March to August. Yes, 5 months out of Habitat. Busied myself in a number of ways here in our beloved Bohol: trying to raise pigs the organic way; going back to where a country begins, the village of hard work and still fantastic dreams; wracking nerves and brains complying with donor's requirements for two projects which were about to end; exploring caves in Lamanok island; sharing memories separately with two families of old friends, one from Habitat and the other from UNICEF;
getting what the doctor called low-level flu, which does not quite disable you, but it makes you feel your limbs are too heavy to carry; remembering old friends and other relations; trying to find ways on how to feel on one's skin the late afternoon rains; reaffirming one's true worth and resolving in the end to just move on and just "follow your dreams";
cleansing oneself of toxic thoughts and heeding the advice to just think of others; getting out of oneself and discovering the antidote against pain and cynicism and hopelessness; trying to smell the roses and look at sunsets ... In the end, there is the persistent call to go back to where it all began, the search for a father whose bones where scattered far and wide to look for a proper home, away from the restrictions imposed by institutions which take care of properties such as cemeteries and not care where the dead among the poor can park their bones and their spirit prayed to and remembered with candles against the wind ...
farewell my foot-loose friend. on monday, 24 august, we return to work not to habitat, but to a bilateral agency which seeks to do innovative work in a cluster of municipalities to demonstrate how to make local governance a fertile ground to help grow the local economy. farewell organic pigs, exotic caves, timid rains, unmerciful procedures that work only for the rich and powerful.
yes, yes, back to development work. sabi nga ng isang kaibigan, balik sa walang kamatayang development work. will keep you posted. cheers!
