Two Rivers, a World Apart

Two Rivers, a World Apart is an autobiography of a young boy who spent most of his life by the banks of two rivers, namely the Pigalo River in his native country, the Philippines, and Ohio River in continental USA, where he took permanent residence and eventual retirement. Both served as the backdrop of the story of a young boy searching for the American dream. Against all odds like his sufferings and difficulties both financially and otherwise, he managed to overcome them through sheer determination and hard work. Above all, he believes that his deep belief and trust in the Almighty has propelled him to higher accomplishments. His boyhood pledge to give back to his community as well as to the poor people in his native country was fulfilled by using as a platform his membership with the oldest and greatest service organization in the world, the Rotary International and Rotary Foundation. Through his affiliations, Operation We Care was born, and he was able to carry out over thirty years of medical/surgical/dental missions in the different islands of the Philippines with his team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, and health-care givers. These are in addition to his unceasing efforts to donate surgical equipment and hospital supplies and construct several deep water wells in villages to curtail gastrointestinal diseases. He also helps in literacy and feeding programs for undernourished schoolchildren. For his work, he was recognized not only by the Rotary International and Rotary Foundation but also by five previous presidents of the Philippines. A few establishments were named after him, such as the Dr. Mel P. Simon and Lydia Chemistry Lab at the University of Rio Grande, the surgical ward of the Region One Medical Center in Dagupan, Philippines. He was also nominated for the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame on May 24, 2010, by the Ohio State governor for establishing the French 500 Free Clinic (a project with five volunteer physicians, nurses, health-care givers to extend help to poor, uninsured, or underinsured patients).