FEATURE STORY
By:
Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA
CITY, June 20 (PIA)- - Some people have never
experienced turning the tap, and drinking safe water from their own faucet at
home.
Residents of cities and urbanized towns may take the availability of clean water and other basic facilities for granted. However, for those who live in desolate rural areas, these are luxury amenities not accessible to them.
Such is the case in a town called Leon Postigo in Zamboanga del Norte, where potable water is highly scarce. People in some barangays have never even heard of water pipes and faucets and have never seen water meters outside their homes. Fetching water from the well has become a chore as common as cleaning the house.
Residents of cities and urbanized towns may take the availability of clean water and other basic facilities for granted. However, for those who live in desolate rural areas, these are luxury amenities not accessible to them.
Such is the case in a town called Leon Postigo in Zamboanga del Norte, where potable water is highly scarce. People in some barangays have never even heard of water pipes and faucets and have never seen water meters outside their homes. Fetching water from the well has become a chore as common as cleaning the house.
Lorna Bejo, a resident of
Barangay Manil, said that it took hours at a time to fetch water, which they
had to get from another barangay.
Other residents share the same difficulty. They had to take on jobs on the side like cutting grass and weeds, collecting and selling firewood, and other types of part-time work to augment their income. Even then, their efforts are still not enough to improve their living conditions. There are days when they and their children are forced to sleep with empty stomachs because they had no money for food.
The water inaccessibility problem only exacerbated their situation, according to Lorna. “Mugastos pa mi ug pamasahe, bente hangtud cuarenta pesos para makakabo ug tubig. Di na mi kakaon. Puerting lisod kaayo (We needed to pay for transportation to get water. Sometimes, we literally had nothing to eat. Life was very difficult),” she recalled.
In 2010, Lorna volunteered for Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), a community-driven development program from the DSWD that enables communities to undertake their own development projects through trainings and capacity-building activities.
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| A resident uses the newly-constructed water system in barangay Manil, Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte. The community never had safe potable water. Through the DSWD’s Kalahi-CIDSS Project and the community’s efforts, the dream has become reality. (DSWD9) |
Other residents share the same difficulty. They had to take on jobs on the side like cutting grass and weeds, collecting and selling firewood, and other types of part-time work to augment their income. Even then, their efforts are still not enough to improve their living conditions. There are days when they and their children are forced to sleep with empty stomachs because they had no money for food.
The water inaccessibility problem only exacerbated their situation, according to Lorna. “Mugastos pa mi ug pamasahe, bente hangtud cuarenta pesos para makakabo ug tubig. Di na mi kakaon. Puerting lisod kaayo (We needed to pay for transportation to get water. Sometimes, we literally had nothing to eat. Life was very difficult),” she recalled.
In 2010, Lorna volunteered for Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), a community-driven development program from the DSWD that enables communities to undertake their own development projects through trainings and capacity-building activities.
Lorna was one of those who lobbied for the water system project for Manil
during the municipal inter-barangay forum, an activity where projects are
presented to representatives from all barangays in a given municipality for
funding. Their proposal was subsequently prioritized in the first Kalahi-CIDSS
cycle.
Lorna eventually became the barangay’s Procurement Team chairperson. She and two of the team members took charge of materials canvassing, a tremendous responsibility in project implementation. Lorna said that she argued many times with her husband over her duties, since the project required her and many other volunteers to work over time. “I remember going home at 2 in the morning just to finish going over documents,” Lorna said. Other household chores were pushed to the side because of her duties in Kalahi-CIDSS.
But the arguments had to be endured, she said. She realized that if she gave up volunteering because of the fights, she would compromise the project, which was already within reach. “We desperately needed the water system,” she shared. “Nothing would stop us from having it.”
In the days that came, Lorna became more knowledgeable about construction materials. “I learned about tubes and pipes of different sizes. I knew how to distinguish them from one another, and to determine their quality to ensure our water system’s functionality,” Lorna shared. “I never finished high school, and I never knew that I could do things like that!” she exclaimed, proud of her accomplishments.
The day when water poured out from a faucet for the first time in Barangay Manil was a day of celebration. The residents were so eager and excited that when the inaugural day came, they literally bathed outside and played with the watery. Young and old alike cheer as they enjoyed what was denied them for the longest time.
“Naligo mi ug naglaba, gipang-itsa namo ang tubig kay lipay kaayo mi! (We bathed and we washed our clothes and did everything else we could with the water. We played with it, we splashed it onto each other because of joy),” Lorna said.
Although the residents still don’t have taps at their homes, as their water system could only cater to several communal tap stands, the important thing to them is that water is definitely closer; and they owe it all to themselves. (JPA/DIS/DSWD/PIA9-ZBST)
Lorna eventually became the barangay’s Procurement Team chairperson. She and two of the team members took charge of materials canvassing, a tremendous responsibility in project implementation. Lorna said that she argued many times with her husband over her duties, since the project required her and many other volunteers to work over time. “I remember going home at 2 in the morning just to finish going over documents,” Lorna said. Other household chores were pushed to the side because of her duties in Kalahi-CIDSS.
But the arguments had to be endured, she said. She realized that if she gave up volunteering because of the fights, she would compromise the project, which was already within reach. “We desperately needed the water system,” she shared. “Nothing would stop us from having it.”
In the days that came, Lorna became more knowledgeable about construction materials. “I learned about tubes and pipes of different sizes. I knew how to distinguish them from one another, and to determine their quality to ensure our water system’s functionality,” Lorna shared. “I never finished high school, and I never knew that I could do things like that!” she exclaimed, proud of her accomplishments.
The day when water poured out from a faucet for the first time in Barangay Manil was a day of celebration. The residents were so eager and excited that when the inaugural day came, they literally bathed outside and played with the watery. Young and old alike cheer as they enjoyed what was denied them for the longest time.
“Naligo mi ug naglaba, gipang-itsa namo ang tubig kay lipay kaayo mi! (We bathed and we washed our clothes and did everything else we could with the water. We played with it, we splashed it onto each other because of joy),” Lorna said.
Although the residents still don’t have taps at their homes, as their water system could only cater to several communal tap stands, the important thing to them is that water is definitely closer; and they owe it all to themselves. (JPA/DIS/DSWD/PIA9-ZBST)