TRULY, #YOUthCan!

Imagine an emergency situation where the place that  needs health service response is flooded, and the roads to be taken are narrow. How will you be able to deliver help to those in need?

“Team PadyakRescue founders on stage after their successful presentation in Davao City. (Contributed)

This was the scenario that inspired three, young, Pangasinenses to come up with a project that adopts the use of bicycles to provide for emergency and health service response in barangays. They called it “GO Bike Project” and it  started on March 16, last year.

Edren M. Llanillo, 22, Nikko M. De Mesa, 24, and Sheina May C. Quiles, 22, known as Team PadyaRescue, all Bugallonenses, and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons in barangays Umanday, Poblacion, and Salomague Norte respectively gave pride to the province after finishing as one of the grand finalists in the 2019 Ideas Positive Competition on Public Health held on August 10-12, 2019 at SMX Convention Center – Davao City.

Ideas Positive is the Philippines’ premier youth engagement program for healthier communities, and an annual competition addressing concerns on public health that gathers youth around the country and Southeast Asia to converse and co-create solutions for healthier communities.

Hundreds of ideas nationwide competed and were screened by the panel of judges but only six, including the GO Bike Project, were selected to join the final presentation on the day of the national competition.

In a PUNCH interview, Llanillo, described their roller-coaster ride experience, from the vision of three people wearing yellow jackets to advocating a mission to save lives.

He recalled how they started with the use of only one mountain bike with first aid kit for 2 weeks, until they decided on 9 bicycles to do a relay effort.

A 2-day basic life-support training under the Philippine Red Cross and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) plus GO Bikers training and Resiliency Camp for people ages 15-30 years old and Barangay Health Workers were conducted by the three, in cooperation with the local government unit and SK Federation here to encourage them to volunteer in the project.

To this day, there are 70 active GO Biker volunteers who also helped them ensure the success of the recently concluded 1st provincial funride cycling event.

After the 6-month project implementation, the Team PadyaRescue was awarded Ideas Positive Run 9 Runner Up, Enervon Activ, Wake-up Activ, Stay Activ Award, and Best Documentary Video.

“Tunay nga na kaya ng mga kabataan na magbigay ng positibong pagbabago sa bayan,” said Llanillo  (Melody Valenton)

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