Metamorphosis_Kalahi-CIDSS Compendium 2015

At some point, however, the rain became too strong and the road too slippery, forcing the
volunteers to stop hauling. By the time they ended, 721 people joined the Men Og-ogbo
Tako ay Men Galatis activity, who helped haul nearly half of the required amount of sand
for the sub-project.
Even though they were not able to reach their target, the volunteers nonetheless were happy
about the turnout of their hard work, so much so that they danced in the rain to celebrate
their success – represented by each sack they brought to the project site.
“Masaya po na sa ganitong edad po, may nagawa po akong malaki para sa Tamboan, lalo
na sa mga susunod pang generations ng mag-aaral dito sa school namin. Sabi po ng teacher
namin, ang tamang edukasyon po ang mag-aangat sa amin sa kahirapan. Pakiramdam ko
po ngayon, worthy yung sacrifice namin ngayong araw dahil ilang bata po ang makakapagaral,
ilang pamilya po ang unti-unti maaangat sa kahirapan dito sa amin (I am happy that
even at my young age, I was able to do something big for my community, which the next
generations of students will benefit from. Our teacher said that good education will help us
lift ourselves from poverty. I feel that our sacrifice today is worth it; because more students
will be able to study, more families will be able to slowly lift themselves from poverty),”
shared Roan Milan, a Grade 10 student.
Isaias was emotional at the end of the activity because of its successful turnout. He said,
“Kami po, lalo na at hindi kami nakapag-aral, nakikita po namin na balang-araw ang project
na ito ang magtatawid sa amin sa kahirapan. Mabibigyan po ng tsansang makapag-aral nang
maayos ang mga anak namin. Inulan po ‘yung activity natin ngayon, pero nakita ko pong
sobrang dami pa rin ng pumunta at tinuloy pa rin magbuhat kahit sobrang lakas na ng ulan
(We, especially us who were not able to study, envision that this project will help us get out
of poverty. This will give our children the chance to study well. Even though our activity got
rained on, I saw just how far we have come, and that we continued to work even when the
rainfall got stronger).”
He revealed that others were already asking when they will continue their project. He said,
“Natapos na ‘yong activity pero may mga nagtatanong pa po kung kelan ulit ang susunod na
schedule. Yung sinasabi po nila na “faith in humanity,”napatunayan ko po iyon ngayon (Our
activity may have ended, but there are already those asking when we can continue. We
proved today that ‘faith in humanity’ is true).”
Today, these people have set a record – they now bear the title “The Longest Human Chain”
in the history of Kalahi-CIDSS. More than that, these people realized they were able to do
something more important – they were able to bring hope to future generations who will
benefit from the school building in this remote village. //
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