As we were in awe with our experience at the Layag-Layag Village, I guess what caught our attention were the kids who have beautiful smiles.
According to Doc Anton, in the early years, the children were very wary and afraid of visitors coming over to their village but through the few years, the kids have become more spontaneous.
As we were approaching the village, we saw these kids playing at the sand bar...
If I didn't see the kids play, I would have thought that since we were in the open sea and the waves were quite visible, I would think this place wasn't too safe.
Here are the kids in the nearby water village ...
I guess, this is really the life they are used to.
As we arrived, we saw this little girl walking around...
Yes, no rubber boots... I do hope she had slippers but I wasn't able to check that out.
We realized... yes! we, too were jumping into the water and walk around the water.
The villagers look at us with curiousity... and with smiles...
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| And yes, I saw them throw the lanzones peel and seeds to the water... but even then, the water does not look dirty. |
I see the kid from the boat without any slippers. The kids already know how to row the boats from one house to the other...
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| Photo credit: Doc Anton Lim |
In fact, the boys who bring us to their villages also live in the village!
As we went further on, the water was more shallow but the ground was really rocky and we were even warned to be careful because the edges were sharp!
The kids went to this place to play the kite, which they call "taguri". I guess, this was a very nice place to play with a kite (sans the rocks!) because one had all the space and the fresh wind!
But, I noticed they really did not wear slippers inspite of the rocks.
Didn't really hear them complain about illnesses...
nor see illness in their aura!
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| under the house |
And, they love the kite!
Also, in this area is the mosque...
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| photo credit: Doc Anton Lim |
Although, the older kids go to school, they also help out while they are at home.
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| Patricia, 16 and Annalisa, 14 help out their mother, Putli with the seaweeds.. |
Here is a young girl, who was watching us closely while she was taking care of a baby.
The younger kids have to be independent and actually, we only saw a few adults around.
The Tzu-chi and the Yellow Boat of Hope Community also provided the Day Care Center for the younger kids. The limitation, sometimes, is the availability of teachers who are willing to go to these difficult places.
Life goes on for these kids!
They appreciate life as it is...
They are happy with simple joys...
the "taguri"... the sandbar...
the people around them!
We wish we could give them
a better life as we know it...
but, they may actually have a better one!
They seem resistant to illness...
I hope they are!
So yes, let us just share...
For improvement of their livelihood...
For their opportunity to good education...
For disease prevention...
And access to healthcare!
May these kids be our inspiration
To just be happy with simple things...
To accept what life has to offer...
To make the most of what is available...
To appreciate life to the fullest!!!
☺☺☺
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