by: Enrico F. Nepomuceno 

                Waking up so early in the morning just to go to a trip to plant trees isn’t really my thing. But to think that I would plant trees for the benefit of others gave me energy to rise up. I am not the type of person who doesn’t care about the environment and people living in the mountains so going to this trip was not very hard for me, in fact it was memorable in some sort of way even if it was just for a short time.               

                 Arriving at the place we were greeted by the morning sun and some people that lived there. As we were preparing for our stuff, the people also were preparing to help us. I never thought that the natives would be providing any help but they did and were hospitable in their very own way. We were given 10 trees to plant and a kid or a guy that would guide us as to where to plant them. Doing the task was not as hard as it looked because we were in a group of 4 and 40 trees to plant. It may seem a lot but in reality it was easy because of the kid who was with the group I was in. I even had the luxury of taking pictures of our group. All we did was plant the trees, it was the kid that did all the digging. I gave a hand to the kid in digging one or two spots but what I did, or tried to do, was nothing compared to the kid, he was an expert in digging. Sure it was hot when we were planting but planting the trees was made easy as more natives came to help us. There was this old man and a lady that helped us with digging more holes to plant the trees, and even the kid that was with us gave a hand in planting. I guess they never really needed our help in planting, but the thought of helping them out and also helping the environment is something unexplainable.               

                 After planting the trees we had some spare time so we asked some kids to guide us around the place. We were supposed to go to the falls nearby but the big one was not near as I thought so we went to the small one. Going to the small falls was a dangerous path if not for the kids who were with us; there were no roads, just a path created by natives. As we reached the small falls there were a couple of kids enjoying the cliff and jumping down the falls. Our group just stayed there and watched them as they swam with joy; it was if they don’t have problems or worries in life. I took a couple of pictures of them swimming and seeing their happy faces made me want to swim as well, but I couldn’t.             

                  Coming back, we had our lunch. We asked some of the natives if they would like to eat with us but they were shy I guess to share food because there were a lot of us. And besides, our group shared 1 meal; it was supposed to be just me and Ming who were going to share lunch but it turns out that our friends forgot, or should I say didn’t bring food unintentionally, so we shared our food with each other, and not with the natives which was supposed to be the plan.             

                  After eating lunch came the sharing part. Sir Wovee did all the talking and he taught the natives about what should be planted and what are trees that harm the environment. The natives were given an understanding on what should be planted but it was already too late because the there were already a couple of gemilina plants already planted near the river. But the natives now have an idea on what should be done. Some of the students also shared their experience an also some of the natives were given a chance to talk. I can see that they were very grateful for what we were able to do. There was a time that there was conflict about who to blame on what’s happening, but it was unavoidable, but it was resolved by a joke and some laughs. I took a picture where we were all in a circle including the natives listening to the person speaking in the middle, it was like there were no rich or poor, just equal human beings sharing a conversation with each other (even though I didn’t share, there was still some sort of connection).             

                  In the end, with all the sweat and energy lost, we all gained from this experience. Planting trees is not only about planting; it gives a deeper meaning that we should plant the future of the future generations. The natives there have a mindset that their life will amount to nothing but living ‘poor’ and they can’t see the true richness that they have. I kind of envy them because of their simple lifestyle, but all they can see is that they are poor. But then, after the experience with them, I can see that they are changing, they see hope and they don’t rely on others to help them. I gained from this experience and even learned from them. I guess all that I have to do is to take the initiative and be an example to others.