Tuesdays were my Mogwai
days. When I was in town, I was there with friends. That particular Tuesday
night, mountaineers Mimis and Ranger joined. So, knowing how much these two know about the
mountains up north, I asked them for a site for TREK.
Finding the TREK site is
like finding a partner, you'll just know if that is the right one. From the
two's initial description of the site they have in mind, I was filled with
hope. There were just a few problems. They cannot remember the name of the site
and the numbers they supplied were all not working.
Mimis and Ranger could not
guide us because they already had an expedition planned that weekend, on the
same mountain range. Only, they will take the really long route, and by long, I
meant them entering from Nueva Vizcaya and exiting at Kibungan, Benguet, an
estimated three days of walk, which turned out to be four.
So, we were left with just
the description of the site and how to get there, plus the comfort that one of
our teammates, Ben Penada, has actually been to the jump-off point.
We went on our usual way of
contacting tourism officials hoping that they will point us to a guide who can
lead us to that place that can be reached if we follow the trail on the left
side of Kibungan, Benguet's municipal hall, that we will walk for four hours
and we will traverse a long hanging bridge.
The recon
We had a bigger recon team. Charo, a mountain guide and a current employee
of the municipal hall, joined us. The
first five minutes of our trek, we were passing by residences. Then, we negotiated carved on the mountain. It was difficult, but it had a magnificent
view of the Cordillera mountain range.
After two hours of descent,
we reached the hanging bridge. From there, we took a short ascent, skirted the
side of the opposite mountain until we reached another hanging bridge, a much shorter one. We passed by a total of four
hanging bridges.
At 2:00 PM it started to
pour. We decided to regroup and rest in
the next waiting shed. By this time, we have already covered more than 3/4 of
the trail.
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| We passed three hanging bridges |
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| Stairs to and from Sitio Polis |
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| We thought it was never ending. It felt like it. |
When the rains slowed a bit, I went ahead with Charo. I reached the
community at 3:00 PM. I was almost winded.
The rain freshened me a bit.
The members of the community
were gathered in a hut beside the school, where the teachers live. There was a
thermos ready and I was offered a drink. Even before I was able to pour the
liquid, the aroma and taste of coffee were
already filling me. It was just hot water in the thermos. I scouted the table
but there was no coffee. Nevertheless, the hot water warmed me enough.
We had a few attempts to
converse, but there was a language barrier, but I guess from the few words they
could understand from me and from my wet clothes, they got part of my story.
When the rest of the team arrived, we excused ourselves and went to one of the
classrooms, where we would sleep that night.
We brought out our stoves
and cook sets, made some soups, started preparing our dinner and changed to dry
clothes.
We brought these chilies at
the store near the municipal hall. The store owner warned us about these small and
plump chilies that looked almost like bell peppers. My head felt like it exploded and my ears
numbed when I took a bite of the chili or "sapuke". We had to remove portions of it that we added
to our soup. To think that we were all
confessed chili lovers.
After settling in, we
invited the Alternative Learning Systems teacher, Cleran Dayso for a
discussion. After several attempts of pronouncing his name right, we just
decided to call him Claire. We
interviewed him about the kids’ needs.
The Outreach
Going to Polis takes a lot
of strength and willpower. But that is
our mission, to help schools that because of their isolation no longer get the
same aid and attention as their counterparts in other areas.
Months after our recon, we went back to Polis for the outreach.
Months after our recon, we went back to Polis for the outreach.
Sitio Polis is home to the
third largest cultural community in the mountain provinces of Northern Luzon,
the Kankanais. Sitio Polis Elementary
School and Sitio Polis Day Care Center serve five communities - Polis, Pakda, Ginawang, Liwan and Dacdacan (the remotest community, which is two hours
away by foot).
Some students trek as much
as two hours to get to school, sometimes using just makeshift bags, made of sacks. With that reality in mind, we were
determined to give them the donations that we gathered from friends, relatives,
and even from those who learned about the project only through social
networking sites.
We arrived at our jump off
point a bit delayed in our schedule. We were worried that the usual 2:00 PM rain storms in Barangay Poblacion would make
our trek much more difficult, not to
mention the donations that might get damaged.
But, our prayers for good
weather were heard. The sun shined until about 5:00 PM. With the help of the parents
of the school children, we started transporting our gifts to the children of
Polis.
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| Members of the community helping us carry the donation |
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| Volunteer Pao with some books |
It was almost dark when the last team arrived. After securing our sleeping sites and taking off our shoes, we began preparing for the next day's activities, not minding the body aches caused by the long walk.
The next day, we were all up early, thanking God for again another beautiful weather. We used two classrooms as our sleeping quarters. It had wooden flooring so it was already comfortable for us.
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| The school |
We had books, backpacks filled with school supplies, educational toys, storybooks, raincoats, boots, and loot bags.
Some volunteers manned the kitchen. The locals appreciated it so much that the meals we cooked were all served to them. During the program, I gave a short welcome remark and after that, we proceeded with the games for the children and some of the parents. We distributed the gifts after the games.
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| Preparing the feast |
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| Thank You note from the kids |
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| The volunteers |
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| Games |
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Loot bags
|
Members of the community returned the gesture by singing a beautiful thank you song for us. It was another beautiful TREK.
After the outreach, we trekked back to the municipal hall, where we decided to spend the night. Some of our volunteers had difficulty on the trek back and we had to send a rescue team. But, thank God, before 8:00 PM, everyone was already at the municipal hall to rest. Well, most chose to spend the night celebrating. I joined them.
After the outreach, we trekked back to the municipal hall, where we decided to spend the night. Some of our volunteers had difficulty on the trek back and we had to send a rescue team. But, thank God, before 8:00 PM, everyone was already at the municipal hall to rest. Well, most chose to spend the night celebrating. I joined them.
2 comments
Hello! I was in Kibungan last Nov 5-7, I hope I can join this event in the future. :)
ReplyDeletePlease join us. We have six more schools to go to this year. Check trailstoempowerkids.com
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