In the
Philippines February is known as the month of love – the time for valentine's
day and remembering and emphasizing the importance of love in our lives.
Team Yapak -
Yapak Travelers have also chosen the month of February to exhibit their love to
the Dumagat Remontado community of Sitio Magata, Laiban, in Tanay, Rizal
as they celebrate their 2nd anniversary through their 5th outreach program.
The theme of
the outreach program is "Giving and Bending" - Reaching out
with a calm and healthy soul of kindness". Which aims not just to share
love though typical gift giving and feeding program to the local
community but also to introduce a physical, mental and spiritual discipline or
practice to the members known as Yoga.
On February 16,
2019 at 11:00 PM Team Yapak started to gather in a fastfood chain in a Cubao.
You will definitely won’t get lost as they were all wearing their legacy shirt
with a clearly “Team Yapak” printed in their backs. By 12:15 am we
started walking going to Aurora
boulevard carrying bags loaded of gift, toys and supplies for Dumagats. You can
see in the faces of everyone that though
some of them were tired from work or from the preparation, they are full of
energy and excitement while throwing jokes at each other.
We went on commute
using “Patok” jeepney from Aurora boulevard going to Cogeo, Rizal where our
service is going to pick us up. “Patok” jeepneys are jeepneys playing
loud music while plying their routes. Typically the travel time from Cubao to
Cogeo takes roughly 45 mins but since it was early in the morning and there’s
no traffic it only took us roughly 30 mins of travel time going to out pick up
point.
Since we early
some of us had coffee and snack at Mcdonald while waiting for the rest
and to the Monster jeeps that will bring us to jump-off point. Monster jeeps,
unlike the ordinary jeeps that we ride on well-paved roads, are supposed to
withstand the uninviting route to Barangay Laiban which includes a series of
rough roads that we will pass along the way. Another thing that you can try on
a monster jeep is Top loading. It is one of the ways in riding a jeep. Instead
of getting inside of the vehicle, you will go up to the roof the jeepney with
no comfortable chair.
It was a long 5
hour challenging ride I must say going to Barangay Laiban because of the
rough roads and the cold breeze of the wind. It was still dark when we get to
the jump off and the whole place was covered with fog. Team Yapak doesn’t seems
to dire the cold weather and fatigue as their energy and liveliness overflows.
When the sun
started to rise around 6:00 am, some of the locals fetch us to help us in
bringing the goods and gifts to the school where we will conduct the program.
There’s a small unfinished bridge but we are unable to use it that time,
so some of us have to take a boat to bring the supplies while some have to
cross the knee deep river just to get to the other side. As the sun lightens up
the whole place, it slowly revealed the beauty of -the nature hiding from
the thick fog of the dawn. The long
journey was all worth it as we were welcomed by the cool clear water from the
river and the green forest.
It was roughly
15 mins treck from the jump-off going to the school. We rested for a few
minutes and the team started to change for their Yoga outfits.Then we went down
again to the river side where the Yoga class was held. The white noise
from the humming of birds and flowing water from the river is just so soothing
to our ears. The whole place will definitely help you relax, unwind and recharged
your soul.
We were
welcomed by Ms. Lea Arnosa, our Yoga teacher, who led the yoga class.
Everyone was asked to remove their sandals and slippers as we will be doing the
yoga bare footed over the fine sand near the river. The roughly an hour of Yoga
class was a perfect way to start the day and conditioned the volunteers for
a whole day of work as we serve the Dumagat Remontado tribe of Sitio
Magata.
Yoga is a group
of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in
ancient India. It uses breathing techniques, exercise and meditation that helps
to improve health and happiness. It is believed that the relaxation techniques
incorporated in yoga can lessen chronic pain, such as lower back pain,
arthritis and headaches. It can also lower blood pressure and reduce
insomnia. Aside from physical benefits,
it also helps a person manage stress.
After the
relaxing Yoga class we went back to the school to start preparing for the program. The food committee
started preparing for our breakfast while the rest were actively involved in
setting up the venue and the props that we will be using for the
games and for the whole program. It nice
to see that everyone in enjoying what they were doing. The place started to get
warm but you will never miss a single smile in the faces of the
volunteers. It was an environment filled with joy and overflowing happiness.
Before the
program proper have started we enjoyed the creamy macaroni chicken soup
together with locals that the food committee have prepared. After
everyone was able to rest, the program started at 9:45 am. Jojo, the leader of the group gave a quick
introduction about who Team Yapak is, and introduced its officers to the locals.
Ms. Lea was also given a chance to deliver her opening remarks as she is the
key on how Team Yapak found about the Dumagat Remontado tribe of Sitio
Magata.
The ancestral
origin of Dumagat is traced from Negrito's which is one of the earliest
inhabitants in the Philippines. Dumagat can be found in the hillsides and
mountains of Quezon, Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna provinces. The term
"Dumagat " was believed to be derived from the word
"rumakat", "lumakat" or "lumakad" which
signifies the migration of early Negritos in Philippines by walking in land and
not by the sea. They used to be nomadic people, who stays in one place for
awhile then move to another place once their resources depleted. Dumagat
Remontados are shy people but they have a lot stories to tell when they get
comfortable with you.
The Dumagat
kids and parents enjoyed from different games such as “pabitin”, “basagan ng
palayok”, “hanapan ng itlog”, longest line and tag of war. The young talented
Dumagat kids also showcased their talents through a small dance contest.
Under the heat of the sun the whole venue was filled of warm laughters and
smiles as the locals and the volunteers enjoyed each activities together.
The lunch was
served to the locals at noon while the gift giving activity continued. It was a
heart-melting moment seeing the smiles on the children’s faces as they
cheerfully and gratefully received the gifts. The 64 families and 56 children
were the beneficiaries of the outreach program who received grocery items,
toys, candies and different items from the generous sponsors and volunteers of
Team Yapak. It was already past noon and the gift giving activity is not yet
over. You can easily noticed in the volunteers faces that their energy have
sapped a bit but the passion and smile continue to lingers in everyone's faces.
It was a beautiful thing to witness—the kids receiving their gifts and their
faces lighting up as they opened their presents. We are happy that in our own
little way, we were able to bring joy to the Dumagat Remontados community.
Team Yapak wrap
up the the activity with a boodle fight lunch. The unremitting laughters and
throwing of jokes made our lunch more enjoyable. There was never a dull moment since everyone are so cooperative
and concerted. After the great lunch we went for a short trek to visit a small
falls near the area then went swimming and enjoyed the cool flowing water from
the river. It was the time for photo ops, more bonding time and time to rest
before going back to busy lives.
The feeding
program and gift-giving activity are Team Yapak’s way of letting the indigent
rural communities feel that there are people who cares and love them.
Activities such as this are a great way to bring people together, to serve and
share blessings, and to give hope. Through feeding programs and gifts, we know
that, in our own little way, we are providing hope and new opportunities for
our less-fortunate communities.
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