The Badjao Community Immersion at Matina Aplaya, Davao City

We, the students from Saint John Paul II College of Davao just experienced a day of full of unexpected events, scenarios and situations from our specific subject in this year's curriculum, the NSTP -CWTS2 (National Service Training Program -Civic Welfare Training Services 2) Last March 15, 2015 (My Birthday as well :D ). A day to live a kind of life with them, the Badjao Tribes (People), a day of something for us to think about life has been a good life and a blessing, and rather than life as a very difficult challenge to anyone and for us, students. a day of immersion. We experienced finally the day we have been anticipating during our last semester in this particular subject. To serve, to give assistance and to become part of their lives for just at least half of t hat day.

Yes, we will be going to the community that all the people who lived there are different from us, they are called Badjao People, a group of people where they got different practices, cultures and attitudes so to speak. And in addition, as part of my personal encounter with them in some places here in Davao, they are dirty, disrespectful, no manners and all...They are just so disgusting, and I honestly don't like these kind of people, I supposed to hate them, over my dead body! ugh... But, yeah, it's my personal perspectives, so this will be changed later in this article.. ;)

But since, this was required by our Instructor, we have no other choice but to say "yes" and pretend we've sincerely chosen it. :-p

Prior to the said event/activity or let's just say, the project, (coz it was really said by our instructor, Mr. John Mark Hernandez, that this is really his requirement for us to pass the subject for this semester) we had at least 6 months to prepare, i mean to prepare (personally) mentally, emotionally, physically and psychologically. These  6 months of meetings from him involved "How to be patient", "How to be a leader", "How to be a listener." "A follower." and "How to be respectful" even to these kind of people you might encounter in some places in your area.

The final words of our instructor, as far as I could remember was "CHOICE".

He explained how would our own decision to become part of this activity will help us motivate our own selves, will make us realized that why do some people like them (Badjao) were being discriminated and have given no respects at all, it's just because of us.

CHOICE. The only thing that may qualify us to join the said activity is to make a choice. It's by giving our own willingness, to volunteer and serve them with no hard feeling and not forced to do so.

The last thing I could also remember during the last semester, that some of my classmates (excluding me) reacted overly upon hearing this things from our Instructor, they couldn't get over instantly with their emotions. I can even imagine, "wow, I now realized that my classmates are very "maarte", not me, coz I am actually particular and I can somehow handle myself from this kind of scenario... And so, I took it as a greatest challenge, so far in whole life. I can't imagine myself from going there and be part of their life for one day, when all these time, I cannot help myself from hating them. ugh, that feeling.. :0

The second semester is fast approaching, and I honestly enrolled the NSTP2 Subject sincerely, with no doubts. 

Our NSTP class with Mr. Hernandez was only once a month, it was every 3rd Thursday of the month, every time we met, we tried to prepare ourselves  for this activity will totally come that fast and without prior notice. It was the last month of our meeting from our school, that is February 2015, and on March will be the day of our Community Service to the Badjao People. Honestly, I cannot tell if I was excited that time or not, coz on March 15, that would be my birthday. So, I perceived that God might have a big reason why He allowed it to synchronized my birthday and this activity.

March 15, 2015, we arrived at the venue around 10:00am, but prior to this, our instructor gave us the Family name whom we have to immerse and serve with, and of course, we were fully instructed what we ought to do, and what we ought not to do, the "does" and "don'ts" thing, he told us everything that we have to know before anything else, and that really made our group almost quit, but again, we have no other choice, and because we really have to pass this subject, we challenged ourselves from going. We just anticipated everything that might happen, we bought candies/mints to sustain our stamina and to abstain from vomiting due to the bad smell and full of dirtiness from their environment, and I guess, all is well now, I guess we are totally prepared. hahaha.

Upon arriving at the venue, we looked for this name it was Mr. Paisal Sibbal, and we were instantly assisted by a child, a Badjao. the child brought us to the house of Mr. Sibbal, and God, it was really hard to get there, I swear!

Look at the 2 pictures below...

Their house is located from the seashore, probably not a shore, but it's over the sea water already, and the only way you can get there is to walk in to a footbridge which can carry one person at a time only, and you have to be very careful from walking and passing through because if not, say "HI" to the sea water with all the dirty and wastes creatures under the Badjao's Houses.. :)

We were 6 in the group, I am the only guy (the G. Leader as well), so I really expected that my members can come into different reactions, you know... But of course, I challenged them, perhaps, they were not the only students who encountered this kind of experience, but we were many to mention, so again, they have no other choice, but to go, and just go...

Their house is made of woods, and composed of Bamboos, which they just made it as their very foundation of their house. It was quite dangerous actually, but we still managed to be careful enough and learn to control our weight over, and that was our first objective from getting inside their house.

We met the family members of Mr. Sibbal, they were only 5 living in that house.

The family members are:
Mr. Paisal Sibbal   (The Father of Adelina)
Ms. Adelina Sibbal (Single Mom to Randy)
Ms. Jamila Sibbal  (The Cousin of Adelina)
Mr. Randy Sibbal   (The Son of Adelina- A baby)
Mr. Jaynal Sibbal   (The Brother of Adelina)

For your information, they are all illiterate, they don't know how read and write, they can't even answer when was the born day of Randy and worst, they don't know how old they are today. But, they can actually know how to speak politely, and they can also understand Cebuano language, so that was not hard for us to make a survey. :)

They have their own television, a unit of radio and a DVD player, but they said, only the TV can function, and the rest of their appliances can't function anymore. They do not have their dining tables and chairs, they don't have a sink for dishes, and lastly, they don't have their own respected comfort room. When they are going to make laundries, wash dishes and any activity involving usage of water, they just do it on the floor, which was actually designed like an improvised sink, that was made of bamboo splint, I guess it is an "all for one usage." Regarding from where will they go for a CR, you judge.:)

Meanwhile, as they welcomed us to to their house, they were very shy, they said their house is not yet ready for visitors like us. But we explained to them, that we will going to immerse with them on that particular moment, we also explained that we are going to disseminate some information and will conduct a survey as part of out requirements, we also explained to them that as part of immersion, we are going to serve them, from preparing them foods, washing their clothes, dishes and cleaning their house. And so, everything were doing fine, and we started our proper activity afterwards.

I assigned my members to some specific area, and as a guy, I tasked myself from fetching water. They have 5 pieces of water container, but only 4 of which were empty. So, I started fetching those. And so, once again, I have to walk through the footbridge and experience the hardest scene, most of all, I'm carrying a water container now, and that was a kind of difficult for me fulfill. But I challenged myself, and I sincerely did it voluntarily.

Later that moment, as my members were still preparing our foods to eat for lunch, one my other member and me tried something to have fun inside the house while waiting for lunch. I initiated to have a teaching lesson to one of the Family member living on that house, it was Jamila. I approached her, firstly, I just asked her if she could read or write, but she was shy, and she just answered me with her smile with full of shame. So, again, I asked her, if she wanted me to teach her for at least reading the alphabets and write her name in a piece of paper, she just smiled again. But, for my final concern, I told her "learning is fun, and you don't have to go to some schools and other establishments to spend money for them to teach and educate you, education starts from our own self..." and I explained to her that they learned how to speak, give some respect and have a shame to others from their own willingness and from their own way of understanding about something. And so, she said yes, she is willing to learn...

I prepared a pen and a piece of paper, I wrote the Alphabet letters and explained to her. I had at least 1 hour of spending her the reading and writing skill. I can see that she was willing and she was able to read and write later that point. I was really blessed and feeling happy when she finally wrote her full name and read it without any references but from her own understanding. I felt that moment of happiness, and same as her, she was full of smile and joy, I can feel it.

After that, the foods were all ready, and it was 12:00 noon, we were all very hungry. The other groups that time were already done with their immersion, but we have to make it more successful from ending this activity on replenishment, of course, we washed the dishes and other kitchenware we used for cooking. 

Prior to this activity, we bought some groceries, an extra 2 kilos of rice and 6 pieces of plates. We planned this of giving it to them after the immersion.

It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I guess we had it all. Before we went out from their house, we took some pictures with them, and by the way, these girls were Adelina and Jamila and that baby was Randy. Paisal was not around because he was fishing that time, while Jaynal was outside playing basketball.

The said activity was not just a challenge, but we considered it as the greater opportunity for us to learn about how would a person exercise a daily routine of respecting other people. A privilege for us to experience this one of kind scenario that made us realized the importance of being a good Samaritan and a good example to those who are illiterate and came to an unknown zone within an area. It was a challenge, that most of us just don't know what will be the things might come over us during the immersion.  

But God allowed us to experience this, more than that, it's not just our instructor required this unto us, but we deserved this. 

I learned that in every aspects of our lives, there are different rules to our mentality. Our life has full of definitions, but it was being divided into two particular aspects. One is for positive view and the other is for negative view. In order for us to live life to the fullest, one thing I can assure of, that the education starts from within us. I mean, there are lots of education to learn, it may not be all about academic, but the most important to being educated person is to know of giving respects, acceptance and to be generous not just for material thing but from the values that have gained from someone.

During the immersion, I was blessed, because God moves in to their lives, they were actually Born Again Christians, and that really touched my heart, knowing that they have been with God since then, so, I realized that not ALL the Badjao People around Davao City are Bad, disrespectful and no manners. They just need us, they just need to be accepted, in our society and consider them as human.

The picture are from Author's.