In furthering its mission to “improve man as man”, key movers from Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) partnered with global organization Sigma Nursing in the creation of the Baby Passport. Specifically constituting as a “cog in the wheel” of the CRIB3 Crusade of the Sigma Phi Gamma Chapter, the Baby Passport aims to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive reference in the wholistic nurturing of infants. CRIB3 is an acronym for Care and Restoration of Infants through Breastfeeding and Breastmilk Banking.
The Baby Passport is a “labor of love and alliance” between OLFU, its Research Development and Innovation Center (RDIC), the Sigma Phi Gamma Chapter, Baby Du Du Docs, and Advent Moms; tackling different topics like About the Baby, Development Journey, Growth Charts, Tooth Development, Breastfeeding, and Complementary Feeding. Covering the first 1,000 days of an infant’s life, the nutritional guidelines essayed in the Baby Passport are in perfect synch with the World Health Organization’s Infant and Young Child Feeding Guidelines. A wide range of users can benefit such as communities, families, parents, expecting mothers, breastfeeding mothers, healthcare professionals and providers, students, the children, and others.
Family-centered and evidence-based, the Baby Passport will be available in both print and electronic formats and will be widely circulated locally and internationally with the help of sponsoring organizations and national government units. Aside from the initial English version, the infant primer will be translated into local languages of various Philippine provinces, as well as into Bahasa for Indonesia, and other languages of other countries around the globe.
At the launch last 16 September 2022, Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez, OLFU President and a Sigma Honorary Member, opened the event, while Dr. Michael Joseph Dino formally unveiled the Baby Passport on behalf of the project contributors, sponsors, and supporters. Dr. Dino is the President of the Phi Gamma Chapter which is Sigma’s only virtual chapter in the world. Concurrently, Dr. Dino serves as Director of OLFU’s RDIC.
Funding and support from the various arms of Sigma Nursing made the Baby Passport project possible. The contributing Sigma Chapters are the: Alpha Chapter (Indiana University School of Nursing, Indiana, USA), Delta Xi Chapter (Kent State University, College of Nursing, Ohio, USA), Kappa Theta Chapter (Western Kentucky University School of Nursing, Kentucky, USA), and Lambda Eta Chapter (Salisbury University School of Nursing, Maryland, USA).
Creators of the Baby Passport are Dr. Dino, Dr. Rita Munley Gallagher (Sigma Phi Gamma Chapter, CEO and Past President), Dr. Chona Araga (OLFU, College of Medicine), Dr. Cynthia Dacayo (OLFU, College of Dentistry), Mode Rini Dimayanti (Phi Gamma Chapter, Leadership Succession Chair), Dr. Sharon Isidro-Alvarez (OLFU, College of Dentistry), Dr. Irvin Ong (OLFU-RDIC and Phi Gamma Chapter President-Elect), Dr. Joyosthie Orbe (OLFU Alumna and Phi Sigma Chapter Program Committee Member), Elyse Marie Perry (Phi Sigma Chapter Active Member), Dr. Roberta Rolland (Phi Sigma Chapter Governance Director), Dr. Maria Julita Sibayan (OLFU Alumna, Phi Gamma Chapter Program Director; Advent Moms, and Baby Du Du Docs), Christopher Patricio (OLFU RDIC), and Joseph Carlo Vital (OLFU RDIC).
