Going home and leaving Barangay Balacbaan was not as easy as we have imagined. Barangay Balacbaan remote as it is was a truly beautiful community, a place where we found peace within our hearts. Leaving such a place was quite heartbreaking considering the overwhelming acceptance, support, and hospitality from the entire community and the countless experiences we have acquired throughout our stay.
Our last few days in the Barangay were filled with excitement and enthusiasm of going home and finally seeing our loved ones once again. But despite the rush of excitement among the group, we also tend to feel sad whenever we think that we are leaving a very wonderful place, a place where air is clean and fresh and the view was stunning that it reminded us how beautiful life is. The wonderful people we met during our stay remained wonderful all throughout. The endless hospitality, the love, and the support they gave us were exhilarating that we developed a bond that seemed unbreakable. A mix of emotions was felt by every one of us, happy that we are finally going home and at the same time sad that we are going to part from such a wonderful crowd. But still, in everything we do and whatever we do, life must go on.
Having been assigned in Barangay Balacbaan served as an eye opener for the group. From the scarcity of water, to the lack of communication signal, to that very long ride from Poblacion to Balacbaan via a non travel-friendly road, these things we experienced made us better and stonger as a group and as individuals. It made us think of what we have in Zamboanga City and compare it to what they have there in Balacbaan. With this we realized that it is indeed really hard to live in a remote area, with all the challenges of life, the lack of personnel for health and the various government services which do not reach the place because of its geographical location. We realized the true value of water when we were given the chance to experience fetching water far away from the place we stayed; the value of food when we had to eat canned goods most of the time. We realized how we are loved by our families, friends and loved ones when we were far from them by the way they ask of us, our whereabouts and how they make efforts to reach us just to say “Kumusta ka na jan? miss ka na namin.” Finally, we realized the importance of living a simple life and to be contented with all the things God has given us, may it be small or big.
Our last few days in the Barangay were filled with excitement and enthusiasm of going home and finally seeing our loved ones once again. But despite the rush of excitement among the group, we also tend to feel sad whenever we think that we are leaving a very wonderful place, a place where air is clean and fresh and the view was stunning that it reminded us how beautiful life is. The wonderful people we met during our stay remained wonderful all throughout. The endless hospitality, the love, and the support they gave us were exhilarating that we developed a bond that seemed unbreakable. A mix of emotions was felt by every one of us, happy that we are finally going home and at the same time sad that we are going to part from such a wonderful crowd. But still, in everything we do and whatever we do, life must go on.
Having been assigned in Barangay Balacbaan served as an eye opener for the group. From the scarcity of water, to the lack of communication signal, to that very long ride from Poblacion to Balacbaan via a non travel-friendly road, these things we experienced made us better and stonger as a group and as individuals. It made us think of what we have in Zamboanga City and compare it to what they have there in Balacbaan. With this we realized that it is indeed really hard to live in a remote area, with all the challenges of life, the lack of personnel for health and the various government services which do not reach the place because of its geographical location. We realized the true value of water when we were given the chance to experience fetching water far away from the place we stayed; the value of food when we had to eat canned goods most of the time. We realized how we are loved by our families, friends and loved ones when we were far from them by the way they ask of us, our whereabouts and how they make efforts to reach us just to say “Kumusta ka na jan? miss ka na namin.” Finally, we realized the importance of living a simple life and to be contented with all the things God has given us, may it be small or big.