More than a kilometer of hike from the main road up the small mountain in Getafe, Bohol, two elderly individuals, Uvalda Garcia and Antonio Jimenez, lived just meters apart, each facing their own struggles in solitude. Their homes, barely called such, were unfit for habitation, exposing them to the harsh elements and the loneliness of their secluded lives.
After losing her husband in 2021 and with Typhoon Odette destroying their home, 60-year-old Uvalda Garcia found herself living alone in a crumbled shelter made up of stacked scrap materials. With no door, decent roofing and walls, every storm became a terrifying ordeal. Uvalda works with whatever she can to provide for herself. She launders clothes for other people, makes “walis ting-ting” out of dried coconut leaves, and collects cow dung to sell as fertilizer for 200 pesos per sack. “I am already contented with how I am living now. My only wish is that I don’t get sick because there is no one to ask for help from.” said Uvalda.
Antonio Jimenez, 67, was abandoned by his own family nearly a decade ago when he was given a hundred pesos by his wife and told that he was on his own from then on. The last known whereabouts of his wife and five sons was that they moved back to the province of Leyte. In exchange for taking care of the town mayor’s coconut tree plantation, he has stayed and lived in the mountain for 8 years now. However, the structure of his home is unstable, and the cold mountain nights are unbearable without proper insulation. He does small backyard planting and walks about a kilometer from the foot of the mountain to the sea to collect seashells and peanut worms, which he sells for food. Antonio still longs to be reunited with his wife and children, who, according to him, may already have families and children of their own. “When I find them, I hope that they will still accept me,” the expectant Antonio said.
Despite their proximity, Uvalda and Antonio rarely interacted, each too consumed by their own challenges. One day, during a Tzu Chi donation drive in the town, a community volunteer discovered the plight of their living conditions and referred them to the Tzu Chi Happy Home project team.
Volunteers from Tzu Chi arrived days later to assess the situation and mobilized resources to build their homes from the ground up. Transporting all the construction materials up the mountain posed a danger and a challenge to the team, who worked tirelessly so that the new houses would be built not only for safety but also to be sturdy, warm, and welcoming.
Uvalda and Antonio watched in awe as their new homes took shape, complete with a toilet, a cooking and dining area, and a bed space—thoughtful touches that catered to their needs. On July 18, 2024, the Tzu Chi volunteers gathered for a simple handover ceremony for Uvalda and Antonio’s new Happy Home. And even though they received a material blessing which never in their mind they thought they would ask for, they conveyed their gratitude to Tzu Chi for providing them with a decent home at their old age, both expressing that before their respective days of passing come, the hope to achieving their longing for their family to come together and unite is what matters to them the most.
