00:00From here in Zambales, in the town of Botolan,
00:06it's a 4-hour trip to Poonbato.
00:10But this is not an ordinary trip,
00:13especially for the teachers of Poonbato Integrated School.
00:19These teachers have to travel all around the country
00:25to get to their school.
00:30Every time we go to school,
00:33we ride the bus on Saturday afternoon
00:37and we get off on Friday afternoon after class.
00:46And to make the trip faster,
00:48there's a to-the-rescue for the teachers.
00:51Our star, Pagara, and her companion,
00:56Kuya Ariel.
00:58Here in Poonbato Integrated School,
01:01we don't have other vehicles.
01:04We only have caravans and carretons.
01:09The caravans are the number one driver when it comes to the race.
01:16Today, their race is the production of banana hearts.
01:21They are also the caravans that carry,
01:24wrap, and weigh the banana hearts.
01:31Ariel and her companion, Pagara,
01:35are eager to go home.
01:37And they carry the packaged vegetables for extra income.
01:41But even after the caravans,
01:43Ariel and Pagara's new caravan has just started.
01:51In their job, they don't usually rest.
01:59These caravans bravely cross the five rivers.
02:04As their caravans pass by,
02:06the banana hearts are sold to the town.
02:10Ariel's caravan is also here.
02:16There's no bridge or any other means of transportation in the area.
02:21No one can cross Ilog Lahar but the caravans.
02:24It used to be called Bukirin.
02:28But when the Pinatubo Volcano erupted in 1991,
02:32there was a strong flow of water
02:35and it became a wide river.
02:43Every Friday, from Botolan, Sambales,
02:46the caravans are already scheduled to join
02:47almost 15 teachers of Poon Bato Integrated School.
02:53Sun, rain, and strong flow of water
02:56are said to be a big help to the wildlife in their journey.
03:04After almost three hours of travel,
03:11the time has come for the teachers to join the caravans.
03:15Each caravan has its own equipment.
03:19The teachers are preparing to go down to the town.
03:25They are waiting for the return of I-WONDER.
03:29The caravan wheel accidentally slipped on a rock.
03:33On Thursday, due to heavy rain,
03:36the class was suspended in Poon Bato Integrated School.
03:39That's why the teachers are working on their own.
03:42Because the class was suspended by our municipality,
03:47we will have a school-based lap session today.
03:52We will just carry our school bag on our shoulders.
03:56We will just carry our school bag on our shoulders.
04:00We will just carry our school bag on our shoulders.
04:03In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
04:05Amen.
04:07Let's eat! Let's eat!
04:10And on this day,
04:12after a simple lunch,
04:18they are all taken to school for almost six days a week.
04:24They have reached the point of building their own huts.
04:27When we go out, the houses of the teachers are next to each other.
04:34Each teacher has their own house that they built.
04:40And on Friday afternoon, we go down together.
04:45With three more cars, the teachers ride one by one.
04:49It's already three in the afternoon.
04:52The cars are still on their way to school
04:55because it's dangerous to travel when it gets dark.
04:58First of all, I would like to thank all the teaching force of Poon Bato Integrated School
05:04because they accepted the responsibility to teach in this place that is really poor.
05:13I always tell them that
05:15whatever sacrifice we make for the children,
05:19our Lord sees it all.
05:27After just a few minutes of travel, it started to rain.
05:31And the storm came at the same time.
05:34After just a few minutes of travel, it started to rain.
05:37And the storm came at the same time.
05:45But it seems like this is normal in Bayanin Buro.
05:49In this kind of situation, we really don't need to flood the water.
05:54We will go down at the same time so that we can go down faster.
05:58We will go straight.
06:00Because if we go against August, it will be harder for the flood to advance.
06:11The salvation of everyone is what we thank Kuya Ariel for.
06:15This is what we really live for here in Baitan.
06:21We just want to be happy.
06:25We also studied here.
06:28This is what we really do.
06:31We just pull.
06:36Even for the Calabasans, every time they travel,
06:39they have to cross the river twice a week.
06:42The Calabasans are poor.
06:46They can't do it every day.
06:50The Calabasans can't do it.
06:54In the midst of poverty,
06:56the Calabasans are fighting against August.
07:04We are nervous, we are afraid.
07:06Our life is really related to crossing the river.
07:09But we are here.
07:11Our passion is to cross the river.
07:14Once we reach the top, we won't be able to leave.
07:16We are here.
07:23The plastic bags were used by the teachers to save the goods.
07:30The carriages and boats are almost submerged.
07:33The Calabasans here are really strong.
07:37Even though the loads are heavy,
07:39they are able to pull the carriages straight to our station.
07:53And within almost 4 hours,
07:56before it gets dark,
07:58the teachers bring the goods to the village.
08:01There are less than 50.
08:03It's a digestive medicine.
08:05It's in his bag.
08:07Each of them pays 300 pesos for a massage.
08:11How much is that?
08:1350 pesos.
08:151,200 pesos for the four-person ride of each Calabasan.
08:22In spite of the difficulty in carrying the carriages,
08:25there is no hesitation to help the teachers cross the river.
08:28While the teachers are doing their best to provide services.
08:58For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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