The Supo story
And God Works In Mysterious Ways:
The Supo Community Integrated Development Project
A Community Development Worker’s reflection
THE COMMUNITY
Barangay Supo is one of the three biggest barangay of the Municipality of Tubo in the Province of Abra with 122 households and a total population of 715. It is also one of the most far-flung communities of the province. A stretch of about 6.035 kilometers of jagged and soiled road links the barangay to the town center of Mayabo. It is 58.330 kilometers away from the provincial capital of Bangued. These roads are not all-weather-roads for they are passable only for 4-5 months particularly during summer times. The people of Supo are locked and isolated within their community for 7-8 months since all possible routes to the community become impassable once the waters of Abra River on the south, and Utip River on the north, go up to a level that could not be passed through by any kind vehicle.
Barangay Supo is bounded on the north by Barangay Gayaman, Luba; on the south by Barangay Matibuey, Ilocos Sur; on the east by Barangay Wayangan, Tubo; and on the west by Barangay Dilong, Tubo. The residents are indigenous people who belong to the Tinguians( Maeng ) of Abra tribe. These are small scale farmers who depend on land and natural resources for their living. Agriculture is their main source of livelihood, but wet- rice planting became limited due to the topographic location/ structure of the community since they have to make their rice fields along the rivers where they could obtain enough water to irrigate their rice fields. With water lacking for irrigation, some rice fields were converted to swidden farms planted with root crops such as sweet potatoes and cassava. The volume of the harvests is limited to household consumption but many also sell their products in exchange of cash which they need to buy other household needs. The community has a fertile land which offers a good opportunity for growing crops and fruit bearing trees. Fruit- bearing trees such as avocado, mango, and jack fruits are abundant in the community and so with vegetables such as string beans, corn, tomatoes, cabbage, eggplant, and squash. The community territory also offers a wide grazing land/ pasture land for livestock. Carabao, cow, swine, goat, chicken, and ducks are present in the community but also limited for household consumption only. The rivers surrounding the community are also rich in water resources such as fishes and eels. The location of the community is also strategic. It is a good hunting ground since once the animals get in the community, they could no longer leave for only the Abra river and the Utip river are the exits.
The people of Supo have strong attachment to land and nature which were their sources of living since time immemorial. Supo is not different from the many indigenous communities that remain poor and marginalized and neglected by the government. The barangay is one of the many communities once tried by the government to disintegrate through its deceiving policies of Certificate of Ancestral Land Claim ( CALC ), Certificate of Ancestral Land Domain Claim ( CADC), and Indigenous peoples Right Act ( IPRA ) supposedly for the recognition of ancestral land rights. The people of Supo, like other residents of adjacent communities, believe that these laws would weaken their concept of ancestral land ownership and management instead of strengthening it.
THE PROJECT
The Supo Community Integrated Community Development Project has the following project components: Rehabilitation of a water system, Swine Dispersal, Construction of a fish hatchery, establishment of a community gardening, enhancement of sugar cane production, knowledge and skills development through trainings and seminars. These were collectively implemented by the community led by the established community organization, the Supo Community Organization. In close working relationship with the barangay officials, and with the cooperation of the community, the SCO with management committees, the project components were all well and successfully implemented.
Supo Integrated Community Development Project primarily aims to solve the long-time problem of water shortage of the barangay. This was addressed by rehabilitating and improving the existing water system of the community. It involved the improvement of main pipe lines, construction of 2 reservoirs and 1 intake tank to bring about better water collection, transportation, and water allocation and distribution to the community. Alongside with this, is the rehabilitation of public and school toilets to improve health and sanitation of school children and the community as a whole. This involved the repair of one ( 1 ) public toilet and three ( 3 ) school toilets. To enhance and improve the socio-economic situation of the people, additional sources of income were initiated with the construction of a community fish hatchery, provision of swine dispersal, establishment of community garden, and enhancement of sugar cane production. The project is environment-friendly also as it involved the protection and reforestation of the mountains and watershed areas with the planting of 5,000 forest tree seedlings and establishment of a forest nursery. The immediate vicinity of the water sources has also been fenced to prevent astray animals from polluting the water sources. Alongside these physical structure developments, educational trainings and seminars have also been conducted to complement with the peoples’ indigenous knowledge and further expand and develop their awareness and knowledge.
COMMUNITY WORK
( A Community Development Workers’ field work experiences)
…..and God works and moves in mysterious ways…. For how can Supo, a far flung area, maybe a place unheard of, unpopular, far from the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines (EDNP) in the Mt. Province , can ever have the chance to get connected with the EDNP? What were the chances?
Sometime in year 2007, the Community-based Development Programme of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines had a partnership community project with the community of Tubtuba, Tubo, Abra. The water project, was mainly funded by the Anglican Board of Mission-Australia, was successfully implemented by the community. In one of the instances, the barangay captain of Tubtuba, and the barangay captain of Supo met and had a conversation where the latter asked howthe former was able to avail of a project from the EDNP. The barangay captain of Tubtuba happily shared how the EDNP helped their community, and they furthermore discussed about the process. The barangay captain of Supo became hopeful that their community may also be blessed by the generosity of the EDNP. The barangay officials of Supo, patiently located for the office of EDNP in Bontoc, Mt. Province, numerous miles away from their place. It was the first time of the representatives of Supo to set forth in the lands of Bontoc. This shows that, no mountains, no rivers, no distance could ever hinder the desire of the community to seek help for the betterment of their community. This to me, is such a heartwarming move. To quote what the barangay captain said “,It is the Lord whom we trusted when we set forth to come in your office, too far from us, a place we never had seen before.And we are grateful and jubilant that we were able to locate your beautiful area.” We believe that it was indeed God’s working that led them to the office. With the prayers and faith of the people of Supo, the Integrated Community Development Project, funded by the Anglican Board of Mission Australia was granted.
It was on November 2008, when the Community Development Worker set forth for the first time in Supo, Tubo. I knew I was not new in this field but I cannot deny that I have the fear for such assignment for the fact that as for hearsays, the Abra people are so much into witchcraft. But, faith, it was my weapon, to go to a missionfield I dreaded to go to. My community work turned out a beautiful experience and eye opener for me. I have truly not expected the serene and simple beauty of the place, the respect and goodness of the people, a unified community, and most of all, a God-fearing people. The following summarizes the things that I observed during my community work in Supo.
1. The people are God-fearing. They respect the day of worship. They are farmers for 6 days working in the fields and in the project, but on Sundays, the women in their best dresses and men in their slacks are off to church with their bibles. It’s amazing to note how filthy they may look in the rest of the week but are in their best looks on Sabbath day. On Sunday afternoons, they gather at the school ground and group themselves into teams as they will be playing games, like volleyball, basketball, badminton, scrabble, chess, and boggle. One fine day it seems for everybody. I cannot forget an experience I had with my host family. I was doing my CDW reflection, when I overheard the mother and the child having a bible verse game. The Mom will say a memorized bible verse, then the kid will also say one, and the process goes on. The one who cannot anymore share a bible verse loses. It came to a point when the mom asked my help because she already ran out of bible verses to share. And it just hit me, as embarrassed as I am to them, I am all the more embarrassed to myself as I didn’t know not a single bible verse! It was a wakeup call for me! It was the same host family who somehow helped me to pray because before each meal, they will always ask me to pray. Putting me on the spot, they were indirectly helping me to pray more. With all these, I was convinced within to read the bible more. And since I didn’t own one, yes, I bought one. I think it was the best thing I bought that year so far.
2. Nobody could miss out the unity of the people in Supo. The community folks respect the officials and the officials themselves respect the ideas and thoughts of the people. I was impressed when I joined in one of their meetings because from the time they started till it ended, respect to each one was observed. Ideas even from women or younger ones were considered. A very meaningful and fruitful meeting as it is.
3. As for project implementation, people do not have second thoughts to partake and take responsibilities. They have zonal groupings like zone 1, zone 2 and zone 3 which take turns in doing the work. During my 1st meeting with them, I was told that a typhoon caused massive landslides that covered the spring which was their source of water for the project. I was astonished to know that. Because of their fear that they may lose the project once the office will know about the landslides, they implemented a “ganap” , a cultural practice where everybody in the community is obliged to go do a certain task for a community cause. For 42 days, they observed the “ganap” and with their determination and team work, they were able to successfully locate the spring again. It was like their spring of hope. We have to understand that this place is a remote area, where there are no advanced machineries to aid them in their search. With the 3 days that I joined them in their endeavor, I witnessed how they painstakingly shovel soil, carry rocks, and helped each other in unity. I felt how hard the work was but I haven’t heard anyone complain. Nobody was selfish to say, “I should be in my own field working”. The truth was, we were even sharing jokes, and some were even singing under the scorching heat of the sun. Such a positive way to do a hard labor with a happy heart and spirit. At night time, young people will get together at the captain’s house to cook some native delicacies. We enjoy sharing and for most of the time, they get so interested on my stories about other communities I worked with. They are all in awe of even the simple things that ordinarily happen in the “outside” world. Exactly at 11pm, after the bible studies of the elders, they come to join us for a midnight snack. And we end the day to get ready for the next day.
4. I also observed that they have the eagerness and willingness to learn. During the trainings and seminars, for which most have attended, they participate in the discussions and were active to volunteer to report in their workshops. They ask questions with joy, and in their eyes, I can see such hunger for learning.
THE CELEBRATION:
PROJECT BLESSING AND TURN-OVER
December 17, 2009. Headed by the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines Bishop Brent Harry WanasAlawas, 18 other EDNP clergy, and around 50 lay people from the office and Kinali Deanery set forth to the remote community of Supo for the project blessing and turn-over.
Excitement, pleasure, and enjoyment filled the hearts of everyone as each crossed theAbrariver, climbed up the rugged road of Tirad Pass, viewed the mountain silhouette, while savoring the fresh air as though a nature’s sweet breath.
There was also eagerness and impatience as everyone couldn’t wait to reach the community, more so that majority seem to be drooling with thought of the eel and fresh fish, and “palingew,” they know will be served for dinner. Eel and fresh fish are not commonly served in more “developed” towns.
There was a different feeling of anxiety much more when our cars were one-by-one transferred through the use of a “balsa” (raft) to the other side, as this signifies that we are just 10-minute away from the community. One has to cross the river with the use of the raft to reach the other side and finally reach the community. This has amazed most of those in the convoy. Flashes of camera of most of our priests dominated that moment. They passed on cameras to secure a photo of themselves as they ride with the car loaded in the raft and slowly cross the river. It seemed it was truly an adventure to remember.
At last, we finally reached the community. It was like a fiesta, or indeed a fiesta! There were many people who one by one greeted as with smiles and welcoming and warming words. We really felt welcome and acceptable with how the people, young and old, accepted us. We satisfied our hunger with rice cake and coffee awaiting us at the barangay captain’s house.
Accompanied by the people, the visitors were toured by batch in the project components. The group is too large to be toured at the same time so project visit was done per smaller group. After the project visit, we flocked once again at the captain’s house for sharing about the project as we wait for dinner to be prepared. As though waiting for a rare menu served in a silver platter, the joy of the priests anticipating the taste of the fresh fish and eel can be clearly noted. Each was in awe for the several fishes they had caught from theAbra river as well as theUtip river, the rivers surrounding the community; too gracious of the rivers to feed a group of more than a hundred. The town folks should certainly feel blessed to have these resources in this time of great recession. After we had our satisfying dinner, we proceeded to the school ground for the night program. As per popular belief that eating eel could make someone sleepy, we worried about the program being a boring one.But contrary to that, the program was very much in tune for celebration as we least expected. Everybody prepared and presented a well prepared presentation. The youth presentations impressed the crowd with their dance, the children won the hearts of the crowd with their pop dance, the women likewise gracefully danced , and an old man touched the hearts of the crowd with his chant. The program was of more fun and meaning as the night went on. Everybody was happy unmindful of the time, each seemed to connect well with each one, savoring new friendship. It was a night of fellowship which nobody ever wanted to end.… As we went to sleep, we may be physically tired, but I know, each one slept with a joyous heart, and a contented soul. The night was getting deeper, but I can’t get over every activity/event that happened that day. Tiring, yes, but satisfying indeed to my soul. As I finally laid my eyes to rest, I whispered to God and I said, “Lord, what a beautiful creation you have made. Supo is isolated in location, very remote as it is, but in its remoteness, there in the heart of it, lived a people of good and generous hearts, people showing respect to each other as well as to their environment, people unified by love.. it is where you see how people respect and fear the LORD. ..I don’t know, but there is something very beautiful in Supo that has captured not only my heart, but the hearts of everyone that experienced the difference in the community. I thank the Lord for the friendship of EDNP and the community.” And the night laid my mind to rest.
The day has come to finally bless the project and finally turn-over this to the community’s management. The water tapstand, to represent the water system was first blessed by the Bishop after which the priests divided in groups, to bless the hatchery, the nursery, the community garden, and the school toilets. After this, around 300 people flocked at the school ground for the mass celebration. It was a school day but the school head declared cancellation of classes, for school children and teachers to join the whole community, and visitors from nearby communities in the celebration of project blessing and turn over and mass celebration.
I couldn’t help it but pause a moment and talk to myself. People of different religious affiliations were gathered that very day. Roman Catholics, Baptists and other Born Again Christians, but not a single Anglican except for us who went there to celebrate with them..but the celebration of the mass was one of the moments where the presence of God was really felt. Religious affiliation did not hinder anyone in the celebration. Each celebrated God’s blessings and provisions. Elders, school children, youth, professionals, local officials, were all unified in this faith-moving celebration. After each was filled with spiritual food, the people continued with their celebration with gong dancing and singing to show and express their gratitude to everyone, to EDNP, to ABM-A, to the local government of TuboAbra, to the local community of Supo, and most of all to express great thanks to God Almighty. We then once again gathered at the Captains house for a hearty lunch. They butchered a pig and a cow purposely for this grand celebration. It’s amazing how short a time we stayed in Supo but the warm bond and friendship formed between the community and the EDNPcan’t go unnoticed. So then when it was parting time, it was hard to tell these new found friends that we were leaving, but in our hearts however, we know it was not the end of the beautiful relationship but was barely a start. Each believes that it was not the completion of the said project that will end the relationship of the Supo community and the EDNP, but that there are greater plans of God for Supo through the channels of EDNP. We started our way back home to Bontoc, leaving the community in peace…