Finding a whole new world in ZFF: Jasmin’s search for the missing puzzle piece

Jasmin Ahmad grew up on a remote island in Sulu. “Simple” is one word Jasmin says that aptly describes her family’s life—no electricity, no running water, no means of transportation. Her mother and father served as her primary school teachers, since they were the first and only teachers in their village at that time. When she reached the fifth and sixth grade, Jasmin had to walk four hours a day—two in the morning going to school and two going back home—because the central school was 10 kilometers away from their house.

“Yong tipong mamimitas kami ng bayabas sa daan for our breakfast. Dahil may balon outside the school, doon na kami maliligo at magbibihis ng uniform kasi pawis na pawis na kami after two hours of walking.”

This kind of childhood, according to Jasmin, taught her the value of simplicity, humility, compassion, and perseverance. The forest served as young Jasmin’s playground and the sea was her swimming pool. She had no toys to play with, and she spent her free time reading books. Jasmin recalls that she only got to watch television whenever they spent their summer vacation in the town of Jolo, where her maternal relatives live. “Doon sa Jolo ako nakaka-experience ng kuryente at tubig. Sabi ko, hindi pala lahat ng tao katulad namin na walang kuryente.”

It was a happy childhood but looking back, Jasmin realized that their hometown was really poor. She remembers her parents putting up a variety store not to gain profit, but to bring easy access to basic goods to the village. “The nearest market was in Poblacion, 10 kilometers away. Ang pambayad nila sa amin, hindi pera kundi panggatong, itlog, at manok.”

Access to healthcare was almost nonexistent. She was born with low birth weight because her mother had Beri-Beri, a Vitamin B deficiency during pregnancy. Because the provincial hospital was six hours away by boat, she was not fully immunized. As a child, she suffered from various illnesses like measles, chickenpox, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, and typhoid fever. Her grandmother, who was a traditional healer, served as her primary ‘doctor’ whenever the winds and waves did not permit them to travel by boat to get to the hospital. The inaccessibility of healthcare in their hometown proved to be most detrimental when her father suffered heart failure and eventually died at the young age of 42.

Dreaming, believing, and surviving

Jasmin’s father instilled in her the value of education. In fact, it was her father who established the first primary school in their village. It is still quite vivid to her memory how the villagers rejoiced when the primary school, now known as the Panitikan Elementary School, was founded. It gave them hope. This moved Jasmin to dream of becoming a teacher like her parents. 

But when it was time for her to choose her own path, Jasmin decided to take the practical road and took up nursing. “I was thrilled by the thought of greener pastures abroad. Before, nursing was believed to be the ticket out of poverty because most nurses in our province work in Saudi Arabia.” But it was also at this point when Jasmin realized that her hometown needs her more than the people she would have served abroad. “Napaisip ako, bakit ako magsisilbi abroad e ‘yong baryo nga namin walang health worker.” After graduation, most of her classmates went abroad but she chose to work with the Philippine National Red Cross.

At age 21, Jasmin found joy in organizing multi-sectoral groups as barangay health workers to do health teachings and health referrals in rural and remote areas. Those were joyful times for her, but she also found herself in life-threatening situations. During one of her community visits, her boat capsized, leaving her and the boatman afloat for more than two hours before they were rescued. She also escaped a kidnapping incident while facilitating a training in a remote barangay. “Pero looking back, none of those scared me. My passion was greater than my fears.”

Endings and new beginnings

When military operations against rebel groups intensified in Mindanao, Jasmin was compelled to give up her job. Jasmin then reconsidered working overseas. But just when she learned that she passed the initial screening for a job in Saudi Arabia, she received the acceptance letter for a Master’s program scholarship. Jasmin knew that it would be more practical for her to work abroad to sustain the medical needs of her mother who was then diagnosed with cancer, but “ang yearning ng puso ko, I needed to stay.”

Jasmin said that she felt the need to give back to the community. “I wanted to pay it forward.” So, she went back to Sulu as part of Save the Children and stayed there for 10 years. She later joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress and served in Tawi-Tawi and Basilan for four years.

In 2017, Jasmin met the Tawi-Tawi mayor while on a plane going to Davao. It was a fateful encounter for Jasmin. Aware that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)’s healthcare is not developed, Jasmin was amazed at how knowledgeable the mayor was about the healthcare situation in the province. The mayor then told her that she learned about all those things after undergoing a health leadership program of Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF). It piqued her curiosity. When she lost her job that year, Jasmin applied in ZFF for the Health Leadership and Governance Program in Region 9.

Adventurous as she has always been, Jasmin was thrilled with her new journey in ZFF. Finally, she found the missing piece in her career. After years of working with health workers and community members, Jasmin got the opportunity to work with government leaders.

“I had 16 years of experience when I joined ZFF. Akala ko alam ko na lahat, pero hindi pala. Dito ko nahanap yung nawawala doon sa 16 years. Here, I needed to do a lot of unlearning, relearning, and calibrated learning. My work in ZFF taught me to have the humility to accept that there is still so much to learn. ZFF is here to provide that kind of environment.”

While she used to dread being asked “what is your added value in your work?,” Jasmin eventually found herself asking the same question when she took on her everyday responsibilities. “Naging habit ko na siya. It’s now in my mindset. Sometimes I’d have answers, sometimes, it leaves me with more questions.”

Working in ZFF in the past years showed Jasmin that it is important to reflect on the impact and value of your work to the community, to your partners, and to your personal relationships.

“Sa ZFF, what you are doing is not just work, it’s a way of life.” In her heart, Jasmin is confident that his father smiles in heaven as she continues his legacy of helping the underprivileged and becoming a beacon of hope in her own right.