ISTAMBAY SA MINDANAO

Walter I. Balane’s Notes on Life and Living in Mindanao

Hello World!

with 3 comments

Welcome to the new Istambay sa Mindanao.

There are many reasons why I call it a new blog, apart from the new theme and header. I hope to share more about it at the right time.

Just a few things about the photo in the header. I took it in December 2005 along the highway in Kumalarang town, in Zamboanga del Sur. I was asked to document the Local Health Program in the town.
As I visited a barangay for interviews, I saw the boy crossing the highway.

I asked for his name. I took it down in my notes but I will never be using it anywhere. I will just call him Jonas. This photo is captioned “Jonas’ feet”.

The choice of photo is very personal. In fact, the reason why I took the photo is because Jonas and I shared almost the same kind of makeshift toy when I was his age.

I remember Kuya Norbing, an older neighbor in Sinangguyan, Don Carlos, Bukidnon, who made me a toy like that. Mine was more sophisticated though. It had wheels made of old rubber slippers in different colors.

I believe that a photo of Jonas on barefeet, his feet touching the rough surface of the earth, and tagging a makeshift toy is an image of resilience. Despite his family’s poverty, Jonas still asserted his right to play, his rights as a child, and his right to live.

Resilience, in my own view, is the attitude of every Mindanawon in the past, today and in the future.

I would also like to see myself as being resilient. I would like that flexibility and determination to manifest in this blog.

Written by mindanaw

Setyembre 24, 2007 Sa 2:54 am

Posted in Blogging and Mindanao, Human Rights, Human Rights in Mindanao, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Updates

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Survival Tips in Traveling Around Mindanao »

3 Responses to 'Hello World!'

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  1. I used to spend countless hours dragging a wooden Ford Fiera that was tied to a string and had tires culled from waste rubber slippers. My uncle made me that when I was young.

    Eniweys, just wishing you Good Luck on your “New” Blog… like a Phoenix reborn :D

    hoop

    25 Sep 07 at 8:18 am

  2. me too. i remember that toy perfectly. and the barefeet too. in my office during lull moments, a colleague and i would spend hours talking about that distant memory when we climbed coconut trees, washed clothes in the nearby river (more like forced by mother), collected “lukay” to transform as a makeshift sled “kuno”, and many more.

    those were the happiest moments of my life so far. even we had so little, we had so much. :-)

    claire the cat

    28 Sep 07 at 11:39 pm

  3. and by the way, i like your new header better!

    claire the cat

    28 Sep 07 at 11:39 pm

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