Davao is possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth; home to my favourite fruit the durian and humble hard-working kabayan. Davao and much of Mindanao sustains her people with a vast array of fish and many of the inhabitants of the provinces earn a living through fishing and therein lies the trouble....in the years heavy metal poisoning has become prevalent.
Mercury in particular has been leached into the water because of its use by the panners to recover gold.
Well I did not know much about Davao until we were blessed by a wonderful ‘ate’ called Nessa who agreed to look after our household and toddler. Nessa had been riddled with ear troubles all her life; antibiotics and painkillers were her survival means to rid herself of the extreme pain that would catch her off-guard every few months. Within the first month of arrival at our house Nessa came to me crying with earache and pleading to be seen by a doctor. I asked her if she would like to try my type of medicine (homeopathy) and if it failed we would visit the medical doctor. And so began her journey .....
Nessa did not experience another ear infection in the near two years she spent with us and was able to thwart any impending earache by taking her remedies at first sign. In fact she became my assistant and would often dispense for patients and proceeded to treat her child back in Davao homeopathically too.
What is the relevance of the above and heavy metal poisoning you say ? Well the Remedy chosen was Hepar-Sulph, a direct antidote for mercury toxicity. I decide on this remedy after hearing about the ailments of her fisherman Father who had passed and others in her village. Their diet remains simple and unprocessed however heavily reliant on the fish they catch. Mercury poisoning has been linked to many chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, a host of mental illnesses and you guessed it ear and gum disease.
What are kabayan to do in such environmental toxicity? Telling a Dabawneyo to stop eating fish is akin to blasphemy however more awareness needs to be raised. What I found so surprising in the modern Dabawneyo is the dissociative relationship with native fruit and greens. Both these food groups have the ability to discharge toxicity. In fact Nessa was initially amused by my papaya and durian consumption but eventually planted native greens and increased her own consumption of them; Moringa and Chinese cabbage being amongst them.
Davao is an amazing place and I hope to visit soon!