It was one of those gloomy days that I happen to chance upon a documentary film that changed my perception of a dismal moment. Reviewing my past, I cannot think of a year, of a quarter of a year, or a month that passed without thinking and feeling sad for the people in our country in such dire need they cannot even help themselves. But that is not what I had in mind on that fateful afternoon. It was more of a personal reason and one of those times you just had to be alone and feel, well�sad.

In a single twist of a wrist and a press of the remote buttons, I was enthralled at the image that flashed before me on my tv screen. Image after image that left me telling myself how selfish I can be, wanting to be sad, when people, real people have true reasons of being more than melancholy. Being poignant that afternoon is probably the result of the blackened clouds outside, thus having its effect on almost everyone who planned to have a good afternoon out of the day. It was that mood that set me in front of the tv, but it was not the weather, nor the want to feel sad that actually brought in that deep and moving feeling of holding my breath and telling myself, �this is bad�.

How bad can it be for the children spending their days at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Pediatric Ward? How grueling and tiresome for parents and family? Each hour of everyday, of every week and of every month, children die in the PGH Pediatric wards 9 & 11.

These children are young and suffering. Patients� ages range from newborns to fifteen years old. Highest rate of mortality reached thirty deaths in a day. Conditions and illnesses vary. Most of the children are cancer patients (bone marrow, leukemia), dozens of them are premature babies, some suffering from pneumonia.

Then her image came to mind. That one girl would not leave my memory. I remember how unsettling it was to see such a young girl of about five years old, very sick and very poor. She was beautiful, so alive and vibrant. She was young. Her smile belied the reason why the camera focused on her. She smiled, my irises tried to detect what was wrong with her. I do not know her name for her name was one of the many in that documentary I saw. What I knew was that she suffered and that she was treated at the PHG Pediatric Wards. The child�s mother appealed to the public to help her child survive. They were poor. I saw through the word poor as if it was a manifestation of her child�s chance of survival.

According to Dr. Philip Cruz, the Chief Resident at the pediatric wards of the PGH, most of the children die not because they are �too terribly sick� and not because the doctors are unskilled, but because of the apparent reason of being poor. The government allots an amount of only Php1,500 per patient. A patient with pneumonia complications needs Php3,000 to Php4,000 per day for the antibiotics alone. Dr. Cruz said that PGH doctors are not just fighting diseases, but also poverty.

The hospital cannot accommodate all the needs of the large number of patients coming in and their steady arrival. In fact, the staff had to reuse needles, had to ponder how a ventilator or an incubator could be used by more than one child simultaneously. They all had to choose and decide who among five premature babies would use the only incubator available � the sickest or the one with the best chance of survival? These decisions would normally mean giving life for one patient and possibly death for another. These reasons and more seem to consume and drain the energies of medical and para-medical practitioners. The result is the shortage of nurses. In November 2002, only six nurses remain to tend to the two wards. Each of these nurses handled fifteen patients each. Sometimes, the nurses are forced to look after thirty patients each in the emergency room. This is the kind of everyday drama and the fight for survival of both patients and the staff of PGH pediatric wards. This is what most people do not know about.

In a letter by Dr. Cruz to a radio station based in the US known as Radio Pinoy WRMN, he presented facts of the hardship and struggle of having too many patients and not much of equipments, supplies and medicines. The letter was intended to touch hearts and encourage people to help provide care for these children and to help families face the most tragic and trying of times. The desperate doctor knows no bound when it is the children�s welfare that is the utmost concern.

On August 1, 2002, �Give a Life� started the campaign through different media. Feedbacks and donations started coming in, and the development is like a miracle showered upon the children. Many people started inquiring, donors kept pouring and hope rises as more and more wanted to see the situation for themselves.

The documentary film ran an almost 30-minute airtime in a government channel, financed by an anonymous foreigner and supported by the La Salle Greenhills High (LSGH) School Class of �78 Foundation. In preparation for the silver anniversary of LSGH Foundation, inspired by the foreign donor who frequented the ward, and out of desperation of Dr. Cruz, the Project Give A Life, a fund-raising campaign, was launched to support the children, families, nurses and doctors of the PGH Pediatric Department. This campaign raised community awareness. Ever since the campaign started, it has been able to support the wards with hygiene supplies like disinfectants, soap dispensers, and other hygiene needs that were recycled for use before the campaign. The patient mortality rate dropped to around 35% to 23%.

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