village updates

In February of 2019, high school students on Interim to Dalaguete, Cebu had the opportunity to visit the homes of GK beneficiaries to speak to them about their lives and families. The beneficiaries had not yet moved into the newly-built concrete homes; at the time, they were living in small sheds made of wood and other materials. The interviews were conducted before the families were to be given the keys to their new homes later that afternoon, with a member of GK staff helping to translate between the students and beneficiaries.

Each interview ended with the same question: what are you worried about when moving to the new GK houses? Each beneficiary responded the same: they weren’t worried. Because of how strong the community already was, and because their neighbours would all be going with them, they said they were only looking forward to the future. No one left behind - walang iwanan.

These are the stories of the SAS GK village in Cebu. The names of the beneficiaries have been changed to preserve anonymity.

rosario

A mother of ten, Rosario does laundry for the village to earn money for her family, and her husband pushes an ice-cream cart in the town center each morning. The wooden-plank house she lives in was donated by the previous mayor of the town, but floods happen often and polluted water reaches up to their knees. Before this, the family lived right on the edge of the highway; they paid for the small spot they had, but many months went by where they were not able to pay, and the family was kicked out of the space. As Rosario waits for the keys to her new home, she is hopeful and happy for her children, who will now be able to attend school.

Ailyn & Marisol

Mother and daughter, Ailyn and Marisol, live together with Marisol 5 siblings and Ailyn’s 2 grandkids in one home. Marisol, 17, dropped out after 8th grade to take care of her one-year-old son. Her hope for the future is to finish school. The family has been living in Dalaguete running their family store for around 10 years, and Ailyn hopes that, one day, she will be able to afford more than one house so that the family has room to live comfortably.

lUIS

Luis, 25, lives with his wife and his little daughter, Jasmine. His mother-in-law lives right next door. He describes how it worries him to see his daughter playing in the mud with sharp objects on the ground, and is thankful that soon, she will have a clean, safe place to play. Luis and his wife’s biggest hope is that their daughter will grow up healthy and in a happy home.

Hazel

Hazel, an elementary school graduate, lives with her daughter and her husband. The family used to live in Mandaluyong and worked there as farmers, but Hazel’s husband was very ill; the climate there wasn’t good for his health, and they moved so that he could recover. The couple still travel to Mandaluyong for periods of time to continue farming, but are happy they have finally been given the opportunity to settle somewhere they can be comfortable.

MARIA

Maria lives together with her husband and son in a small house made of wood planks. She built it herself in a week, and has had to rebuild it many times since after floods. Maria relocated to Dalaguete when the mayor of her old town sold the land she lived on because she couldn’t afford it, and the land in Dalaguete was free. She looks forward to the permanence of a GK home; one that she will never have to be worried about being sold away from her.