ALL WINNERS
Rina Jimenez-David
At Large, Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 1, 2003
URL: http://www.inq7.net/opi/2003/oct/01/opi_rjdavid-1.htm

BEFORE THE JUDGING for the Well Family Midwife Clinic (WFMC) Diamond Awards, verification teams went around the country to evaluate all the midwife-nominees, visiting the clinics, talking with their clients, staff, colleagues and employees of the national partner NGOs who provide support and advice to the midwives.

Fully 80 percent of the weight given to the scores of each finalist was determined by the verification results, with the final evaluation and interview of the judges making up just 20 percent of the final score. Even so, the interview process was enlightening and illuminating, at least on the part of the judges, though I don't know how much of an ordeal it was for the midwives.

The finalists were vying for four awards: the Mountain of Light Diamond Award for Excellence in Family Planning Initiatives, the Centenary Diamond Award for Excellence in Business Management, the Regent Diamond Award for Excellence in Leadership, and the Earth Star Diamond Award for Excellence in Patient Care.

I was one of six judges invited to sit in the final phase of the selection process, together with Population Commission executive director Tomas Osias, the Association of Foundations' Marissa Reyes, Integrated Midwives' Association president Alice dela Gente, business professor Dr. Benjamin Espiritu, and obstetrician-gynecologist and head of the Midwifery Exams board Dr. Rogelio Mendiola.

As recounted in yesterday's column, we were asked to sit on two panels each, reviewing the findings of the verification teams and the testimonies of the respondents, then "grilling" the finalists on their life and work as midwives and owners of their own clinics, as well as community leaders and educators.

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WHAT particularly struck me as we talked with the midwives, striving to put them at ease while probing into their work habits and motivations, was their willingness to take on so many other roles besides that of health caregivers and entrepreneurs.

When we asked, for instance, if any of their clients ever came to them asking for an abortion, to a "woman," they replied that their work was to assist in the birthing of new life, not ending it. If the client asking for an abortion was a young woman, one said, she would usually advice the young woman to talk to her parents "since I know how it would feel if it was my child who was undergoing such a problem and keeping it a secret from me." More than one midwife admitted to having served as a go-between for a young client in trouble and her parents, even if it meant putting themselves in the middle of a sensitive situation.

"That is part of our responsibility," said one, "looking after the health of our clients includes helping with their emotional and family troubles." And in many cases, by getting themselves into such situations, the midwives end up adopting the babies of such troubled arrangements.

Congratulations, then to the winners of the first WFMC Diamond Awards, though as all of us judges agreed, all the finalists were winners, being recognized as outstanding midwives, outstanding women in a demanding profession. Here are the winners: Gertrudes Luderico, the Earth Star Diamond Award for Excellence in Patient Care; Anita Alojado, the Regent Diamond Award for Leadership; Carol Millan, the Centenary Diamond Award for Business Management; and Jocelyn Plaza, the Mountain of Light Diamond Award for Family Planning Initiatives.