I have so many favorite
places.
The Aeta Resettlement Site
of the Foundation of our Lady of Peace Missions located at Sitio Gala, Barangay
Sacatihan, Subic Town, Zambales is one of them.
When I first visited this
place, I couldn't help but be amazed by how tangible the love of Sister Eva
Maamo is, founder of the place, for the aetas
displaced by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Her love and God’s graces
enabled the building of this resettlement site, which has the Aetas’ health, education, livelihood, and
spirituality in mind.
The site is not just a
sanctuary for the Aetas. It is also
open to guests looking for a venue for seminars, training, outreach programs, and team-building. It has a function
hall equipped with mini sound and projection system; a dining hall for about 50
people; a fully-functional kitchen; dormitory rooms good for 40 people; and two
regular air-conditioned
rooms.
My groups SABIT
Mountaineers and TRails to Empower Kids (TREK) visited this place in
2009. It was the time of Ondoy. While we were safely cuddled in
this haven, Metro Manila was being ravaged by this typhoon. Our minds
were in Manila but we managed to still make fond memories with the kids of the Aeta resettlement site.
I visited the place
several times after, on day trips, but I wanted more time with the kids so when
an opportunity came up, I immediately invited TREK to return to the Aeta resettlement site.
We needed a venue to meet
up. Our group has finally decided to become a legal entity. For the
longest time, we remained an informal group, without a set of officers and only
expedition leaders appointed during actual projects. Last December, we
finally registered with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) so we needed to gather members for a meeting.
We also took that as an
opportunity to bond with the kids through workshops, storytellings, games, gift
givings and of course, eating.
Our volunteer Third
Marquez led the art workshop. Kids
were thought basics like mixing colors. Their final pieces of artwork
were placed on Luntian Bags.
Lira Avedillo of the HUG
Project taught the Aetas how to make
handmade teddies.
Marina Bulaong, also of
Luntian Bags, got the kids and the moms busy making dreamcatchers. They
were not familiar with the craft but
nonetheless enjoyed the project.
The other volunteers, who
were not busy assisting the workshops, attended a Basic Mountaineering Course.
With all those things
going on, we had enough room and still had extra for other kids who just wanted
to do what kids do best, play. That whole day was all about good times
and good food. Yes, it was not only our hearts and soul that were kept
nourished, our tummies were full too. Despite the minimal amount charged
by the foundation, they did not skimp on food.
Oh, we were lucky because Sr. Eva Maamo personally welcomed us to
the Aeta resettlement site. She
also gave us brief remarks about her
work, not just at the Aeta resettlement
site, but also with the Barefoot Doctors and
the charity hospital in Paranaque. It was a brief but very inspiring
talk.
Election of Officers
Aside from the outreach
and the basic mountaineering course, we had our third agenda in Subic Town. We were there to elect our officers.
Prior to our most outreach
in Kalinga, we had our group already registered at the Securities and Exchange
Commission. I had wanted to formalize
TREK already, but we needed an extra push.
That came from PSBank, who was the single biggest monetary donor of TREK
so far. That made me rush the
registration.
The second step was to have an election. The results were expected. Ailene Mae, our most active volunteer, won as President, with other volunteers, Ujin,Velle, Maya, and Joseph taking the other positions.
It was really a new life
for TREK. And, it was one that would
take us to TREK’s 10th Anniversary celebration.
2 comments
Thanks for sharing this, Kelly! I am Jeane Louise, a travel blogger too and a newbie in the mountaineering scene too. Reading this post made me reminisce on an outreach I joined in Igtuba, Iloilo for the Ati. IT was heartwarming and saddening at the same time to see the Ati struggle for their right to good education and for survival. Hope to meet you in one of my travels in Luzon din. :)
ReplyDeleteHere is my blog post for the outreach we did in Iloilo last March after the 38th MFPI Annual National Congress in Antique. :)
http://www.viajeracebuana.com/reaching-ati-focus/
See you in the future! :)
Thanks! I planned on joining that congress but changed my mind last minute. Do you want to share your experience at voluntourism.ph?
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