Bayani Challenge 2013 - Reflections

Reflection by Mary Emano of SMAJ

First, to be honest, I really don’t have any idea when to start. Summer vacation is a great time to get away from the tiring routine of a student life. You can pack your bags and travel to some unknown place, far from home. In my case, I rather volunteer and have an unforgettable summer. The 5 days bayani challenge has been ended and yet I can still picture out all that happened. BC 2013 for me was kinda hard unlike my experience last BC because it’s not easy doing some stuff under the crazy sun. I chose this kind of work than the others because I knew this would be a good choice and I wanted to build a house for them, unfortunately we didn’t finished it. We arrived at the site and we met a family who is very hospitable, they shared their experiences and I felt very sorry for the poor condition that they were living in after sendong. Inspired, we began our first day of work. Our task for the day was to transfer cement blocks, which was piled up far away, transferring it to the other side was not so hard because later on we fall in line and we just pass it until to its destination. The following day was harder than I thought, after half an hour of carrying the buckets, my back and shoulder muscles could feel the strain. Some reflection I had was that the job is challenging because of the physicality of the work, we began digging the land using the steel bar, pile the cement blocks, putting the sand in sacks and mixing the sand and the water (the mixing looks simple, but in reality the cement mix is very heavy, so it’s harder than it looks). We carried out the same task for the next three days of BC; on day four we continued the same task and finished digging the land before the day ends. In our last day, we weren’t able to go to Calaanan site because we participated in Bayanihunt. Bayanihunt was great, though it’s the reason why I got my skin like this but it’s worth it! As Kuya Lex said: Magpa-Tan sa CDO. Rarely in life do you get such a chance to broaden your mind and soul, to learn acceptance and understanding. Furthermore, an important lesson I learned was that patience really does help especially for a contraction worker and a leader, is definitely a virtue. I salute them. Back to site, it was an interesting change to see the students whom I had always encountered in classrooms or on campus wearing pristine outfits, now with their hands and faces covered with dirt and sweating all over. Despite the tiring day of work, looking at those children laughs and giggles with their family washed away all the soreness and fatigue. Although our interaction time with the family we met was short, I can’t help but feel like it was one of the greatest moments of the trip. Thank you Pilipinas Natin for making my summer 2013 a blast! Smaj and I love you