LAYAG-LAYAG YELLOW BOAT VILLAGE: CHILDREN @ ZC JANUARY 2013

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...

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...

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!

under the house

And, they love the kite! Also, in this area is the mosque...

photo credit: Doc Anton Lim

Although, the older kids go to school, they also help out while they are at home.

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!!!

☺☺☺

LAYAG-LAYAG YELLOW BOAT VILLAGE: HOUSES @ ZC JANUARY 2013

Again, I want to share about another theme: the houses in the Layag-Layag Mangrove Village.

This is one of the floating villages we passed by before we reached the community we visited. Indeed, these are houses on stilts.

And here are the houses at the village:

 

photo credit: Doc Anton Lim

And sometimes, houses are connected to each other by bamboo poles.

Do you notice the ropes?

These are the ropes to stabilize the houses.

And these are the tires to where the ropes are attached.

Abs confirmed that they really stay in the houses while there are typhoons!

This is the undersurface of the house.

And here is an example of a weather-beaten house!... Can you imagine if this is the effect of the typhoon?

Photo Credit: Michelle Lim

And this is the community further on, already partly on land... 

Mosque from afar

We have witnessed how they live in this village... and definitely, it is not easy.

We know how we complain of floods, but here, they actually live it!

But as they say, the Tausug are sea people and literally "Tao" means people and "sug" means (sea) current, therefore, "People of the Sea Current"!

Their life revolves around these stilt houses and the seaweed farms but still they need to go to the mainland to sell their seaweeds and where they get their other needs such as marketing, shopping and schooling!

Gangnam style by the Travel Reportage group Photo Credit: Doc Anton Lim

LAYAG-LAYAG YELLOW BOAT VILLAGE: MANGROVES @ ZC JANUARY 2013

I just want to share one of the many facets of the Layag-Layag Community! 

First, and foremost, the Layag-Layag Village is a Mangrove community!

The place is just off Barangay Talon-Talon, Zamboanga City, which is about 4-5 km from the City center and about another 10 to 15 minutes by boat! 

Talon-Talon is just about 4 to 5 kms from the center of Zamboanga City but we turn at the Talon-Talon Elementary School to the Salt Beds and find our way to theMangroves where we ride the boat about 10 to 15 minutes to their community.

On the way to Layag-Layag!

Mangroves are plants living in the tidal coastal areas between sea and land.   The term has been applied to any and all species of trees which occupy this zone of life.    All share the trait of being able to tolerate partial submersion in high salinity water, and poor oxygen content in the ground where their roots penetrate. 

"Mangrove plants produce on average about a quarter of a pound of litter (bark, leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers, etc.) per square foot per year (1 kg/square meter/yr).   Some of this is directly consumed by small animals, like crabs and fishes, but most of it has to be broken down further before the nutrients are available to other animals or plants.   Because of the amount of organic material to be broken down, the mud at the bottom of the mangrove forest (which is underwater much or all of the time) has a very high concentration of bacteria.   In fact, a typical teaspoon of mud from a mangrove has more than 10 billion bacteria in it. "

Mangrove rehabilitation: planting new mangrove plants

Since the mud in the mangrove is so thick with litter, bacteria, and the end result of lots of decomposition, it has very little oxygen.   So instead of absorbing oxygen through their underground roots (stilt roots), like many plants, the mangrove plant has developed long roots which come up out of the water into the air before joining the trunk of the plant.   The roots have "breathing" cells above water called lenticels which draw in air.   These cells have one weakness, which is that they can be smothered by a light coating of oil.   So an oil spill can very easily kill an entire mangrove forest by suffocation.

Exactly as my friend, Harry was afraid of, the mud in the Mangroves are so thick with litter and bacteria, including Vibrio!

Mangroves also come in different size and shape... and its age also adds character to the tree!

The roots also vary like the peg roots, which look like sticks and the stilt roots, which look like branches directed to the floor.

older mangroves

Pneumatophores or peg roots penetrate the sand surrounding a mangrove tree.

 

Here we are now passing through the mangroves as we leave the village...

Photo credit: Michelle Lim

This is the first time for me to appreciate the beauty of the mangroves up close.

I want to share some tips on Protecting Mangroves: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/236234/mangroves.pdf 

HOW CAN WE HELP TO PROTECT MANGROVES? Some simple ways to help protect mangroves are: • fence along the intertidal zone and prevent stock access to mangrove areas, • design riverfront structures such as jetties or boat ramps to avoid or minimise impacts to mangroves, • avoid walking, riding or driving through mangrove areas at low tide,  • dispose of rubbish, oils and chemicals in the correct manner

P.S. The captions I have placed come from this website: http://www.oceanicresearch.org/education/wonders/mangroves.htm