Transforming Single Stories

They are lazy. They just want money. They don’t take care of their kids. They are pain of the butt. They are the cancer of the society. Some of the single stories we commonly hear about the poor.

Similar single stories exist in every one of us in one point or another. I would admit that I have my own single stories. But transformation can happen if we come and see.

I am currently working with Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc., Manila, Philippines. Working with the communities like the dumpsite of Pulilan changed how I perceive other people especially those in the periphery of the society. I saw that the struggle is real. They are battling daily to provide for their basic needs. I met parents who would need to leave their kids to scavenge just to make a living and provide food for the family. I played with kids who still laugh and find joy in simple things. I heard their voices. I felt their stories. Each story is unique and beautiful.

After working with the people in Bulacan, I was assigned in Manila. The urban communities brought another story. When I first came to visit the Manila North Cemetery, where roughly 10, 000 people live, I was shocked to see the living with the dead. A small mausoleum embraced a family of 7. The eldest one needed to sleep outside, and rest on top of a tomb. She was shy to share her story. As a teenager, if she could choose a different life than her present, she would grab it. But studying in Alternative Learning System, an alternative mode of education that allows out-of-school youth to pass an Accreditation and Equivalency Test and move to another level of education, would take some time and has minimal probability to finish and pass the exam. You see young people who would fight a good fight and try to finish strong. You hear them dreaming. You get to know deeper than what other say about them. And you see smiles when you affirm them.

Some people would ask me about their stories but I afraid I would share a single story. So I tell them, “Come and see.” I want them to listen to different stories. The story of Renniel. The story of Annie. The story Hazel. The story of Sarah. Of Ian. Of Margoh. Of Nanay Lilian. Of Nanay Tita. And more… Their stories continue to make a difference. Their stories do not only change the way we perceive but transform how we can act and make this world a better place for all of us.

Photo Credits: Rey Oliver Fabros