People who Inspire: Dr. Che Zablan-Salazar

Che is a medical doctor by profession and a truly caring person by heart. In her journey towards becoming the medical practitioner that she is today, she took the road less travelled and become a Doctor to the Barrios.

I first met Che back in college. I guess you can say we really weren’t instant friends. In fact, while our barkada technically got it’s start from Freshman year, it wasn’t till later on towards the end of the year that I became part of the group. Back then, I was still seen as the coño, rich kid na inglesera (not that that’s a bad thing!!!).  The truth, however, was just that I was painfully shy so I remained distant and unconcerned. However, Che and the rest of the gang soon adopted me into the fold and the rest was history.

Whenever my mom and I talk about my barkada, she always remembers Che with fondness and says as early as my debut when she first met Che, she knew she was a good soul. My mom’s a pretty good judge of character, (except perhaps when it comes to men!) and I know she is right about Che.

It’s been 14 years since we first met and in that span of time, Che has proven to be one of the best friends anyone can count on. Not only that, she is truly someone who inspires me to be a better person. In my darkest hour, she was one of the few who allowed me to wallow in that dark deep pit of pity without judging me or making me feel worse about it, nor did she coddle me and let me fester down there.

In my latest article at The Philippine Online Chronicles, I wrote a feature on the Doctor to the Barrios Program of the Department of Health. I was deeply honored and glad to have had the opportunity to have an in-depth look at Che’s experience and what her journey entailed.

In my interview with Che, she said she was inspired by Dr. Juan Flavier’s book about the DTTB program. I hope someday my article and Che’s story also inspires other people to become the best they can be.

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