Project Davao

OCIP Davao was founded in 2015 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2025, making it one of the longest-running OCIPs in LKCSoM! We serve the Langub and Gumalang villages in Davao City, Philippines, and work to address their long-term health needs.

Sowing The Seed Ministry (SMSM), a charity organisation based in Davao and our mentor, Associate Professor Eric Yap Peng Huat, are our oldest partners, having been with the project since its inception. Rod and Nelly, who lead SMSM, have strong community ties that enable us to conduct education and screening activities in the local community.

We also collaborate with pediatric oncologist Dr Mae Dolendo to conduct activities at House of Hope - an initiative started by Dr Mae to provide temporary refuge for children undergoing chemotherapy treatment to stay beside the hospital. (Read more here: House of Hope)

We also work with Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (DMSF), Davao’s top medical school, to engage in meaningful exchanges and participate in their community involvement activities.

We collaborated with DMSF to participate in their Mobile Clinic Medical Mission, where over 100 students and faculty conducted a large-scale community health screening for over 300 villagers. Working independently in student-led teams, we conducted history taking, physical examinations and procedures such as ECG for the villagers so as to arrive at a plausible diagnosis and create a treatment plan for each patient’s presenting complaint. Once verified by a doctor, we prescribed our plan to the patient.

From 30th June to 10th July, Project Davao embarked on a fun-filled 10-day trip to Davao. Here were some of the exciting activities we conducted:

1. Health Screening

In Gumalang, we also conducted health screenings for over 70 villagers, screening for unmanaged chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes. We educated them on how to lead healthier lifestyle to prevent the worsening of their conditions. Prof Eric was also there to provide a thorough consultation and explanation of their health results, allowing the villagers to improve their health.

2. English Proficiency and Digital Learning at SMSM.

We returned to conduct lessons for SMSM’s beneficiaries on artificial intelligence and image generation. Before our trip, we engaged these children via Zoom calls to help them practice speaking English and build a lasting connection.

3. Door-to-Door Visits

To target the issue of villagers lacking motivation to travel, we conducted door-to-door visits, reaching over 20 households. We provide a brief screening for unmanaged chronic illnesses before providing targeted health education relating to their own conditions to help them manage them. We also educate villagers on the management of infectious diseases like dengue as well as proper antibiotic use.

4. Science Education

At Langub National High School, we conducted science lessons for over 200 students aged 13-18. We designed interactive lesson plans, each complete with its own hands-on experiments for students to learn biology and physics concepts before applying them.

5. House of Hope

Working with the Philippines’ largest public hospital (SPMC) where Dr Mae works, we interacted with over 20 children at House of Hope through arts and craft activities like canvas painting and origami, sporting activities and more, bringing a smile to their faces. This year, we also painted a mural of a “Tree of Hope” and invited children to leave their handprints on the tree as leaves, symbolising a collective hopeful spirit that they are never alone in this battle against cancer.