The most beautiful surprise of our entire life is our existence. We never asked any permission that we are going to be humans on earth because basically, we were totally nothing before conception. The reason why we are here still remains a big question and no one within the humanity has a concrete answer. But, as we continuously traverse the thoroughfare of our lives dealing with its everyday challenges, we ourselves gradually discover the purpose of our existence.”
Ms. Florita Agulin, 54 years old of Barangay Gawaan spent her invaluable services for 16 years as Barangay Nutrition Scholar. She considers working as BNS as a challenging one. Her commitment and passion made her continue to serve her constituents and the whole community despite the rigors encountered. Despite the presence of malnourished children in her catchment area, she did her functions well in promoting healthy and productive community. She actively participated in all the activities not only in her assigned area but also in the whole barangay. Some of the activities she did to lessen if not eliminate nutritionally at risk preschoolers include visiting them every month and educating the parents about the importance of good nutrition in all stages of life and encouraging every households to have backyard gardens. During supplementary feeding program, she assisted the children and let them consume their foods. In terms of sanitation practices, she actively participated with the Barangay officials and other health workers in the quarterly monitoring for the most healthy sitios.
Moreover, she coordinates the formulation of the Barangay Nutrition Action Plan (BNAP) with the Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC). She also strongly supports the different programs on nutrition especially on the First 1,000 days of a baby, convincing mothers on the importance of exclusively breastfeeding.
“Be humble and you’ll be rewarded!” This is her standing principle in life. She was awarded as the 2017 Most Outstanding BNS in municipal level as well as in the provincial level. She always humbled herself for all the achievements and contributions for the betterment of Balbalan. Truly, the beauty of serving to address poor nutritional status of children builds up the base of a well- nourished community.
(A Success Story of BNS Florita Agulin of Barangay Gawaan, Balbalan, Kalinga)
