A Newfound Resolution Born In Tanza, Cavite

Among all of my experiences visiting rural communities, my three-hour stay in Tanza,

Cavite, has impacted me in such a positive and meaningful way. It served as a part of our

community service in our National Service Training Program 2 subject, wherein the main

objective was to polish the community’s chapel and provide thirty monoblocks. Of course, every

experience I have in terms of visiting a place always comes with a new insight about that

particular area or community. However, I have never anticipated that this peculiar visit to the

humble neighborhood of Tanza, Cavite, would evoke within me a powerful emotion such as

empathy as well as a strong resolution to be a part of the people that will make the community a

better place for those peaceful individuals to live in.

It was a fine, early Sunday morning when we departed from Assumption College with the

rest of the NSTP2 students. Fortunately, the journey went smoothly with no interruptions

occurring during our travel, and we arrived safely at our destination. All of us were paired and

followed what you call a buddy-buddy system to implement order as well as share observations

about the turf we will be exploring.

However, upon our arrival at the exact area, I was surprised to see that the community I

had in mind was nothing compared to what I was looking at at that time. If there is one word that

I would use to describe the place, it would be humble. The smooth streets of stone I was

expecting were nowhere to be seen; instead, uneven grounds of earth were there for everyone to

walk on. No firm marble, or even graphite, houses were to be spotted; only humble abodes were

strengthened by the fusion of concrete and wood. It was funny how I was led to believe that
almost all houses in Cavite are supposed to be beautifully structured and aesthetically pleasing,

but seeing all the residences there stirred up empathy within me. Looking back, I observed that

those houses lacked in the sturdiness department, and yet, all of them were content to live in

shelters firm enough to protect them from storms and the harsh rays of the sun. Taking all of

these observations regarding their environment, I realized that these people were simply humble

about where they live. It does not matter if they live in mansions or "too humble" residences, as

long as these abodes are enough to shelter them from harm.

On the bright side, I was glad to discover that the children there are fed with the Word of

God regularly and that they are blessed to receive weekly allowances from those churches.

According to one of the community leaders our group has talked to, Nanay Tita explained that

their turf was being visited weekly by members from born-again churches to educate them about

the Bible and involve them in Sunday School. In a way, Nanay Tita was happy that those

children were being exposed to Biblical values and that spiritual values were being ingrained

within them as they grew. As an incentive, the people from the church rewarded them with a

weekly allowance that I thought was quite sufficient for kids their age. It also seems that the

other community leaders, as well as the mothers, were glad to receive this blessing. They just

hope that once the chapel is refurbished, all of the children will begin to attend their own worship

place instead of others’.

Once our visitation and exploration were over, I, along with my group mates, pondered

what our future plans would be now that we had actually seen the community we would be

rendering our service to. We decided to conduct a fundraising event (probably in school) wherein
we will be selling school stuff (such as lanyards, stickers, and photocards) and get the funds from

our sales. In addition, one of our group mates generously offered to use her connections on social

media to acquire more funds for the chapel refurbishment and monoblocks. Aside from Nanay

Tita, one of the mothers mentioned that the door of their chapel needed fixing, as well as the

tiles. This being said, our group promised them to communicate this to our facilitator and include

the aforementioned issues in our main objective. I hope that the next time we visit the

community, I will be equipped with more lessons, such as empathizing with their way of life. I

also plan that in our next visitation, not only me but my group as well will be able to provide

them with inspiration and comfort as an additional gift.

Taken on February 12th, 2023 inside the chapel of Tanza, Cavite