On the 9th of January, a PSHF team comprised of me (Analyn), Phady and Richard took the bus from Dumaguete for the 3 hour ride to the interior town of Mabinay. We got off prior to the town proper and within a few minutes we were on the back of 2 habal-habal motorcycle taxis heading to the sitio of Lamdas where our field office is located. After ten minutes along a rough road, we reached the home of Lydia, our area field worker where we would be conducting an orientation and interviewing loan applicants.

 

Lydia welcomed us on arrival then we went inside her home to meet the applicants who were waiting for us. There were four of them and one came later. Phady handed out PSHF information sheets to them before proceeding with her orientation. What made today’s orientation different to past ones here is that we added a short ‘health’ seminar tagged on at the end. The decision to have an inter-active discussion on health was prompted by the fact that high blood pressure and diabetes are often stated as medical concerns among our loan beneficiaries and their elderly parents and we wished to offer some tips on what to do to prevent or mitigate such conditions.

 

Three of the applicants were assigned to me to be interviewed and one of these was 

54-year-old Romil Dorimon; he was applying for a loan to buy a cow to do ploughing. Romil is married to Lemefe (42) and they have three children; Daven (21), Daveler (18) and Demi who is 4 years old. Romil is the family’s sole provider working for the local church as a driver. He is paid 300 pesos ($5) a day and works 15 days in a month; there is another driver who works on the other days. When work is available on his free days, Romil works on a neighbors’ farm doing weeding and planting and earning a daily wage of 250 pesos ($4). 

 

Romil would like to increase his income through accepting ploughing jobs. He used to own a cow but sadly it died after being hit by a coconut tree when a super typhoon ravaged the province in December 2021. A day’s fee for ploughing is 500 pesos ($8) and Romil would expect to get hired for an average of five days a month and more often in the peak season. On the days that he is driving Romil will rent out his cow for 250 pesos per day. It should be mentioned that cows are frequently used for ploughing in this part of Negros Oriental as they are more resistant to the heat than carabaos (water buffaloes).

 

To conclude my interview, I asked Romil about his dreams in life and he simply responded that it would be a joy to see his children get college degrees one day. He was very proud to tell me that Daven and Daveler were both ‘achievers’. They are in their fourth and second year of college respectively studying for degrees in Education and always on the Dean’s list. As for Romil, the income from ploughing will be vital in meeting college expenses especially with Daven whose expenses will increase as he comes nearer to his graduation this July 2025.

 

It was a pleasure getting to know Romil and to hear his story and I wish him well with his endeavors.

 

 

Analyn Gallibot

PSHF Negros Oriental

March 2025