Barrio doctor’s baptism of fire
DR. LEMUEL Benedict Non of General Santos City attended UP-PGH and placed eighth in the 2008 medical board examination. As a scholar of the FG Foundation, he was assigned to serve as a Barrio Doctor in remote Kiamba, Saranggani (population: 53,504) in Mindanao.
Conflict
The physician’s baptism of fire came a week after his arrival—when conflict broke out between the military and the MILF. He had to serve more than 800 indigents (mostly T’bolis) in three evacuation centers.
This endeared him to Kiamba’s residents. His presence brought them calmness and hope.
The late Captain Gregorio Oca donated a delivery table when he learned that Dr. Non was using an office desk when mothers would deliver their babies. Dr. Non has got what it takes to be a doctor, because his heart is in the right place.
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