the two ways to define poverty (VOA tour to Perez)

Over the long weekend (Thanks to Chinese New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choi!), VOA (Volunteers of ACCESS) had its first organized short tour to Perez, Alabat Island, Quezon. It's in this trip that Kuya Onin's camera has shown its getting old so pictures are from my fellow VOA members, Aya and Wakana. ;)

What we did in Perez were...

Play with children.

Interview with coco farmer

Interview with fisherman

Participants also did home stay, with one person each home stay family. In this trip, it was second time that I heard the view that the objective of home stay is not clear and uncertain if it would help participants understand poverty. However, in my case, when I did home stay in rice farming village in Batangas and with a fisherman's home at Perez, I felt isolated from my comfort zone at sleeping time. Thus, the feeling of being lonesome and hopeful to change the place where you're in at the moment spurred. Probably, for Japanese students, the experience would be more compelling and surely "you'll never know it unless you try"

Roamed around town proper.

Play with children, for these little people possess in themselves a universal language.

Ate delicious food made by our fellow volunteer, Masa.

And lastly, play with Macho. <3

In the morning of our last day in Perez, we had a little reflection and discussion of whether "Perez is poor or not." Though it was limited time, it was nice to hear opinions of same-aged people and see the similarities and differences of our points of view. Most said Perez is poor but not as poor as other places like Africa. More so, poverty's sense of meaning is different if you look into other people's mind. Some would say it is when people have "less freedom" or "lack of choice" while some would say, it is when people "don't have electricity in their houses, could not eat thrice a day nor could send their children to school". More over, some would say, poverty is when sadness has struck your life chronically and that happiness beyond the limitation of material abundance is wealth.

So how do we define poverty then? This is where the two ways to define poverty enters.

One is, relative poverty (the subjective one).
Keyword: "in relation"

which measures poverty through the feelings of happiness or contentment of a person in his or her life. For example, a person may be materially unable than another one, but he or she might think his/her life is better since their family is together, their traditional values preserved. On another note, a middle class student may feel he is poorer than his/her classmates since s/he doesn't own the things others own.

Relative poverty is commonly used in surveys wherein opinions of people whether they feel their life is getting better or worse is checked. It's one way for government to know if development is felt by its constituents.

Another one is, absolute poverty (the objective one).
Keyword: absolute equals zero or poverty line

In the realm of social welfare and development studies, a concise and measurable tool to define poverty was invented to know who and where the poor are. In contrast with relative poverty, absolute poverty marks the demarcation between who is poorest of the poor, poor, middle class and upper class. A clear example is explaining that a family earns only 2 dollars a day, thus is considered poor.

During the study tour to Perez, I realized these concepts are nothing if you study it inside the four corners of the classroom. Understanding is abstract and vague if you haven't seen what is outside and real. At the last day, I realized these 2 ways to define poverty are nothing but concepts and what's more important is how to solve the inequality between the land-owner and coco farmer as well as the boat owner and the small fisherman.

Studying isn't practical at all, if we don't use knowledge as way to improve and enhance or invent social technologies to alleviate poverty. Knowledge would be mere concepts, floating in the air and gradually die out, such as the field of philosophy.

So much for thinking, it's time to go say goodbye to Perez.

And these three sure had great time on the boat to home.

Goodbye and see you again Perez!

scavenging is one of the worst forms of child labor

In preparation for the Short Study Tour of ACCESS, I've been reading about Child Labor, starting from the perspective of international laws.

One thing I learned is that there is a difference between working children and child labor. Working children as told by UNICEF, is positive, as it provides venues an opportunities for children to develop and prepare themselves to become productive members of the society. For example, a child who enrolls himself in program of McDonals to be kiddie crew, or a child who is in charge of washing the dishes at lunch time this summer, can not be considered child labor. On the other hand, child labor is a "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity ad that is harmful to physical and mental development." (ILO). Examples of these are the saddening situation of children not going to school because they are sugarcane (Luzon) or pineapple (indanao) plantation workers, children forced to make firecrackers and fireworks (Bulacan), children pimped, trafficked and forced to prostitution and so on and so fort... The list really goes on, especially in a Third World Country, like the Philippines.

The second thing I learned... I was surprised upon reading about the worst forms of child labor. As stated in Article 3 of the ILO Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labor ratified in 1999, the worst forms of child labor are:

a. all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery
b. use, procure or offering of child for prostitution and pornography production
c. use, procure or offering of children for illicit activities (ex. drug-trafficking)
d. work that harms health, safety or morals of children

 

[Getting ahead of the game means being in the garbage truck first! Photo by FIT.]

I've read the fourth one a couple of times and tried to analyze scavenging. Scavenging harms health because the children and youth are working in an unhealthy environment - a mountain of garbage. This works makes them more prone to bronchial diseases such as asthma, tuberculosis, etc. Scavenging also harms safety of the children and youth for everyday, they are in risk of falling debris by riding the garbage trucks in order to get ahead of others for recyclable garbage. An often accident in Smoky Mountain is that people got hit by toilet bowls at their back, got wounded by broken tiles or aluminum wires poking out or by syringes. Scavenging harms morals because of the situation of "getting ahead" of others, wherein quarrels arises just for the sake of getting that aluminum which would could be sold for P5.

 

[Child carrying a sack of garbage. Photo by ACCESS-Philippines]

[Children playing around truck. Photo by ACCESS-Philippines.]

Upon seeing youth members of SSDN (Samahan sa Sitio Damayan ng Nananambakan - the people's organization which our NGO, [ACCESS] works with) in the barge, in their soiled clothes and boots filled with mud - I can really attest that scavenging of the children and youth in Smoky Mountain is one of the worst forms of child labor. I couldn't help pushing myself not to be in tears when I saw them, but they youth were very happy to see us at the premises of the barge and talking to them while they're at work. I felt helpless, that I couldn't do anything at that time but just to observe. What shall I do, as a social worker?

 

["They don't care about Us" danced by SSDN-Youth. Photo by Tito-san.
and Yes! We should ask "Does the government care?"]
 

So far, our program for the youth is helping them in building their organization (SSDN-Youth) through workshop and trainings for leadership and internationalism. This is in view, that people from NGO are not the ones who should pull the people out of poverty, but they themselves, through their empowerment. Another part of our program is cultural training and providing venues (study tours, ACCESS anniversary event) for the youth to show their talents in singing, dancing, theater and arts as their tool for telling more people about their situation. Their songs are about their life in Smoky Mountain, their drama and plays are about "how a beautiful Barrio Mandaragat became the present dumpsite, infamously known as Smoky Mountain". I believe there is much to be done, to fight against child labor. But one step I, FIT and ACCESS could make is showing more of this harsh reality through our short study tour on May 2 - 7, 2011. With fingers crossed, I hope it goes well.

 

[Study tour of VOA last June. Photo by Eri Asada.]

[Brothers. Photo by Nino Bayan]

Last thoughts... As younger brothers and sisters, would you let child labor or scavenging of youth and children in Smoky Mountain continue until future? Please think about it too.

Blogs related to this post, please visit --->

ACCESS Tokyo Team SHARE:
http://ameblo.jp/acceshare/ 

ACCESS Japan blog (New Post Up!):
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/access_japan

ACCESS FIT (Support team to Smoky Mountain):
http://ameblo.jp/fit-news/
 

Japan is getting closer and closer to me.

 

Today, I was glad to meet new VOA members - Peter and Reika. They will be helping us with VOA's "Library Project" and planning sales of rosaries, as well as suggestions for livelihood program in Smoky Mountain 2. The meeting was short but busy, as everyone had a homework to search for at least 3 organizations that does "collecting books" or "donating books" as their activity. After the meeting, we had some bonding activity at Kentucky.

 

A little stroll around Cubao, put me into deeper reflections today. While I was developing anxiety over mushrooming Japanese companies in Philippines, Alimall was reminiscing its memories of the glorious days of Ali, the reason behind the name "Alimall".

[A mall-wide Art Exhibit was prepared by Alimall to honor the great boxer "Ali".]

Here are some of the works from various artists:

It was a new learning for me. I didn't know that this mall was named after a boxer. And so I wondered why the Filipinos back then have the sentiment for "Ali" who is not a Filipino? If they have known that there would be a Manny Pacquiao in the future, could they have named it after him? 

 

Anyway, I just went to Alimall today because of the sign and that I wanted to see the art exhibit. Little do I know that I would stumble upon this Japanese shop, "Saizen". In its window, it says "the official retailer of Daiso Japan in the Philippines". Amidst gladness of Japan becoming closer to me, I worry about the fact of this company being here in the Philippines. The Filipinos' colonial mentality more so, being very very addicted to things from Japan is enough anxiety for the local industry (if ever we have some). And the fact that, Japanese companies are proliferating in Philippines, in Cubao, in Makati, in Malate, is a signage that our country's economy and consumers is taken over by foreign industries and companies. On the other hand, our industry goes down the drainage.

 

 

At one point in time (specifically during the study tour), I was asked whether Philippines make their own cars or "Is there a Philippine company for cars?" I had known that there is a Filipino company making motorcycles but of cars, probably there isn't. They were wondering why... It is rather impossible for Philippines to have a company, more so for this Filipino company to compete with the large car-industry companies of Japan such as Honda, Toyota, or of America's Ford, or of Germany's Audi. More so, we have been for so long time, (probably since 1940s) only a part of the global assembly line. It is here where they get their raw materials, but it is not here in the Philippines that the construction of the whole vehicle itself takes place. In this light, would these companies spare raw materials to the starting neophyte Filipino company?
 

I am not at all totally in disagreement with trade. In fact, I like cultural exchange, exchange of ideas and growth through learning from the people on the other side of the wall. I'm just rather concerned with how the process of trade is taking place - if it is equal and just. And I just hope, the Filipinos would before getting too accepting with the products made in Japan and USA, take a look at the products of their fellows and be proud of it. I hope everyone stops to dream of being born from another country, or to dream of working on another country and leaving Philippines for money. I just hope we learn to practice 'nationalism", as what Japanese do.
 

 

not to count the chicks before the chicken lays its eggs.

or not to be overly excited into something that hasn't been concretely happening.

Last night, I couldn't sleep in the thought that in just 3 sleeps, I will be striding the rice terraces in Banaue. But after packing my things for the trip and heading to the office for last preparations, a bad news came that there is yet another typhoon entering the Philippines. After the wreck that Typhoon Juan has caused, what is there to wreck more in Northern Luzon? 

 

This is Banaue Rice Terraces. It's one of UNESCO's hailed "world heritages".
Since I don't have the chance yet to take picture from there, I got this picture from here.

 

The rice terraces are around 4,000 years old! and it would circle half the world if we put each step along side each other, even longer than the Great Wall of China. It is the benign concrete evidence that Filipinos are intelligent people, as they were able to engineer an agricultural system by making steps in the mountains. Contrary to other world heritages that is now merely a museum, the rice terraces keeps on living as rice is continually planted and harvested from the steps. There are worries though since young generations of Ifugao prefer to take on professional jobs likely of the city people thus passing on the culture and intelligence of preserving the terraces is on threat and quality of the rice harvested is at the down surge. That is all I know and I hope to learn more though the trip but unfortunately... Shikataganai ne~! \ It can't be helped. 

 

So, unwillingly.. I agreed with the idea to postpone the trip not unless, I am really comfortable with being stranded in Banaue for a couple of days. I don't want to. First, there's not enough penny in my pocket for the food and lodging and second, there are so many work left undone that I was planning to put my head and heart unto right after coming back from the refreshing Banaue trip.... Kyaaaaa~~~

Anyway, I hope we could reschedule the trip by next week or next next week. If not, then probably it would be scheduled on January or March. /sad

Writer's Block: Time in a bottle

It would be fun if time stops for one to be stuck in a memory, but it would be better that time continues ticking for people to make more memories.

we're a generation of people making most out of our time that we sometimes forget to take it slow

I wrote this weeks ago... luckily, LJ had back-up saved. 

Since the doctor told me about persons of my age are becoming prone to my sickness, I couldn't help but wonder what's the sociology behind it. I started to look at my own self and the people of same age around me.

We are always "on-the-go". We are people who tries to wake up early everyday to live our dreams - to catch the train or bus to office, to enjoy what we most like to do at work, to save money for out-of town and country trips and to stay up late at night with long unmet friends. We are people who want to make the most of everyday - resulting into insomniac nights, days without breakfast and penny in our pockets spent not on food alone but of all the material things this fruitful time of technology is offering. 

Though there's nothing wrong with making the most out of our lives, we must also take a step back and take care of ourselves. So as not to suffer from pains of monthly medication and the frustration of being unable to do things that we like. Our hearts and minds may force our body to move mountains, but still, the movement depends on our body that's why we must take care of it more than we value our minds and hearts.

I've always been thinking like this for 3 months now but there's always been the day in a week that I'm plastered on bed. Just to realize, I've learned nothing at all for I haven't applied it. 3 months more to go for the medication.... I should be more kind to my body from now. and I advise all people in my age not to think that "we are superhuman", that a tiny drop of rain couldn't affect us, because it could. With regards to health, forget all about the superheroes (Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, Astroboy, Voltes 5, Power Rangers) that we grew up with because we are all just 'humans'. Take a rest for a while. <3

some strategies in teaching.

It's the ride home that I enjoy especially when it's around 6 in the evening. At the right side, the vast plains meet the mixture of orange and light blue skyline in the horizon. I was reading the "Catcher in the Rye" and was laughing about Holden thinking about all his dates as intelligent.. but disproved it again when the date dives into action, the intelligence of his date withers. Well, anyway, this post isn't about him. It's about what I thought as a strategy if one wants to become a good professor.

This afternoon, I discussed the basic facts about the Philippines (island groups, national symbols, cultural traits, etc.) with the new intern, Mina. I could see her reactions with the new things she learn as well as the doubts she had about the information. It would - as some would strike you to the bones such as Filipinos having a split-level spirituality and having the president as the perfect example... with her being a devoted Catholic while all the while being the reason behind political killings of human rights activists, journalist and leftist students. It's contrary to the teachings of Catholicism or of Christianity which includes love, peace, harmony and justice. 

 

 

eating dinner with Mina, :)
 

And so what happened... I have to explain to her again and again by using different ways, various examples, range of synonymous words and at other times, I use parallelism. It helps. I thought if one wants to be a professor, one must know how to share the idea in so many ways as possible so as to make the range of students in the classroom understand it! That's another point ~ a professor should always concern him or her self if the students are keeping up with what he or she is talking about. What I mean is that the professor, in humility, consider the level of experience and understanding of his or her students and try to explain theories, ideas and concepts in the listeners' level.

Another tactic is to use the "words" which the student is familiar with. This afternoon, I did not say culture, I say "bunka" (the Japanese term for it.) I tried to use the Japanese words I know in exchange of the English ones. Not only does she appreciate that you know how to speak her language, you've also gained her interest. It is the relevance of what one is teaching to the one being taught that curiosity is given impetus. Relate to the student what you're talking about as much as possible. Freire thought about this first. :)

It was also effective to ask her about what she thinks about the cultural traits or to compare it with Japan. Moreover, it's so simple to do - just be curious or act like you're curios to know even if you already know or you partly know - Socratic method, proven effective. It is also part of my personal advocacy, as I learned from Freire, to not put students nor teachers into boxes and limit their roles. Isn't learning more interesting if we are all students as well as we are all teachers? In that case, it's more of sharing knowledge rather than "filling the receptacle" or the teacher depositing knowledge like money in a bank a.k.a. the student.

Last. It all boils down to the professor or teacher's passion to teach - not to impress but to impart. One's knowledge must not be seen as a private property but a social product. You know what you know because someone else knows it and shared it to you or you realized it because you were observing someone else.... which means you don't know something just because you thought about it individually but some force lead you into thinking about this knowledge - the first law of physics.

What I want to say is... a professor must have the genuine purpose of teaching just because he or she loves to share what he or she knows. If one feels this way, he or she acts responsibly and genuinely concerned with the learning of his or her students (who is also his or her teacher). :4

that confusion is the best path to clarity.

We can never have this side if we never have the other. There is no east when there is no west, no love when there's no hate and so there is no clarity with no confusion. It's the natural way of the attraction of opposites, a contradiction's need for the other in order to continually exist. The antithesis, we always need it.

I'm confused with love, with work and religion and I feel down-trodden that I have to seek answers to these 3 questions in my mind all in the same time. I think these three are all essentials in what we call 'life' or maybe in what I call 'my life' because it's those three that worked in the larger sphere of my consciousness that's why I continued to live. But then, a brick of un-lateral continuity (borrowed from Geology) hit the three and in a sense, my senses are failing.

Love.. is bullshit (as Urbandub sings) when you keep being rubbed by it. (The romantic love I mean) But then, I could always be at fault for my decisions yet I never want to regret. Maybe pride enters into the subject or maybe there is really what Jesse says my 'rationalizations'. "To be label one as feeler or a thinker is out of the question for we are all thinkers and feelers our selves", he said. Lagot siya kay Jung. xd Love makes me sad but then it also makes me happy. "Love is made of smiles and tears", as a key-chain from a friend once said. A thousand miles away, you are. I should be doing poetry right now. And in all these clarity, I'm still confused so I am letting it all go. To keep the bitterness is not my nature for I've always been into sweets.

Work. The pressures are coming - my family and my friends. The responsibility of being the first-born is dragging me into the perspective that 'I should be able to make more money, support the family' though I've always been contented with my work. I was happy. Before, money didn't matter for as long as I find dignity, pleasure and contentment with my work. It was a dream come true - to finally be with people doing every pinch of detail in order to make this world a better place. Yet, I have to make the decision and I already did and some were already set into motion - the only task that's left is letting go. I would, I would.

Religion. I lost my faith in religion (another Urbandub song, xd). As I dove deeper in reality and concreteness of poverty, the more I see how somehow the church has its' hands on preserving it. Into making one believe about the divinity, that there is one savior in all our sufferings, i see the blindness of the faith of the poor people and of the hopeful yet equally hopeless condition of them. "Religion is the opium of the masses", it's true. I even once cried in feeling the emptiness when I tried to rip all the faith off. I walked as an atheist for a few weeks, even debated and questioned my seminarian friends. But one stood still and listened to my confusion and Harold made me remember that I am living in a different kind of faith and of religion - Liberation Theology, the Redemptorists. As long as it's with the Redemptorists, I'm okay. There are always these questions yet these questions could be channeled in Philosophy and Theology so as to bring it back into Science. Anyway, it was philosophy that started the inquiry. :) 

So, not all of these are clear. I think it made even more confusion when I started to reflect as I was writing this blog. But I'm in the right path. Or so I think. Good morning bones! (another Urbandub song) :)

after 23 years, the life of our farmers hasn't changed.

January 22, 1987 - It's called the Black Thursday and what most people know as the "Mendiola Massacre". In this day, 13 peasants were killed, 39 had gunshot wounds and 12 sustained minor injuries.





It was just weeks right after President Marcos stepped-down from presidency and Corazon Aquino was hailed as the Philippines' new president. A product of a revolution? Not so. 

Even after Cory's death and Noynoy's attempt for presidency, farmers could not still forget the haunt and hollow which embraced them because of the Aquino's. For one, is the Mendiola Massacre. Second, the Hacienda Luicita Massacre and three, San Miguel Beer workers' continuous suffering, and four, the peasants until today still tilling their vast lands while Kris Aquino sits comfortably in "The Buzz" mourning about her beloved James Yap going after another girl. They are a perfect example of a feudal lord turned capitalist turned bureaucrats. The rich people - they always have been.

What did the peasants asked from the government that day?
It was agrarian reform - genuine agrarian reform. It was a year after that the CARP, which stands for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, was passed. Yes, we do have CARP but what difference does it make? Even in its extension, the loopholes of the said law are still working its way to preserve the wealth of the wealthy. In the Philippine government with which most of the personas are land lords, who would be interested enough to support genuine agrarian reform?

The need for Agrarian Reform.
Agrarian reform is the first step for development as proved by a first world nation such as Japan. After the war, Japan redistributed the lands to the peasants while the former land lords were asked to give in but will be supported with their industries. In the Philippines, there are lands which are left uncultivated, which remains as one's property waiting to be sold to another multi-national company. In the Philippines, 3/4 of our population are farmers as well as 3/4 of our lands remain agricultural. If these lands could have been given to the peasants with support for the development of agriculture, there could have been more yield, and technological advancements could have come from the peasants themselves who knows 'the soil they are tilling'. The land lords in their majestic seats would not take the time for thinking about these advancements as they would be contented with the fact that they receive 30% of the farmers' harvest, the land lease and the thought that the peasants have more than years to work for them as payment of their debts.

After agricultural development through agrarian reform could industrialization only come after. This is yet another reality in our country - that we do not even have a factory to produce a needle. The benign joke is that 'our only industry is the showbiz industry'. When can industry proliferate if the yields are not high, if there is no raw materials to use? At this time, we do have the raw materials... but the owner isn't the Filipinos and even if the Filipinos were the ones who planted it, they are not the ones who eat. 

After 23 years, the farmers are still the tillers yet not the consumer of what they till. Could we not feel more guilty about it?

Credits: Picture from http://donutsinbed.wordpress.com.

the hardships of being a worker

This post was overdue and would have been longer overdue if not for the loud music which I call noise from the party at our neighbor's rooftop, which is the landlady's house by the way.. so I didn't want to argue.

I've been in the workforce for a little less than 9 months, a new me should have been conceived. I have succumbed to the reality of rare opportunities, of the difficulty of landing in a high-paying job because I am just a neophyte and of struggling to live in each day of my life just to live the next day. I've been unconsciously dragged to the 'rat race' and I don't want to be part of it anymore. On the other hand, I don't want to be a 'furita' (Japanese term for freeter) or as Wiki defines "people who do not start a career after high school or university but instead usually live as so-called 'parasite singles' with their parents and earn some money with low skilled and low paid jobs."

I learned the difficulty of spending my own hard-earned money. Though I don't have much financial responsibilities such as food for a family and schooling for a son/daughter, I wonder how my hard-earned money could get spent away swiftly. I am left with awe in the thought that I have to still ask support from my father to get myself to the next payday. With a rumbling stomach and a fatigued body, the mind is what's left to live - think.

It's the high price of goods, the temptation to buy a new book, the latest gadget, the new EP from the many favorite bands, the new exotic-loooking clothes A.K.A. the 'consumerism', or as how a famous novel simply put it, 'being a shophaholic' is one of the reason. I know that I have been afflicted by the plague, but still.. it's difficult to resist the sweets than you've had cherished and enjoyed since time immemorial.

It's true that education doesn't assure you of a good future nowadays. In a conversation between my father and brother...

Papa: I tell you, don't enroll in the private schools. The quality of education is low.
Ian: And why is that?
Papa: Get on a public school, like your sister and see how her life is now. Miserable.
 

And yes, what a good father and brother they are but if they can't make me help in financial matters, they become frank and irritating. There was also a story showed in local TV drama that highlighted the plight of an academically excellent student from the University of the Philippines who ended up being a prostitute.

In a society of workers, it's quite just that the political system take into consideration the cycles of people studying-working-retiring. I mean the government should be abreast with what is happening with its people and if their manpower is harnessed for the good of the nation. Otherwise, it will be like here in the Philippines' that a few elite people are rich and that majority are living in less than 2 dollars a day. The other reason is the inequality; the inequality in everything which sprang up from not sharing everything.

back to being human~

I think I could never have been able  to taste such sweet day with nothing to do if I have not spent the past whole month burying myself in studying and getting prepared for the board exam.

I spent the last two days in Manuel L. Quezon University with my friends who are also to become professional social workers after the 'right of passage'. But before that, we attended the  week long review classes at the university guided by professors we had from 1st year college and I felt that it was in those days that we were able to strengthen our group's cohesion. A friend was really glad that we stay together most of the time now than we were before. I will miss the block~ I will not be able to see them everyday unlike last month and the last 4 years when I expect to see them in class almost everyday.

June 19, 2009 (bday celeb for Myrel)
 

I love how the 2-day board exam ended with the Transformers 2 movie viewing. I forgot about the board exam while while watching it. Also, after getting out of the theater, I thought the cars I passed by would suddenly transform and attack us or drive us home. :D