Jan 04 2010
Participants share reflections on YP Workshop experience
Reflection by Jan Michael Lumbang
Reflection by Cherry May Mateo
TAO-Pilipinas was timely for me. The day after I was hired to be a staff of the Human Settlements and Environment Program under TAO-Pilipinas was the day Typhoon Ondoy struck our nation killing almost a hundred and leaving thousands of our countrymen homeless. It seems as if a supreme being was telling me that I am in the right place which to help the urban poor in Metro Manila.
I had a fairytale concept on what my job would be because it seemed to be a very heroic occupation. I imagined being like Angelina Jolie helping the poor in Kenya or Oprah Winfrey talking to a marginalized citizen in the US. I looked at helping the urban poor as sort of a fancy thing like saving a damsel-in-distress Indian princess drowning because of Captain Hook.
The YP workshop made me more excited to do my job. I thought that finally I could save the urban poor for real since I have already been stuck in the office for quite long. So I had a well organized bag with a lot of shirts and pants ready for the whole event.
The first two days of the workshop was quite technical. Having a technical background helped a lot. Although, I had to tap my intelligent persona which I wanted to leave behind after I graduated college so that I could understand the seminar. While sitting on the chair listening to the soporific talk of the lecturer, I daydreamed about the next day where we will have to go to the site for real.
But when we went to the site for the first day, I suddenly lost all the excitement I saved when I was still preparing for the event. As I saw the real situation of the community, I felt so hopeless for the Philippines. I knew that if only we had an incorrupt government, we could have easily made their lives wonderful.
I saw the real poorest of the poor in the Philippines. It was inevitable to compare it to the rural poor areas where they could still see a large amount of land beside their houses. But then, I also realized that the community was so skeptical at times with the help that they are getting. Maybe it was because of the thousands of broken promises they encountered in their life. I could not blame them but I could not also blame myself for feeling less stimulated.
There are times during the workshop when I felt so uninspired as if Bic Runga’s song was playing “My head is battling with my heart, my logic has been torn apart…” This was the moment when I tried to ask myself, “Is this really this difficult or was I just so naïve in thinking that helping the poor was as easy as helping save the Indian princess in Neverland?”
Indeed it is. It is difficult to help the poor. It is not a fancy thing. It is not the same as we see them in the movies. Helping the poor is just like marrying yourself to the poor people themselves and sometimes it is like marrying a person when you know that the end is still a divorce.
But as I looked at the eyes of the TAO-Pilipinas facilitators of the workshop; the eyes of the people that I am going to work with for years, I saw that they had hope in it. I saw their eagerness and enthusiasm to woo help whatever it takes.
TAO-Pilipinas was indeed timely for me. It made me realize the complexities of life during the point when I thought life was fancy. It also made me realize that life is full of synchronicities. If I choose to help the poor, the poor will choose to help themselves. It is that simple but then again that difficult.
Gloryrose Dy, 23 years old, is a BS Architecture graduate from University of the Philippines – Mindanao. Lotlot graduated in 2009 with the Best Thesis Award for Architecture in UP Mindanao and was also given the Red Point National Best Architectural Thesis Award in the Philippines by Cirdia Foundation. Lotlot is a member of the UP Mindanao Dance Ensemble. She recently joined TAO-Pilipinas as a staff in its Human Settlement and Environment Program.
Reflection by Jan Michael Lumbang
Isn’t it truly a blessing and privilege that most of us live in a community with proper drainage systems and far from severe flooding? …with complete and sanitary toilets? …and most importantly, with ample supply of safe water to drink? Have you ever thought that there are people who just dream of having this privilege we have? You may answer yes, but how aware are we about their situation? This is what I realized after I joined the Young Professionals’ workshop organized by TAO-Pilipinas.
At first I though that it was just the usual workshop wherein you sit and listen to the one sharing his/her expertise and then with a little audience participation, and that’s it. But tables were turned and we, the YPs, will also have to facilitate a workshop with urban poor communities! Aside from that, we will also be handling an actual community project that could somehow improve their lives. I considered it a big change from the usual drafting table, solving a design problem given by our professors, submitting it to be checked and waiting for the score to be given.
Part of the workshop is the community immersion where we had to stay in the community for two days. The community of MASAGANA in Barangay Tanza, Navotas is not your usual community. We had to stay in a place where dry part of the land is a raft away. It has scarce water supply and no sanitary facilities.
From what I’ve seen in the community, the present generation is suffering the mistakes of previous ones in terms of environmental degradation. Air and water pollution, diseases, and global warming are some of the problems we are currently experiencing. It seems the more we progress with technological innovations, the more we are getting close to environmental destruction. The sophistication of our invention does not guarantee that we are living a better life. But in spite of the condition in the community, the people there always have a reason to smile. There, you can find comfort, hospitality and camaraderie.
I thank the organizers of TAO-Pilipinas for giving this kind of experience for YPs. There were new friendships reaped, much laughter recalled, and not to mention the yummy food they served! More importantly, I was enlightened that there are people who are willing to offer their talents for the benefit of less privileged communities. I think the experience gained from the workshop could change decisions one may take in the future.
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a poor neighborhood work together to create better homes. Their efforts and hope for a better life do not end at the neighborhood boundaries but also affect other residents around them. The community of MASAGANA in Navotas is still young but it is maturing rapidly because they are taking steps towards a more promising future.
Jan Michael Lumbang, 24 years old, is a 5th year BS Architecture student at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM). JM was a participant in the 2009 YP Workshop on Social Housing. He spent his community immersion work at Barangay Tanza, Navotas City.
Reflection by Cherry May Mateo
UP honor graduate + leadership capabilities + good values = high-paying job. Agree? I believe most people will agree with this. My parents and relatives would definitely agree. And so, it is quite hard for them to understand why I have chosen to teach in the university and reject my other higher-paying job offers.
It’s quite a struggle. My mom often asks me why. Once, I have said my real reason: I feel that I need to serve my country; I feel the need to give back. She said: “Anak, sa kahit ano’ng trabaho naman nakakatulong ka.” Almost every other day, my mom would try to convince me to quit my job and work for the big companies. “Bakit kelangan kong magsilbi sa malalaking kumpanya kung alam kong nag-aagawan ang nakararami para pagsilibihan sila, samantalang kokonti lang ang gustong magsilbi sa nakararami?” Of course, I never got to ask this question out loud.
If teaching in the university is quite hard to accept for them, then working for a NGO is out of the picture. I’ve stayed quiet about my desire to work for small impoverished communities. So when I’ve learned about TAO’s workshop for young professionals, I immediately grabbed the chance to experience working for the urban poor. Excellent opportunity – Destiny could have worked things out for me. This year’s theme is water and sanitation, a field that I’ve worked on for my thesis and a topic that I teach in the university.
The discussions, lectures and workshops on water and sanitation were not entirely new to me. What was new to me, actually, was the genuine desire to re-learn all the topics. Maybe it was because I knew that this time, things are not going to be entirely theoretical – I am actually expected to apply what I’ve learned to the community.
Upon arriving at the community and settling in our host family’s house, my team mates and I immediately tried to conceptualize the solutions that we could present to the community. We were overwhelmed by the situation – underneath the houses on stilts are layers of trash; water lines run along the black drainage waters; septic tanks are non-existent. None of the wastewater treatment systems presented to us is actually applicable to the community. We were not able to come up with a definite solution. We just hoped that after the workshop with the community, we could analyze the problems better.
Holding the workshop opened our eyes to more problems. Apparently, the community wants to solve more problems other than their water and sanitation concerns. They mentioned the need for street lighting and livelihood programs. After several discussions, we finally concluded that we will start solving their water connection problems first.
Although I have been to several urban poor communities, I haven’t actually mingled and lived with them. It was my first time and I must say that I was overwhelmed with the veracity of living among these people. However, amazingly, while strolling around the community after the workshop, I felt a surge of calmness within me. No matter how troubling and hopeless the community seems from afar, I am not troubled. Probably, it is because simply by choosing to go there to understand their situation and not just wonder from afar how it is to live there, I felt that I have begun to become part of the solution. I have gained a better perspective and I have found a new purpose in life.
I may not be able to work full time for the community or for TAO or for any NGO. However, I have vowed to allot more time for community extension work and to do researches for better water and sanitation options for impoverished communities. Meanwhile, I am trying to incorporate discussions on realities in poor communities in my class lectures. Hopefully, in the future, my parents would understand this equation that I would like apply to my life:
UP honor graduate + leadership capabilities + good values + community service = successful, meaningful life
Cherry May Mateo, 23 years old, is a BS Civil Engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines – Diliman. She graduated in 2008 with cum laude honors and garnered 6th-place in the Civil Engineering licensure exams. Cherry is currently taking up a graduate degree in MS Energy Engineering at UP-Diliman. She is also a member of the Department of Civil Engineering faculty and teaches Environmental Engineering and Engineering Economy.
