BAUKO, Mountain Province – The Maximo B. Dalog Foundation Incorporated (MBDFI) together with the Dialysis Patients Organization Incorporated (KDPOI), in partnership with the Tawid Mountain Province, Bontoc Multi Sports Group, CMV Outdoor, Tawid Mountain Marathon, Amihan, 8a Performance, and the Philippine Red Cross Mountain Province Chapter raised the amount of P1.4 million during the just-concluded Kataguan Run, Bike, and Caravan Drive for Life.
The KDPOI, composed of kidney patients from Mountain Province who have their hemodialysis treatment in different dialysis centers in the country, was organized in January 2015 by mere 5-6 patients from the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center. Later in January 31, 2015, the first meeting was called and attended by twenty-seven (27) kidney patients and elected their set of officers.
The first caravan on April 24, 2015 was conceptualized by the late Representative Maximo B. Dalog Sr. in partnership with the Kataguan Dialysis Patients Organization and has since become an annual activity even after the death of the late Dalog, the father of the Kataguan Drive for Life.
The caravan aims to help and assist the dialysis patients generate funds for their weekly and lifetime treatment as a way of showcasing the bayanihan system wherein the welfare of those in need are prioritized.
Records from the organization shows that the number of patients is gradually increasing with 133 members as of press time.
The just-concluded 2021 Kataguan Caravan Drive for Life is the 6th caravan as there was no caravan last year because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
From the Eyeb grounds, 40 bikers, 69 motor bikers, and 94 cars joined the Kataguan Caravan Drive for Life on June 19, 2021 with at least 300 participants joining the 10km, 21km trail and road Kataguan Run for Life from June 15-19, 2021.
Bikers started at 4:00 AM and the caravan started at 7:30 in the morning with the route of the bike and caravan from Eyeb, Poblacion- Balili, Bontoc-Suyo-Taccong, Sagada-Sabangan to Kalimbatawa, Otucan Sur.
According to Atty. Cyphrine Maxcel Y. Dalog, the Treasurer of the MBDFI and the Chief of Staff of the Office of the Congressman, the annual activity does not only promote the value of “og-ogfo” or the “bayanihan”, but also gives the participants a healthy means of showing support to a noble cause through running, walking, and biking. She added that despite the COVID-19 pandemic that greatly affected everybody, the display of outpouring love and support to our brothers and sisters undergoing dialysis had been highlighted.
The lady lawyer also thanked the sponsors, participants, and everyone who had been part of the said activity, partner organizers for being there just to make the success of the event. In closing, she borrowed the words from Mahatma Gandhi saying that “the wealth of a man hereafter is what he did good to his fellow men”.
For his part, Representative Maximo Y. Dalog Jr., expressed his gratitude and thanks to all the donors, participants, and the organizer for their generosity and support, saying that this is a collective effort of the community to help the dialysis patients with the foundation helping the dialysis patients because of the financial burden that is taking its toll on the family of the patients. The lifetime dialysis treatment, some of which are having twice or thrice dialysis treatment in a week, is expensive.
The amount of Php. 1,400,000 generated from the Kataguan Run, Bike, and Caravan for Life was immediately turned over to the representatives and officers of the Kataguan Dialysis Patients Organization Incorporated. WLM
