By Cyrus A. Natividad
Milca Jane Cameseria working on a particular research. Photo credit by RMN Iloilo 774.
On the first week of December last year 2023, Milca Jane Cameseria, first year student of CPU College of Nursing, blazed her way to an in-person meeting in London with the Global Adolescent Nutrition Network (GANN) Core Group; carrying what she had achieved in her High School Senior years that gave honor to Central Philippine University.
At a young age of 19, Cameseria huddled with international representatives of Girl Powered Nutrition (GPN) Advocacy Champion of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) at Grand Union Room, 5 Merchant Square, London- to review the first year in operation of the GANN Core Group, review its objectives, theory of change, work plans, and ways forward.
The meeting provided her an opportunity to network across the donors, practitioners and researchers who make up the GANN Core Group membership to engage on specific areas of ongoing-future work including the ‘Adolescent-specific’ conceptual framework that they have been working on with the GANN, thereby advancing the field of adolescent nutrition.
The international Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) that hosted the meeting warmly welcomed Mrs. Marie Claire E. Laru-an, council executive of the Iloilo Girl Scout Council who accompanied Cameseria on her trip to London. The expense of their trip including travel to and from the destination (flights), transport costs within UK, accommodation, meals, and travel insurance was fully paid by ENN.
Among her notable achievements in Girl Scouting are being a member of (WAGGGS), Chief Girl Scout Medalist Batch 2021, International Women’s Day Ambassador (2021 & 2022) Act4Food Act4Change Youth Leader (2021 – present) National Outstanding Girl Scout 2022; Delegate to the National World Thinking Day CAmp (Ating Tahanan, Baguio) Speaker and WAGGGS Representative, World Food Forum and FAO Virtual Side Event – October 2023, Delegate to CO-CREATE Youth Conference in Sundvolden, Norway in March 2022 and Delegate to Our Chalet Summer Youth Program in Adelboden, Switzerland – (June-August 2023).
Cameseria emphasized, “Our involvement in the group is key to creating a framework that represents the needs and priorities of young people. We are chosen to become part of the core group to help plan the framework and implement projects and programs about adolescent nutrition. The Core group consists of representatives of many organizations and researchers such as Unicef, Save the Children, Act4Food Act4Change, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), DAKOTA Foundation, Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN), Nutrition International-Canada, Mulago National Referral & Teaching Hospital-Uganda, MRC Life Course Epidemiology Center – University of South Hampton UK, Young & Resilient Research Center and School of Health Science – Western Sydney University Australia, The Mentor Initiative UK, Sight and Life – Switzerland, and Division of Human Nutrition and Health Wageningen University & Research – The Netherlands.
Cameseria and Laru-an represented the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.