Turning Compassion Into Practical Action
On April 24, 2025, the message was clear inside the City Health Office Extension in Liang, City of Malolos:
Screen to Save Lives.
For We Bless We Care Foundation, this was more than a slogan. It was a call to action.
Cervical cancer remains one of the most preventable cancers, yet many women are still not screened early enough. In many communities, screening numbers remain low not because the need is small, but because the system needs more trained people, more tools, more awareness, and more support.
This is where We Bless We Care Foundation chose to help.
As part of its growing mission to strengthen cervical cancer prevention, the Foundation supported the one-day training of frontline health workers from the City of Malolos. The support helped bring Dr. Jesus Randy “Bogs” Rivera and the CerviQ / End Cervical Cancer Philippines Organization, Inc. team to the training site, allowing nurses and midwives to receive both education and hands-on mentoring.
It was a simple but meaningful act of support — one that helped turn compassion into practical action.
Why This Training Mattered
In many local health units, Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid, or VIA, is one of the most accessible ways to screen women for possible signs of cervical disease. However, only a limited number of health workers are trained and confident to perform VIA regularly.
This creates a gap.
Women may want to be screened, but screening services may not always be available. Health centers may want to serve more women, but they need trained staff, proper guidance, and practical tools. Communities may hear about cervical cancer prevention, but without local capacity, awareness does not always lead to action.
The Malolos training was designed to help answer that gap.
Fourteen nurses and midwives, representing the city’s seven rural health units, participated in the session. The morning was devoted to didactics, where participants learned about HPV, cervical cancer, the importance of early screening, and the role of frontline health workers in prevention.
In the afternoon, the learning became hands-on. Each midwife had the opportunity to assist or perform at least one screening under guidance, allowing them to apply what they learned immediately.
This was education with purpose. It was not only about lectures. It was about building confidence.
Seeing More Clearly, Serving More Confidently
One of the most meaningful moments during the training came when a midwife was able to see the cervix more clearly using the scope.
For many frontline health workers, traditional VIA depends heavily on naked-eye visualization. While this method is useful, it can also be challenging, especially when lighting, anatomy, patient factors, or visualization angles make assessment difficult.
With the use of a scope, the cervix could be viewed with better clarity. The image could be seen, discussed, and reviewed more easily. What was once difficult to appreciate with the naked eye became easier to understand.
That moment helped the participants see the value of technology-assisted screening — not as something that replaces the health worker, but as a tool that supports her eyes, her judgment, and her confidence.
For We Bless We Care Foundation, that moment captured the deeper reason behind the training: when a frontline worker is empowered, more women can be reached.
A Partnership Built on Shared Purpose
The training was made possible through the collaboration of local leaders, health professionals, civic groups, and advocates who shared one goal: to help protect women from a preventable disease.
The City Government of Malolos, under the leadership of Hon. Atty. Christian D. Natividad, and the City Health Office led by Dr. Frederick Cesar Irineo T. Villano, MPA, provided the local leadership and direction needed to make the activity possible.
Dr. Edwin Tecson, Chairman of the Provincial Public Health Office, also gave his strong support for cervical cancer prevention across Bulacan. His message reinforced the importance of scaling up screening and strengthening the capacity of local health workers.
CerviQ / End Cervical Cancer Philippines Organization, Inc., led by Dr. Bogs Rivera, served as the technical training and medical education partner. The team provided lectures, mentoring, and guidance on cervical cancer prevention, VIA, and speculoscope-assisted screening.
We Bless We Care Foundation, led by Mr. Enrique Milan, supported the training through advocacy and assistance that helped bring the technical team to Malolos.
As a message that reflects the heart of the Foundation:
“We support this because every trained health worker can become a bridge to save more women. When we help equip one nurse or midwife, we are also helping many mothers, daughters, sisters, and families in the community.”
Building Local Capacity, Not Just One-Time Missions
For We Bless We Care Foundation, the goal is not simply to support one activity and stop there.
The Foundation believes that lasting impact happens when communities are equipped to continue the work themselves. This means supporting health workers, strengthening local screening capacity, and helping LGUs create a pathway from awareness to screening, treatment, navigation, and referral.
Following the Malolos training, We Bless We Care Foundation is prepared to offer the City of Malolos the use of a cervical imaging scope for one month, provided that the city can screen at least 100 women or more during that period.
This support is intended to help the city move from training to actual community service.
In addition, the Foundation aims to support repeat awareness training on HPV, cervical cancer screening, and the use of the scope. It also hopes to help provide access to thermal ablation when appropriate, patient navigation, and referral support for women who may need further evaluation or care.
This is the kind of support that goes beyond donation.
It is a commitment to help build a working system.
Helping Communities Screen More Women
The Malolos training showed what can happen when education, technology, leadership, and compassion come together.
A nurse trained today can help screen more women tomorrow.
A midwife who becomes confident in VIA can serve her barangay more effectively.
A local health office that gains support can bring services closer to the women who need them most.
This is the mission We Bless We Care Foundation wants to help grow — beginning in Malolos, expanding across Bulacan, and eventually reaching more communities that need stronger cervical cancer prevention programs.
Because every woman screened is a life given a better chance.
Every health worker trained is a community made stronger.
Every partnership formed is a step closer to preventing unnecessary suffering from cervical cancer.
With Gratitude
We Bless We Care Foundation extends its appreciation to all partners and leaders who made this training possible:
Dr. Frederick Cesar Irineo T. Villano, MPA, and the Malolos City Health Office team, for leading the local effort to strengthen cervical cancer prevention.
Hon. Atty. Christian D. Natividad, for supporting public health initiatives for the women of Malolos.
Dr. Edwin Tecson, for his continued advocacy for cervical cancer prevention across Bulacan.
Dr. Jesus Randy “Bogs” Rivera and CerviQ / End Cervical Cancer Philippines Organization, Inc., for providing technical training, mentorship, and medical guidance.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for its valuable contribution of equipment and supplies to help strengthen screening capacity.
Mr. Enrique Milan and We Bless We Care Foundation, for supporting the training and helping make this important step possible.
The nurses, midwives, and staff of the City of Malolos, for their commitment to learning, serving, and protecting the health of women in their communities.
One Message: Screen to Save
The work has only begun.
We Bless We Care Foundation will continue to support efforts that help communities screen more women, empower frontline health workers, and build local capacity for cervical cancer prevention.
Because care becomes more powerful when it leads to action.
And together, we can screen to save lives.
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