One Tama Blog

It was as though Mother Nature was seeking to cleanse itself from the filth and grime that its inhabitants had thoughtlessly let accumulate. Typhoons Parma and Ketsana devastated the low lying areas of Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces with rain that turned streets into streams and highways into oceans of trash and muck. One of the hardest hit was Provident Village in Marikina, just down the hill from Ateneo de Manila.

Last October 27, 2009, Onetama partnered with the Ateneo Blueguards (an Ateneo alumni football team) led by Mr. Eric Ingles to do something to lend a hand. It was also through Mr. Ingles’ generosity that rubber boots and shovels were made available for use of the volunteers. These Blueguards and friends have been going to Provident Village regularly since October 1, bringing any number of people they could muster with boots and shovels in tow to help reclaim the living space that was buried by earth and debris. At 10am in front of the Jesuit Communications Building, volunteers who answered the open invitation of OneTama came in their jeans and shirts with ready hearts and willing hands. The group was an interesting mix of alumni, friends both local and foreign as well as young professionals with a dash of still-in-school teenagers.

Sidewalks merged with the streets and into the surrounding homes, as the volunteers worked side by side city workers and homeowners in the process of unearthing what once was. Oftentimes we were met with stares that seemed to ask, “Why are you here?”

Our actions were our silent reply,”We are here because there is some good that can be done. We are here because in some small way we can help.”

The volunteers fanned out in groups of 5 or more in areas where mud and debris had to be cleared from the sidewalk and homes onto the street for bulldozers to haul away. As with all things worth doing, the shovelling was not easy. It was a surprising shock to the system for these volunteers to dig into the concrete-like consistency of the mud, experience the oppressive noonday heat and to see excavation of Provident Village, after a river ran  through it. 

It was a mere 5 hours of labor. Though this effort may seem like a drop in the bucket, it is our hope that the volunteers take away from this experience the belief and conviction that every little effort, every little drop counts. It is with all our cumulative drops that we can create our own great flood of relief and renewal wherever we stand.