Darkness amidst Progress

It was around nine in the evening when I was reviewing for my BUSMAN101 quiz. Our
topic was frustration, stress, burnout, mental health, and mental hygiene. It was an interesting
topic because I can relate the most. The introduction said, “Life problems are numerous and
long as one is alive and kicking, he will always be faced with problems, be they big or small or
life is full of frustration.”  Then out of a sudden, the video that we watched at the last meeting
shows a perfect example of a life problem that some of our fellowmen are experiencing. I, then
set aside my notes and decided to watch the documentary, “SAKALAM lang Ang TIYAN: A
Pagpag Documentary Files”. I calm myself down as I pressed play. At the start of the
documentary, it shows how awful the life they have is like Aling Marissa’s. Their houses are
surrounded by piles and bags of garbage. Aside from the trash, the streets along their place are
unpleasant and dirty. The host did an amazing job to show us, viewers, how their life went from
day to day. It was dawn when they start to prepare and cook the food that they are going to sell.
One of the menus of the Carinderia is made out of “Pagpag”. They went to Happy Land, a place
where they get the pagpag, leftover food from the restaurants, and mostly from fast-food chains.
The place going there is displeasing. Even outside there is still garbage everywhere. Happy Land
is unimaginable, it is beyond what I was expecting. It was a dumpsite of all the garbage from
their city even so there are still houses built near the area. The talk with a Nanay who sorts out
the trashes to get leftover food, engrossed my attention as she described their work and how they
were able to sell it and live by eating those kinds of food. It was so unfortunate. She has said that
the Pagpag is not as dirty as we think it is, it did not even pass a day so it’s still fine to eat. She
also added that her customers said that it is more delicious compared to the food that is clean and
freshly cooked. Nanay said they have eaten the Pagpag and it was delicious because they cleaned
and cooked it very well, I’m amazed at how she narrated it. Back in their place, after the Pagpag
was already prepared and ready to cook. I have seen that they washed it, more like water rinsing,
and cooked it. They have fried chicken and Caldereta made out of leftover fried chicken. The
friend chicken seems a little bit, okay but when the Caldereta was shown in the video, I saw a
worm crawling around the leftover chicken. Nevertheless, their neighbors seem to like their food,
especially the food made out of Pagpag was in demand. As the sun rises the customers ongoingly
visiting the Carinderia. Elders, adults, teens, and even children at a very young age would eat this
kind of food. It is very pitiful to see them settling on this kind of lifestyle just for survival. How
much more can this life offer to these people?

At the end of the video, all I can give out is a deep sigh. I have felt so much pity and
sadness for these people. I have realized how life has been so cruel and unfair to them. We,
people, have our share of problems may it be big or small. We always believe that it will just
pass as time. But, for some, this problem will always encrypt their minds and their health most
especially. The economy’s statistic seems useless to me. We see how we progress even in a small
percentage. I am guilty when I say that small progress is still progress because that slight
increase in our GDP or GNI is not enough to help these people. No matter how far we can go,
these people have nowhere to go but to the most accessible, and that is to settle for what is given
to them at the very least. Our economy must be progressing, investors internationally are
venturing into our business industry, tourism is now back on its track, and a lot more. Numbers
won’t lie, and I agree with that statement but how come we cannot feel the progress, especially
in the marginalized sector of the economy. I remembered in one interview during the pandemic
when a lot of drivers weren’t able to work because of the quarantine protocols, his statement
was, “Mahirap maging mahirap.”  It was so heartbreaking to see people lose their job as they
lose hope in life. These protocols helped us to save us from the COVID outbreak, but who would
save them from hunger? Going back to the video I kind of felt mad at the statement of Nanay,
who sorts out the Pagpag in Happy Land, where she said that they would choose this kind of job
rather than work as a housekeeper with less income and working for someone. This job gives
them more income as she said and they can control their time more on this. It was kind of
disappointing how they settle for easy money but not sustainable and not efficient. They were
given the opportunity but they chose to ignore it. This kind of mindset is very alarming, we
cannot assure how long it can be safe for them to eat this food, especially during this pandemic
when our health is at risk. Consequently, it is not just the government who we can blame but
these people as well for choosing and settling on this kind of ill-fated lifestyle. They said they
have been doing this for so long meaning that they are fond of it already and they accept that this
is the life they will have from now on. 

Extending help has been set in my mind since then. As I am a part of one of the school’s
offices, the Social Awareness and Community Service Involvement (SACSI). As a volunteer, we
have been providing help to the marginalized here in our community and what I have learned
throughout my journey as a volunteer is about helping them for long-term use. We offer skills
training and seminars like livelihood programs, etc. In this way, we ensure that they can build
their life together by working and having a sustainable source of income that will help them for a
long time. Hearing their stories was very heartbreaking but also knowing how eager they are to
learn and to acquire skills that will help them is much more fulfilling. They have dreams for their
families but they thought it’s hard because of the circumstances. Aside from extending help, I
will also practice and teach my family especially my younger cousins to be contented with small
things and what our parents can provide for us. We are very fortunate to be able to eat more than
three times a day, sleep in a very comfortable bed, be able to go to a good school, and have the
things that we needed without risking our health or our time. All we can do is appreciate the
things we have at this moment because not everyone is as blessed as we are. I will also take
action on educating them on appreciating things but not settling for less at the same time. I want
them to dream big and chase their goals for a better lifestyle. As long as we do it for our good
without invalidating anyone. We can be who we want to be. Just take courage and make a move.
Besides, even in our darkest times we can reach our goals and make progress.