ariellalisan.org – Homeward Bound

I HAVE heard of Kiangkos so many times, especially during elections, but I have never been there. So, packed with excitement to discover a new place, I carried by backpack and headed to the DepEd District Office of East Alabel, Sarangani Province where the journey would officially start.

A truck they call Weapon would pick us up from there and would take us to Sitio Sofan.

While waiting for the truck, I got to know who were going to go on the trip with me. There was Mr. Diosdao Sichon, the District Property Custodian, who was my mathematics teacher in grade five, Mr. Ferdinand Simon, Principal of Kiangkos Primary School before he was transferred to Famorcan, Mr. Nilo Abag, who had taught in Canaan Primary School, Mr. Rimar Pañares, who had been a teacher in Kiangkos for two years, and Mrs. Judith Maghirang, the district nurse.

All of them had been to Kiangkos once in their lives. Only I and Mr. Casalan, who is about at retiring age already, were first-timers.

The truck arrived already fully packed with people and sacks of goods. We loaded the 11 sacks of gifts we would be distributing to the kids in Kiangkos.

There was barely enough space for all of us. Mr. Sichon and Mr. Pañares had to be on the hood of the trucks head while Mr. Casalan, Mr. Abag, and I had to fight for space with other passengers among the goods.

The other passengers were residents of sitios in Brgy. Pag-asa who took the chance of enjoying this difficult for free. The truck occasionally delivers farm produce to Gen. Santos City and returns with goods to sell to the communities in the barangay.

In the first few minutes, the ride was smooth. So, even if I was standing on one foot while leaning partly on the sacks, one hand on the rope that tied the cargoes together, I was still able to snap shots of the magnificent sights behind us silhouettes of hills and the Sarangani Bay glimmering beneath the golden sun.

After passing by Brgy. Bagacay, the road suddenly became rough that made it difficult for us to keep our balance. The rope, which used to be tout at the beginning of the ride started to slack as the passengers pulled on it to keep themselves steady. The situation became worse as the truck started cross the river. The mud, the huge rocks, and the uneven pathways made me a bit dizzy. I felt like my spirit was being shaken out of my body. To the people of this place, traversing this path is a normal part of life.

On the lighter side of things, it is inspiring that the people here are filled with hope. That is evident on how they give names to the places in the area. Pag-asa, Canaan, Buenavista, and Manlangit are few of the names that caught my attention. Being hopeful is maybe the reason why they endure all the hardships they face.

When we reached Buenavista about an hour later, the cargoes were unloaded, wo I was able to breathe with ease and stretch my legs, which were beginning to sore. We had little conversation with some of the residents there and it feels so good to know that a few of them had once been students of my fellow teachers. One of them pointed the location Kiangkos. I wasn’t surprised when she pointed to the farthest mountain which was partly covered with fogs. We knew that the journey would be long.

The sun had already set when we reached Sofan Elementary School. A pile of wreckage welcomed us. We learned that it used to be the grade six classroom, which, after five long years, had finally broken down. The teachers were glad to tell us that it happened before the pupils came.

We spent the night in Sofan before embarking on the trek to Kiangkos. The teachers assigned there prepared a simple dinner for us.

The trip to Sofan was already challenging for me. But that was just a prelude to the real adventure.