Help US soldiers and their Filipino partners conduct a joint medical mission in the southern Philippines

Your Impact

With the help of our donors, Spirit of America purchased $2,478 worth of boat fuel, food, water, and other materials for a community medical outreach initiative in a remote region of the Philippines.

This project is fully funded. THANK YOU!

The southern islands have been historically one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the Philippines, with a relatively remote population more vulnerable to recruitment by violent extremist organizations. Tawi-Tawi is the most southern group of islands and as such, healthcare service delivery to the local populations, civilian and military, is limited by distance, funding, and quantity of trained healthcare professionals.

A US soldier from US Indo-Pacific Command conducts a checkup on a local resident of Sapa Sapa, Tawi Tawi, Philippines.

Photo courtesy: US Indo-Pacific Command

US soldiers from the US Special Operations Command Pacific worked with local government employees and local health care practitioners to conduct a joint medical outreach project on Banaran Island in Sapa-Sapa, Tawi Tawi. The medical mission provided a range of healthcare services, from preventative medical and dental checkups to minor surgical procedures to more than 500 local residents. The island, only accessible by boat, is 4 hours away from the closest hospital. The collaborative outreach involved more than 85 personnel from the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces 51st Special Action Company, Philippine National Police 1st Maritime Group-Special Operation Unit, Tawi-Tawi Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Sapa-Sapa Municipal Office, Sapa-Sapa Health Office, Barangay Banaran Health Workers, and Bongao Doctors.

Volunteers unload supplies for the medical outreach.

To support this mission, Spirit of America provided fuel for the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces 51st Special Action Company to transport the volunteer health workers to Banaran Island. Spirit of America also provided food and water for the medical aid workers, and a banner to highlight the event and participants.
“I feel fulfilled seeing the faces of the community so happy and grateful for these medical services since most of the patients are indigenous and can’t afford to go where the hospitals are located. Overall, this medical mission was successful because of the collaboration with representatives from the Barangay, municipality, IPHO, Spirit of America, and US servicemembers. Because of this joint effort, all of the patients were served. I am grateful to the United States Embassy in the Philippines for their partnership and logistical support. I’m looking forward to more joint activities in the future,” said Elsa B. Pescadera, Chief of Technical Service Division, IDHO, Tawi-Tawi.

Members of the Philippine Forces provide haircuts to local residents on the remote island of the southern Philippines.

With your help, Spirit of America can continue to support the efforts of US servicemembers working in the Philippines, strengthening the bond between an important friend, partner and ally, and providing much needed medical care to community members of a historically conflict-prone area.