I went to the grassroots in Silay City yesterday. When I say grassroots I mean the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) I am assisting. Sometimes I would ask myself if I’m in the right job. Did I labor five years in college for this? When some of my classmates are probably working in some manufacturing plant, here I am in the rural areas doing development work.

There are several experiences that I will always remember maybe long after I leave my job. There’s this incident where we walked for more or less two hours from the mountains of Patag Diutay in Silay City just to hitch a ride. I will never forget that incident for I lost two toenails that day and have to endure closed shoes for several weeks. There was also this incident when we conducted a training in Cadiz City where we have to spend overnight in the area. We accompanied our hosts to their relative’s wake and the husband got involved in a fight. The wife begged me to hold her husband’s gun while she tried to calm him down. My officemate was surprised that I so calmly accepted the gun. It never occurred to me that night that we might get killed in a crossfire.

I don’t know when it happened but my job of three years is more of a vocation for me. Maybe because I’m a farmer’s daughter that I can somehow empathize with the plight of the ARBs. I have never even set foot in our farm since elementary but mingling with the farmers made me realize how much luckier I am. These farmworkers were given a chance to own the land they till but do they have the capabilities? Most of them are farmworkers and still very dependent on the hacienda system. They can hardly support their daily needs much less support a farm and send their children to school.

Agrarian reform is not just an economic issue. It’s also both social and cultural. The success or failure of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program is very debatable and I’m not in a position to make an opinion on it. Nonetheless, I will just continue to do what I’m supposed to do no matter how hard it is sometimes. How can you make entrepreneurs out of farmworkers who even struggle to become farmers?

Development work is really both rewarding and frustrating. No wonder few people would want to make a career in this field. I salute the social workers, volunteers, NGOs, and government workers who sincerely devote their resources in development work. Our work is our conscience.