People of General Santos

The Badjao tribe consists of nomadic seafaring tribes. The tribe's men are skilled fishermen, particularly in the art of pantana fishing (spearfishing). They used to live on houseboats that moved through the sea as needed to meet their fishing needs. The Badjao are also skilled divers who hunt for pearls. These activities continue to play an important role in the Badjao people's lives to this day. However, due to increased piracy in the 1960s, the Badjao people were forced to leave the sea and settle on the land. Despite romantic depictions of the tribe, the Badjao never had an easy life. However, when they were still living at sea, they were at least free from the daily rejection and hardship brought on by other tribes that live on land. These sea guardians have seen firsthand that times are difficult on the sea, but even more so on land. The Badjao are currently the most marginalized ethnic group and one of the poorest tribes in the Philippines, a Muslim tribe shunned by almo...

  How do you define success?    Does having luxurious and expensive jewellery means success? Or living in a mansion and eating more than three times a day means success? Do you think you're successful?      The second featured story in People of General Santos uncovers the lessons behind sir Jerome Atayoc's success. Tatay Jerome is a 62-year-old ice cream vendor that has been selling for 34 years in General Santos City. Tatay Jerome is not different from all of us, he also has been dramatically affected by the pandemic. Tatay Jerome's business requires him to be in public places, which puts him in a greater sense of danger; hence, tatay Jerome is already in his senior citizen years. But a question that always comes to our mind is that, why does tatay Jerome still do it? His wife has her job, his children have their family and can provide for their own needs. The answer is that tatay Jerome continues to practice and ponder the lessons he has learned for over...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on people's lives. Many of us are confronted with difficulties that can be exhausting, challenging, and elicit strong emotions in both adults and children.  During traumatic events such as mass shootings, natural disasters, or pandemics, it is natural to experience stress, anxiety, grief, and worry.  The question is how are you going to overcome such situation? People of General Santos first feature for 'Your Story Matters' is Sanie Moda, 27 years old and is working as a security guard at UFDPC. Because of pandemic and the using of face mask, he suffered from skin allergy for 1 year that crashed his self confidence. We all have different ways of coping up with stress. As for Mr. Sanie, he does fishing for fun to relieve stress from the trauma of being sick for almost a year. He believes that anything is possible if you have faith in God. And if we ever overcome the hardships that life throw us, we can overcome everything. ...

ON STORY TELLING, LIFE AND LIVING Why do we tell stories As kids, we love listening to stories. We would ask our parents to tell us their adventures (or misadventures). To our friends, we would make up stories drawn entirely from our imaginations and fantasies. And that usually gives us a thrill, until life happened. What used to be an adventure in our own made-up kingdoms became a daily struggle of paying bills, responsibilities and making ends meet. The childlike wonder was drowned by the realities of adult life. When was the last time you looked at a person you come across the street and wonder what amazing story they could be waiting to tell? In this time of pandemic when life is full of uncertainties, try to listen to other stories and you might find a chance of validating your story in the process. Questions, worries, and confusions might be the factors that cause us to isolate ourselves from other people. T he blog features stories from random people who are often seen in public...