Transforming Lasting Smiles

Changing Lives & Giving Hope

Fall 2014
Issue 1
Alay News
Inside: UN MDG Update & 500-Day Countdown ~ Patient Updates
John Patrick before and afer clef lip surgery June 2014.
Kurt before and afer clef lip surgery June 2014.
Alay Sa Bayan NS Foundation
(Alay Foundation) has successfully
completed the four cleft lip and cleft
palate surgeries scheduled during
our May 2014 cataract, cleft lip and
prosthesis screening event.
Alay Foundation worked in
collaboration with Kapampangan
Development Foundation (KDF) and
Operation Smile to transform the lives
and smiles of four children in the San
Jose, NE area of the Philippines.
Alay Foundation was responsible for
transporting four young children,
(aged 1-11) with their guardians 100
miles to the Pampanga Provincial
Hospital in order for Operation Smile
to perform the free cleft lip and cleft
palate surgeries. The children stayed
overnight at the hospital after surgery
and Alay Foundation provided
transport back home the day after
surgery. We also transported them
for their follow-up appointments two
weeks after surgery. All four children
were cleared during their follow-up
appointments and all four surgeries
were a success.
Alay Foundation is not only inspired
by the work of Operation Smile
and Kapampangan Development
Foundation but, especially, by the
children and their families whose
hopes and prayers have sustained
them. The childrens smiles will keep
healing over the coming weeks and we
look forward to seeing their progress.
Article written by Alay Foundation.
Mission:
T o help combat poverty and empower
the poor by providing medical
assistance to disadvantaged families in
the San Jose, NE area of the Philippines.
Vision:
To play a signifcant role in both
outreach and education regarding
prenatal and maternal care and to see a
Philippines where everyone has access
to afordable quality healthcare.
Goals & Objectives:
Our goal is to provide a critical
community resource that ensures
healthcare for the most needy. To
accomplish this we will sponsor families
through PhilHealth, build medical
facilities, and use mobile medical units.
Transforming Lasting Smiles: cleft
lip surgery successes..........................1
Alay News ..............................................2
Fall 2014 Events....................................2
Addressing Maternal Mortality and
MDG 5 in San Jose, NE...................2-3
Outstanding Supporter Corner......3
Get Involved.................. ........................4
Contents
Alay Foundation
Sources: NSCB (1990-1995); NDS, NDHS, FPS, FHS, PSA-NSO (1998-2011)
www.AlaySaBayan.org
August 18, 2014 marked the 500-day
countdown to the worlds largest global
initiative undertaken to eradicate
poverty. The Millennium Development
Goals were established during the
United Nations sponsored Millennium
Summit held in September 2000. The
eight goals represented a bold vision
by the member states who drafted the
very specifc targets aimed at meeting
the development needs of the worlds
poorest by 2015.
Alay Foundation is working on the
ground with partner organizations to
help address the structural and systemic
reasons for povertys existence. Alay
Foundation has identifed maternal
mortality as one of its chief concerns.
We recognize how integral women are
as part of the solution to combatting
poverty and strengthening their
communities. To that end, we are pleased
to announce the groundbreaking of
our frst facility, Marys Child Birthing &
Womens Center.
The birthing center will address many
of the obstacles that stand in the way of
the Philippines achieving its objectives
for MDG 5 by 2015. According to the
United Nations, MDG 5 has two targets:
5A states, reduce by three-quarters,
between 1990-2015 the maternal
mortality ratio and 5B states, achieve
by 2015, universal access to reproductive
health.
With little more than a year to go before
reaching the target dates the Philippine
National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) released its 5th MDG
progress report. While much progress
has been made on several MDGs it
was discovered that maternal mortality
is lagging far behind the MDG target
of 52 deaths per 100,000 live births.
According to the 2011 Family Health
Survey, the maternal mortality rate is
221 per 100,000 live births. This means
that eleven Filipino women die each
day from preventable causes during
pregnancy and childbirth.
One of the many hurdles to achieving
improvement on maternal mortality is
the lack of health facilities. The need for
additional facilities is one motivation
On May 13, 2014 Alay Foundation
hosted our frst ever event, in
collaboration with the Kapampangan
Development Foundation, in San Jose
City in the Philippines. The event was
a huge success.
Total patients seen: 555
Total cataract surgeries
scheduled: 97
Total cataract surgeries
completed: 45
Cleft lip & palate surgeries
scheduled and completed: 4
Prosthesis patients serviced: 4
We are still in the process of completing
cataract surgeries. One of the problems
we have encountered during this
process has been the lack of education
about these basic procedures in
the barangay (generally very poor,
uneducated, rural communities within
the San Jose area that we serve). Many
of these patients are farmers and are
scheduling their surgeries around
planting and harvesting seasons,
believing that the recovery time from
cataract surgery is many months.
Education has always been the key to
fghting poverty and Alay Foundation
is in the process of coming up with a
robust educational outreach program
that will tackle this problem head-on,
educating people about many aspects
of health care.
Cataract Screening
Event Update
Addressing Maternal Mortality
and MDG 5 in San Jose, NE
Alay News
Upcoming Events
BLOOD DRIVE
San Jose - November 2014
For More Info Go To:
www.AlaySaBayan.org
Philippines Maternal Mortality
Graph 1990-2015
www.AlaySaBayan.org
www.AlaySaBayan.org
Source: United Nations
The birthing centers woman-centered
approach will provide family planning
options for women.
Eighty percent of maternal deaths are
due to causes such as hemorrhage,
infection, sepsis, pre-eclampsia and
eclampsia. Unfortunately, too many
women die from preventable and
avoidable death and disability in
pregnancy and childbirth. The well-
being of the patients is the birthing
centers utmost priority. Emergency
obstetric care for medical emergencies
for Alay Foundation to begin its plans to
build Marys Child Birthing & Womens
Center - a reliable resource for the
community in delivering pre-natal and
maternal health care.
The design of the building itself will
help address one of the issues afecting
maternal mortality: lack of privacy.
The birthing center will have two
private delivery rooms and a 4-bed
semi-private recovery room, assuring
professionalism and adequate privacy
during and after delivery. Moreover,
these architectural plans have been
drawn up with the goal of providing a
safe, respectful, and woman-centered
facility where women and families
are empowered with regard to their
maternal and reproductive health.
We see maternal health as a human
right; one that guarantees, respect for
womens autonomy, dignity, feelings,
choices, and preferences, including
companionship (White Ribbon
Alliance 2011). Alay Foundation seeks
to promote a womans access to quality
health care in a setting that advances
her human rights throughout her
experience with the birthing center.
Family planning and HIV/AIDS
screening are considered important
components of the birthing centers
health care services. With greater
access to reproductive health choices
women will be able to make informed
decisions in planning, spacing, or
preventing future pregnancies. In
our initial efort we are limited to
ofering counseling, condoms, and
contraceptive pills but will be able
to refer women and their families to
facilities ofering comprehensive family
planning services and resources.
According to NEDA, the Contraceptive
Prevalence Rate (CPR) decreased to
48.9% instead of increasing to its 2015
target of 63 percent. Additionally, the
United Nations Population Fund reports
on average, the [Philippines] poorest
women have two more children than
they say they want....[and] fertility rates
among the poor are nearly three times
higher than among the countrys rich.
that are beyond the scope of our
services will be available at the Heart of
Jesus Hospital, located directly across
from Marys Child Birthing & Womens
Center.
Alay Foundations holistic approach to
maternal health care at the birthing
center will serve as model for what we
hope will become an example for the
health care community in the San Jose
area of the Philippines.
Article written by Alay Foundation.
Outstanding Supporter Corner
Joe Eulo is a visual storyteller, founder and CEO of First
Frame Films, a collaborative production and design com-
pany made up of an eclectic group of artists, actors, and
flmmakers who share a passion for creating meaningful
work that moves, entertains, and educates its audience.
Some of his work is on web design, which is where Joe
came to our aid and redesigned our entire website and our
new blog. We are eternally grateful for his creativity and
dedication to our project.
His current project, Trafco, is an American crime drama about the dark and
invisible side of human trafcking in the United States.
You can visit his website at htpp://www.FirstFrameFilms.net
www.AlaySaBayan.org
Felomina Rufn and her family live in extreme poverty. To assist them Alay Foundation has
sponsored their Philhealth enrollment.
Help Support Our Mission
Please Help Support Our Work & Donate Today at:
www.AlaySaBayan.org
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Subscribe to Alays Blog at www.AlaySaBayan.org/blog
Contact Us: 973-447-4487 ~ Info@AlaySaBayan.org
PO Box 146 Nutley, NJ 07110

Why Support Alay Foundation?
Te generosity of supporters like you allows us to fulfll our mission of delivering quality health care to
impoverished Filipino families without access to health care in the San Jose, NE community. Founder
and physician, Jose Sobrepena, believes - as you do - that every human being has a basic right to quality
health care.
We are committed to bringing those medical services to struggling Filipino families who need it most.
Support our work today and know that your contribution will promote a healthy society for all Filipino
citizens, transforming lives all along the way.