To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom.
Bertrand Russell
I was born and raised in Manila. For years, I have lived inside a bubble. I work the daily grind. Go home to a comfortable apartment. Get greeted by my dog and, when I’m lucky, my cat. Fix a good meal. Sleep without worry or care. Then wake up and repeat. Occasionally I’d go out of Manila to unwind and check out a not so secret beach with friends. Drink, eat and drink, eat some more before finally going back to Manila to continue life as usual.
Then came Yolanda (also known by its international name Haiyan). At that time, I was sending to school a young boy from Leyte through World Vision and my first instinct was to check on him and his family. It was a turning point for me. A few months later I travelled to Visayas but this time, not to just simply lounge on a beach but to actually communicate with locals. My bubble burst. It took a long time coming but it eventually did. The impact was far from what I anticipated. I travelled a bit more outside Manila and checked out the plight of locals from Visayas and Mindanao. My heart and soul were both slowly stripped off elitism and pride. I suddenly became aware of what is truly happening outside my perfect bubble. I wept and thought about how I can make an impact as an individual. My skill set was mostly IT related and I want to utilize what I have to actively seek for like minded individuals who care for the nation and aim to see through a better Philippines as a whole.
Reading through Sir Sandy Flor’s insights gave me a great deal of hope. The task of positioning ICT4D in far flung areas is gargantuan. Here in the Philippines, a lot of LGUs are struggling as they try to find ways to alleviate the quality of life of their constituents. Poverty is a multiheaded and devious beast preying on the weakest of our societies. And sadly, technology isn’t always used for the good in rural areas. Here in Cebu, some of the vilest sexual scums who have a taste for younger people – children as young as a year old – lurk in the rural areas to coerce parents to give in to their whims which are then broadcasted in the dark web where other demons feast on the innocent kids. Our country’s cybersecurity team isn’t strong enough – with the lack of proper skill sets, infrastructure and overall general support – they can only do so little. Most of the time help arrives too late.
Our textbook showed a disaggregated poverty map of Mindanao. I cried when I saw it. These are ills that we do not see at the comfort of our homes and even media who is supposed to be the one bringing us awareness and bridging gaps isn’t exactly doing its job well. If you open the TV, anyone who grew up outside Manila was called “probinsyano/a” and are automatically depicted in TV soaps as the clueless kasambahay with the thick accent and wry humor. I spoke to some locals who live in Balamban, a municipality in the province of Cebu, and asked how they feel about it and what they answered broke me. They feel inferior and trapped. Unless they move outside their small towns, they see no hope for their families. It was as if an unseen label has been placed on their foreheads. Their helplessness and general outlook in life is somehow stopping them from reaching out and believing that there is more to life than what society would have them believe.
Our course material mentioned in passing the poem The Blind Men and the Elephant. I read it when I was a child and it has stirred in me the value of looking at the bigger picture. Always the bigger picture. And right now the bigger picture is an ugly one.
I’m ending this entry with my heart full of anticipation. As Helen Keller said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” So we will push forward, mindful of the enormous task before us yet unflinching as we cling on to the promise of a better future.
Padayon.
References
FLOR, ALEXANDER G. and FLOR, BENJAMINA PAULA G. ICT4D:
Information and Communication Technology forDevelopment. UP Open University (Los Baños).
