#communityimmersion

October 11, 2014 – Camarin, Caloocan City

As hassle as it sounds like, I woke up an hour before the sunlight said hello only to be involved in a community immersion. Our assembly was exactly at Harison Plaza’s parking lot. From there,  jeepneys were already lined up, all hired by De La Salle University just for that day. The two-long-hour drive left us exhausted even before we got to the area.

The moment we arrived, we were welcomed by a foul odour, a pile of garbage each seen at every corner and a whole lot of things I prefer not to mention. The area is clearly a slum.

Me and CJ, my partner, were assigned to the Robasto Family. They are two sisters who have 1 child and 4 children respectively. Then and there, we did the things we are bound to do. We conducted an interview, asked for their source of income and well, literally, “immerse”.

  We have come to find out that both of them did not have a chance to graduate secondary school, as well as their husbands. In fact, the only hope they consider is their children. They believe that education is the only way out of what they are experiencing.

  Having known their struggles in order to survive, I was enthused to still see smile on their faces. Right at that moment, I came into a significant feeling of enlightenment. I realized that for them, having less is having more. They get through problems not by dealing with it, but by living with it. And learning to live with it is a massive sacrifice that I can never imagine myself doing.  

  Right then and there, the fact of how fortunate I am hit me.

  Generally, it was a life-changing experience. Priceless, indeed. They changed me more than I changed them. And this, perhaps, is a memory I will treasure for a lifetime.