‘Care-avan’ reaches out to poor

A boy bravely braced himself for a tooth extraction.  Elderly men and women, some in crutches, together with mothers cradling babies, lined up to seek medical advice from  doctors behind tables laden with boxes of medicine.  Teenagers lined up for tetanus and hepatitis shots. Children waited for free bowls of arroz caldo and milk.

This was the scene at the Eagle Bayan Care-avan, a medical, dental and legal service mission  launched Saturday by Eagle Broadcasting Corp. which was established in 1967.

The “care-avan” was a way of relaunching the advocacy of the corporation as a “network that truly cares,” according to Art de Guzman, EBC president and COO.

The care-avan was held at five locations in Metro Manila, namely, Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City, Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City, Marikina Sports Center, San Andres Gym in Manila and Oreta Amphitheater in Malabon.

De Guzman said the beneficiaries yesterday topped 10,000, as each of the five sites had an average of 2,000 patients.

Net 25, the television station of EBC; dzEC 1062, EBC’s AM station, and Pinas FM 95.5 aired a whole-day live coverage of the event.

There were performances by artists like Nyoy Volante, Jose Mari Chan, Cesar Montano, Apple Chu and the Velasco brothers, at the FM and TV studios of EBC located in the compound of New Era University in Quezon City.

Doctors from the Philippine Medical Association, dentists from the Philippine Dental Association, and other health and wellness groups participated in live discussions in the studio.  More than 100 volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists as well as lawyers were at the five.

“This is just the start,” De Guzman said, as he bared plans for regular “care-avans” by the network.

“This is a historic first in Philippine media and community service,” he said.

Dr. Mike Aragon, media affairs director of the Philippine Medical Association, said their group agreed to be a partner in the “care-avan” because they shared the same advocacy of reaching out and providing service to the public.

De Guzman said the network wanted to “make a difference, for love of country and for love of God.”