the filipino lives at gk pioneer village

by: George Co (12A), Rafael Altarejos (12E), Wesley Lo (12G), Sean Chua (11A), Diego Galang (11C)

The ongoing pandemic and the onslaught of typhoons in the latter part of 2020 have undoubtedly affected millions of Filipinos, most especially the less fortunate. Some may have found success through their small businesses; however, there are plenty who have found themselves in a worse state when compared to their lives prior to the pandemic because of the millions who lost their jobs.

​A community that is adversely affected by the situation mentioned is the GK Pioneer Village in Quezon City, which is close to our hearts.

​Just last school year, Lingkod: The Social Action Committee visited the village numerous times for the house builds and was even able to interact with the families in the village. This school year, because of the restrictions imposed by the quarantine, the committee cannot visit the community physically. Thus, Lingkod decided to launch Project Amuma, a fund-raising drive for the benefit of GK Pioneer Village. Earlier in the school year, an interview was conducted with some people in the village to hopefully gain an understanding of how they have been since the start of the quarantine.

We first interviewed Jessica Sison, a resident herself at the village. She is an 18-year-old student who studies AB Filipino at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Sta. Mesa. When the pandemic struck, both her parents lost their jobs. Jessica and her family then found themselves in need of financial assistance to sustain their everyday living.

Besides this, with Jessica’s new online set-up, she is now in need of extra necessities such as a flash drive, earphones, and the like. Without these, she says that it has been a hurdle to continue her classes. Jessica also says that she undergoes difficulty in learning as her family faces financial uncertainties, which affects her mental state.

​Despite the situation and difficulties they face, her parents, who are officers in the village and other members of the community organized a feeding program for the youth every Saturday and Sunday. They would give out champorado, sopas, pancit, spaghetti, or lugaw for merienda. For the main meals, they would give out rice, egg, and hotdog or adobo, or whatever is within their budget. These small acts of kindness within the community have helped the members of the village get through the difficult situation they are in — a sense of ‘bayanihan’ for them and their children.

     The global pandemic along with the recent typhoons have proven to be a huge problem for the residents of GK village, according to Ate Lily, another resident. Their usual village activities and gatherings, which they enjoy and value, have been limited, due to the social distancing measures and quarantine imposed in the country. A direct effect of this was the postponement of the construction of future houses in the village and painting of the built homes. She says the delay might last all the way until January, which is still subject to further delays.  Not seeing each other very often has also led to feelings of isolation within the community. Aside from this, despite the supplies they received from their local government, like rice and other important necessities, they had to start farming their own fruits or vegetables as the barangay could only offer limited supplies. This was also their way of trying to survive.

    During the quarantine, the village also suffered a tragic loss, from one of their seniors, who sadly passed away. With all these, she is requesting assistance from willing and generous people to help restore and bring back normalcy in their community. She says that maybe through charity programs and initiatives they can at least raise money for necessities like medicines that have been in shortage.

     The third person the committee interviewed was Ate Linda. When asked about their current situation, Ate Linda said that at the onset of the pandemic in March, life became much harder, a consequence of the lack of job opportunities. The lockdown has caused a depletion in their food supplies, so they were forced to start farming on an empty plot of land. In spite of the relative scarcity of food, Ate Linda and other volunteers like Jessica, have still managed to facilitate a regular feeding program. 
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      Nevertheless, while the seemingly never-ending spread of the coronavirus has altered communities around the world, the problems faced by Ate Linda and other members of the GK Village have been compounded by the pressure caused by online classes. Ate Linda said that she feels the online class has been a large burden for them due to the lack and inaccessibility of resources within their households. To alleviate this, however, the mayor and barangay officials supplied them with some materials to supplement online classes, as well as other necessities such as rice, as said by Ate Lily. 

     However, this is still not enough. According to the president of the GK Village, Mrs. Nelia Casuela the community is composed of 116 residents,which would be around 47 families in dire need of help. They have been in shortage of monetary resources that could help them pay for internet connection, materials for online classes, medicine, food, milk, and other day to day essentials. 
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      With all these stories from the GK Village, Lingkod cannot just sit and watch our fellow Filipinos suffer. The committee is organizing a donation drive for  such donations from February 8-11 at 9 am-3 pm at Gate 14 of Xavier School, San Juan. Knowing the situation of individuals and families living in these conditions calls now for some action to help sustain and restore the lives of those in the GK village. Their stories have moved us to action, we hope it moves you to. With these, what is God calling you to do?