Ways to Elevate Your Community

My community is more organic. I don’t live in a gated village or a subdivision with an HOA. Towns and cities here have an administrative sub-unit called barangays, and that’s what I live in.

I live downtown, in a pretty urban setting. My street is adjacent to a main highway. When my mom was growing up, they called our area “bukid,” which roughly translates to “farm” or “field.” She didn’t live here then. Their house was on Camino, the main road connecting Marikina to Pasig on one end and San Mateo on the other. They only moved here when my grandmother inherited the property we live on now. It’s next door to her sister’s inherited property. Sadly, it’s a parking lot now.

When I was growing up, the highway was already there, but our own street wasn’t paved yet. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t part of the public vehicle route despite its proximity to the highway. The residents – that is, the property owners – were all related either by blood, by marriage, or by such long friendships they might as well be kin. To date, I’m still not sure if some people are blood relatives or just family friends. All the structures on the street were residential, except for the corners. The two corners facing the highway had a bank and an appliance store.

At the other end of the street, which abutted a main road named for my great-grandfather (he was a cabeza de barangay and the patriarch of our clan), was a house and a movie theater. Our property was directly behind this theater, which was being managed by one of my “aunts” (technically, she was the wife of my mom’s cousin). It’s gone now, replaced by a long row of commercial units.

These days, only three of the original houses remain, and all three of them have capitalized on the commercial viability of our area, allowing the front of the property to be used for commercial purposes.

This street isn’t the best area to live in. It’s noisy and teeming with unsavory characters. Like I have a suspicion the guy across the street is dealing. I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s several years older than me, but I saw him finish school and become a young professional, hopeful of a brighter future. I don’t know what happened. I think he moved away for a while, and I did as well. Considering his present state, I suppose life hadn’t been very rosy for him.

Our association with the other people on this street is quite minimal. Still, our clans have been co-existing on this street for decades, and, like it or not, my roots are here. More importantly, the entire city is my hometown, so I’m invested in it. I’m willing to contribute to make it thrive.

Since my time is pretty much my children’s, and I don’t really have the funds to financially aid projects and programs, I try to do little things that help, especially if they’re done in the collective.

• Buy local and support the small businesses in town.
• Maintain and beautify my own property.
• Respect and help maintain the shared public spaces. Throw into the bin the random litter you encounter. Straighten fixtures that are askew. Tidy up messy arrangements.
• Help promote the small shops in town.
• Donate to the local charities.
• Help take care of the community animals. If you can, participate in TNVR (trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release) and feeding programs.
• Be neighborly – make that connection.
• Research the history of your street, village, etc. Suggest ways to honor its past.
• Volunteer – just the amount of time and frequency you can manage. It doesn’t have to be a major production.
• Get to know who the local artists and artisans are, and support their work.
• Take part in neighborhood watches.
• When in public, subtly look after the more vulnerable members of the community, such as the children, the elderly, and those with special needs. Be ready to help when necessary.
• Ditch apathy. Report vandals, noise polluters, suspicious characters… just don’t be a “Karen” in your approach.
• Share good ideas with your leaders.
• Take walks. Having walkers about, recognizing and acknowledging each other, boosts community spirit.

No need to break the bank, sacrifice anything, or make a huge effort. In fact, just genuinely care, and the opportunity or ways to help will reveal themselves to you.