Volunteer Story

Imagine all the things that you have now like electricity, cell phones, wifi, soap, shampoo, gas, T.V., or even comfort rooms are all taken away from you? What would you feel? Would you feel emptiness like there’s a hole in your life that needs to be filled up?  This emptiness that you think you need doesn’t occur in people who live in the deep forest of the mountains of Antipolo. The things you usually have or crave for? They don’t have them but I know because they said so that they’re happy.

                05.31.2013 – 06.02.2013 is definitely the dates that I will always remember. Those are the days that we spent our time trudging up and down four mountains and two rivers but every step that I took, every ounce of water that I drank and every drop of sweat that I released was worth it till the end. As  one of newbie who were amongst the volunteers who went to the climb, I’d say it was indeed a transformational experience for me. Why? Because all of those things that I did just to get there was not enough compared to what the people that we meet do in the  years of their lives that they have spent. I even got the chance to spend more time with the people in the village. Surprisingly, they opened up their arms like were family.

                I can definitely say that I changed after the experience of going through the immersion. Coming from different walks of life, we came together with a common cause and that is to bring joy to Dumagat people in the depth of the mountains but little that I know that they would do the same to us. They gave me a glimpse on how they love their home through a song in a native translation, Kuya Gener brought us to one of his gardens that didn’t have much but weeds and root crops in it, the children told me stories of how they spend their everyday lives which I couldn’t do and the immersion gave me a chance to open up myself to those people I’m with.

                I could say that I came there prepared but I was overwhelmed of all the things that happened to me and my friends. Now, out of the principles that I carry in my life, “Keeping it simple” has a new meaning to it.

by: one of the Tamaraw Volunteers, 2013 

Disclaimer: We got the permission to post this online from its author