the critical role that the healthy development of these children plays in securing a strong foundation for the future of our society.