Loving hands that build

By Tintin P. Bersola-Babao
Last updated 03:41pm (Mla time) 05/31/2006

Have you ever experienced moving in and out of homes too frequently and having no real permanent address? I did as a young girl.

My earliest memory of eviction was when I was four years old. It was a small apartment in Cubao. We had no choice but to move out because my father had a falling out with his siblings.

The next years, my parents, only sister and I lived a nomadic life—living in apartments in Cubao, Matatag St., Parañaque, Fairview, White Plains, Greenhills, Loyola Heights, etc.

We must have lived in more than 25 apartments and houses in my lifetime!

Reasons

There were varied reasons. Most of the time, we were living in dire straits. When my parents sold everything from country club shares to chicharon to earn a living, we lived in cramped apartments. When they chanced upon a gold mine selling oriental furniture, we moved to a 1,000-sq m., corner house with a swimming pool in Greenhills.

Then the business went bankrupt. We sold the house and moved to a smaller home. That was 1987 —I was 17 years old. For the next seven years, the cycle of transferring homes continued.

One night I told myself, this is it: Someday, I will buy my own house and it will be my permanent residence.

So when I started earning my own money between 1993-1996 I took a leap of faith and acquired a loan for a house which I proudly called mine—bought with my blood, sweat and tears.

I moved out of that home only when I married and moved to my conjugal home with Julius. My mom and brother still live in that house today. It’s my gift to them.

It is because of my past that I donated and helped build a house through Gawad Kalinga.

Last year, on my 35th birthday, I convinced my high school best buddies that the GK house would be the perfect testament to our 22-year friendship.

They all agreed and contributed money; I took care of the rest of the project cost.

Volunteer

Thanks to my “Magandang Umaga, Bayan” co-host Bernadette Sembrano, who is also a GK volunteer, I got in touch with Issa Santos, GK Head for Partnerships, who furnished me with a list of families whose house I could sponsor. I chose Mang Manuel Cortes’ family in Kapamilya Village in Sitio Ruby Fairview.

The day I met the Cortes family was also when their house was going to be demolished to give way to a new one. I could not believe a space which measured a mere 20 sq m. could fit 16 people!

Aling Helen, Manuel’s sister, told me that they would sleep in a sitting position to fit in the old bunk bed.

Interiors

The interiors would get flooded. And when the water level rose, all of them would just climb onto the bed and stay there till the water receded. Almost directly underneath their charcoal “lutuan” was, to my horror, their toilet bowl. Simply put, this wasn’t the kind of home the Cortes family deserved.

That Saturday was an emotional day for them—they were going to say goodbye to the house that was witness to their lives’ many ups and downs. Yet they were all thankful: finally they would have a decent place to live. They would no longer be considered squatters.

We all joined hands and closed our eyes in prayer. Minutes later, the “demolition team” composed of GK volunteers pummeled away until the house was reduced to rubble.

My friends and I devoted four weekends to participate in the building process. We were there during the “palitada” stage.

I never knew how difficult this job was until I tried it myself. Mixing cement and gravel was easy at first, but try doing it for more than five minutes and your back will hurt!

Our third visit to the construction site was for the bricklaying stage. Julius joined our group and he enjoyed the experience so much—lifting hollow blocks and laying them with precision.

Our fourth visit to the site was a fun one — we painted the two-story house with the family’s choice of color, light lavender. The activity became even more special because the GK choir serenaded us.

Then, it was time for the ceremonial turn-over — an emotional moment for all of us. The Cortes family gave a very simple, moving message of thanks, and we thanked them in turn.

Helping build their house was an experience that nourished our souls.

The Bayanihan spirit is alive in the very concept and vision of building a GK house. Mang Manuel is a GK hero himself — he volunteers to build his neighbors’ houses. Now, with God’s grace, he and his whole family have a house they can proudly call their own.

I went back to visit the Cortes family last January when I accompanied my good friend, Dr. Vicki Belo, her daughter Cristalle, and the Belo staff to Sitio Ruby. They, too, donated houses beside the home of Mang Manuel. It was Dr. Vicki’s gift to others on her birthday. Cristalle also did the same on her natal day last April.

Last week Julius and I were at Sitio Ruby again, to judge a summer art contest empowering the youth and making them discover their true potentials. You see, GK is not just about building a house, it also means building lives—and character.

Thank you, Terrence and Thelma Grana, Couples for Christ cluster head, project director Gerry Santos, and his wife Chona, Ferddie Mendoza, SAGIP project manager – all for GK Sitio Ruby, plus all the good people of this GK Sitio. You have enriched our lives and contributed to our spiritual growth!