This season of giving, Habitat for Humanity Philippines urges every Juan to celebrate a purposeful holiday and spark hope by helping build decent, affordable, and disaster-resilient homes.
Category: Poverty
Progress
Can we measure progress by the number of infrastructure mushrooming left and right in our metropolis? They do look good; we’ll give them that, be it business firms, malls, restaurants, and technological hubs. But it may just be a sign of the times: that the rich keeps getting richer, and the poor keeps growing in…
Babae
Anak, ina, babae—iyan si Ligaya, biktima ng sex trafficking at ng mapapait na karanasan ng buhay. Bakit nga ba maraming babae ang nagiging biktima nito? Bakit ba ganito ang trato ng ilang lalaki sa mga babae na parang isang tuyong sanga na pwedeng baliin? Limang taong gulang pa lamang noon si Ligaya nang pagsamantalahan siya ng…
Musoleo: Araw-araw Kasama ng mga Patay
Umaalingasaw ang usok ng mga nakatirik na dilaw na kandila. Humahalik sa ilong ang halimuyak ng mga tindang kalachuchi at lila. Nakapapaso ang init ng mga sementadong puntod. Tangan ng iba ang kanilang mga payong habang taimtim na inaalala ang kanilang mga yumaong kamag-anak. Umaalingawngaw ang sintunadong boses ng mga kumakanta sa videoke. Mayroon ding…
Kung Paano Hinaharap ng Babae ang Hirap
Alas-tres ng umaga, gising na si Aling Irma.* Sa totoo lang, aniya, parang wala na siyang tulog. “Minsan, pag yung humihiga na ako, alas-diyes, ganun, tinatawag pa ako dun sa kabila. May iniuutos pa, ganun. Sa kagustuhan ko naman na ako ay may kita, hala sige kahit pagod na ako, sige pa rin. Tapos wala…
No Monkey Business: Banana Farmers to Corporate Giant Lapanday
Like food for the gods, the Cavendish bananas of Tagum City, Davao Del Norte are spotless. Sealed with stickers to mark their perfection, they are being shipped to countries in the Asia Pacific contributing billions to the domestic economy. But what many don’t know, these bananas were grown on a soil soaked with sweat and…
The Filipino Laborer
Every May 1, the country celebrates Filipino laborers, recognizing their struggles and hardwork. Filipinos, especially the poor laborers, are NOT lazy. Through photos, we shall attempt to tell you their stories. May they inspire you, millennials, to keep a lookout for them in your travels or daily lives. Know that outside of the increasingly toxic…
The Disappearing Farmers of Cambodia
KAMPONG CHAM, CAMBODIA — Hun Heang and his six siblings were born and raised into farming. They inherited the half-hectare land of their parents in Kang Meas district, Kampong Cham province, Cambodia. He was seven years old when he learned how to plant rice. Life was easy then, according to Hun. But as years went by, farming…
Sulu: A Lost Paradise
Berwina Timbang, a grade six student in Sultan Jamalul Kiram Elementary School in Maimbung, Sulu, was diligently listening to her English teacher when I first saw her. I was in Sulu then for a one-day news coverage. Occasionally, she would glance outside the window, her eyes innocent and her face hopeful. In a class of…
Creating Waves in Siargao
You see, I have never been a public school teacher. I was once behind the lens, doing the interviews, listening for inspiring sound bites that I may share to the viewing public. I met these teachers in the mountains, on remote islands and across far-flung barangays, each of them willing to traverse dangerous seas and…
Cybersex and Congress: A Tale of Two Queens
The mountains of Matnog, Sorsogon looked weary — its coconut trees totally felled or crownless. A tinge of gloom painted the town as it reeled from nature’s wrath. Call it a perfect disaster: a natural calamity hitting a vulnerable community. It had already been months since a powerful storm struck the third class municipality, but recovery…
From Disasters to Shelters
Two years ago, super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) made its third of six landfalls over the town of Daanbantayan in northern Cebu. That time, Felisa Amistoso and her family were still living in Sitio Samar in Barangay Agujo among fish pens and a creek, in a small, dilapidated shanty on a plot of land that was…
The Wonder Vendors: Mudjur Clemente and Gladys dela Cruz
Thankfully, we now have Facebook to remind us of days like our birthdays. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between people who really remembered your birthday or those who just saw a notification. But hey, it’s the thought that counts. It’s a good feeling to have most of your family, friends and acquaintances fill your timeline…
Lumads of Davao del Sur: Students without a School
“Tak tak tak.” It’s the sound of a bolo hitting the chopping block, reducing rotten and rejected bananas from the plantation into small, circular pieces. The chopping would go on all afternoon until the sun turned golden and the shadows of the banana trees envelop the little town of Hagonoy, Davao del Sur. Three boys would…
The Hope of Muslim Orphans
Abdul Aziz, not his real name, wakes up at 4:00 in the morning. After praying to Allah, he dashes to eat his breakfast, and, clutching his bag and books, runs to his classroom. He refuses to be late in all of his classes. Abdul is now on 11th grade and only a year away from finishing…
Eastern Samar: Matapos ang Unos
“Ano’ng wish mo?,” tanong ko kay Davel, labing-isang taong gulang at mag-aaral ng Grade 4. Matipid pero tiyak ang sagot ng yayat na bata: “Sana po mabigyan pa kami ng trapal.” Mabilis kong pinutol ang wala pang limang minutong panayam dahil namumuo na ang tubig sa ilalim ng mga mata ko. Sa dinami-rami ng mga nakapanayam…
SubSelfie.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.