This week we continued our office work. We continued food validation and we started something new called spot-checking. This is to ensure that the surveys match the list of foods each household eats. If there is a mistake, we note it on the sheet. I really liked doing this office work. Before the excursion, we only had to view presentations that informed us of the surveys and gave us information on what we will do on the rural excursions. Now, I got to act as though I work at FNRI which was great. It felt like I had done good work since I collected data in the field, and am now going through it for errors.
On July 7-8 we attended the FNRI Seminar Series. It is a 2-day seminar in which FNRI presents their data from the last year. It was at the Manila hotel, and we got to see lots of cool posters and presentations. It included data on food insecurity, how different populations can be impacted differently (e.g how growth is delayed in children who don’t eat protein), and plans devised to combat it. We stayed the night at the Manila hotel and went to the pool which was fun. We got catered some delicious food as well!
I felt super accomplished after the seminar series. Even though I didn’t contribute to any of the data presented, I worked hard and got to attend the event where I witnessed the fruits of my labor.
One notable thing that happened this week is one of the interns I came here with got an infection and had to get care fairly quickly. She struggled to find a doctor that could treat her. She walked to a clinic that couldn’t take anyone, called another clinic that turned out to be a pet shop, and finally went to a pharmacy that directed them to a medical hospital. When she went to the medical hospital, they said she would need to come back tomorrow to see a surgeon. Finally, she asked the nurse there where she could be seen that day, to which the nurse told her about Makati medical center. Finally, after getting there she got treated. The total cost was $120 and it was a very short wait. This is because only a few people can afford proper healthcare here. While it was not me who went through the experience, it was also humbling and made me realize my privilege.
