Dreams built and fulfilled

Think positively, be humble, and pray - this has been the mantra of 59-year-old Elvie Pablo which continues to guide her family in their life’s journey. It has helped her conquer every obstacle over the past decades; it’s what led her and her husband, Eduardo, to be Habitat homeowners for 15 years now.

The Pablo family lives in one of the eight three-story medium-rise buildings in FTI-MRB Family Townhomes in Western Bicutan, Taguig City, together with 95 other families. Their unit is located on the topmost floor. Although it was just 22 square meters, it felt like a penthouse filled with memories and things that make life easier – a sofa, a refrigerator, a television, a dining table, a washing machine, and tiled floors. But among their most prized possessions are their four children’s diplomas and graduation photos.

However, life was not always like this for the Pablos. Who would have thought this was only a dream 15 years ago when they were still living in informal settlements near the railways? Their old neighborhood is just a few meters away from the community they’re living in now, reminding them of all the challenges they faced and the aspirations they once had.

A risk worth taking

Elvie was originally from Cebu City. But when she gave birth to her girl twins, they decided to live in Eduardo’s hometown in Pangasinan, where she also gave birth to two more children.

“We tried our luck in the province. I resigned from work while my husband was an overseas worker. We lived in the province for almost eight years. We put up a wholesaling business. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” recalled Elvie. “It felt like I was just waiting to grow old in the province.”

Eduardo worked as an electrical engineer for five years in Saudi Arabia. After his contract ended, he accepted a job in Makati while his family lived in the province. Elvie saw this as an opportunity to live in the big city.

“I told my husband that I wanted to move to Metro Manila. It didn’t matter to me where we would stay—even if it’s a squatters’ area,” said Elvie.

In 2000, one of Eduardo’s colleagues offered him a 16-square-meter house in an informal settlement area near the Philippine National Railways in Taguig for Php40,000. The family bought it despite its run-down condition.

“The walls were made of patched-up rice sacks. The neighborhood was really loud and chaotic. The houses were very close to each other,” said Elvie, adding, “Since we were informal settlers, we did not have a water connection. We had to buy and fetch pails of water from our neighbors, who had water tanks.”

They endured living in such a situation for another 8 years. But their new life in the city held a promise. It led to another opportunity when Elvie saw a poster in a sari-sari store. It was a notice from the local government promoting the chance for residents to avail themselves of housing from the Habitat for Humanity Philippines project. Elvie shared this with Eduardo but he initially discouraged her, thinking that they had a slim chance of being accepted because they were new to the community. But Elvie was determined to try, making Eduardo bend to her persistence.

Without the certainty of availing a home, Elvie took the risk and worked on all the requirements. They soon passed the family selection process and were chosen to do a ‘sweat equity,’ in which future Habitat homeowners help with the construction of housing units.

Just when things were finally going well, the family had to go through another obstacle when a massive fire razed their area.

“It was nighttime and we were all sound asleep. I was awakened by my neighbor shouting that there was fire. Since houses were made of light materials, the fire spread fast and it reached our house,” Elvie shared, also recalling, “I woke my children, and told them to leave everything behind. We only had the clothes and slippers we were wearing.”

That time, Eduardo was in Antipolo and only learned about the fire the following morning. Elvie brought her kids to a tenement and went back to their old house after the fire was put out. Everything was in ashes. The only silver lining they saw during that time was they were about to start their sweat equity for their future home.

 

Hope rose from the ashes

After the fire burned their house down, Elvie took her family to her sister’s home in Makati and temporarily stayed there while doing the sweat equity.

“We started as 22 families, but some backed out from the project because they were hesitant,” shared Elvie, adding, “I said, ‘come what may, we will finish this,’ because I didn’t want to quit then regret it after.”

The family decided to divide the 1,000-hour sweat equity among themselves. Even their son, Eduard Jay or “EJ,” who was only 14, helped in ways he could during the construction – carrying concrete interlocking blocks and cleaning the site.

“It was amazing to be part of the sweat equity because it was my dream to construct a building,” said EJ, recalling his experience. “I saw how they built the structure – from the laying of the foundation, excavation, installing the blocks and beams, until they went on fixing the interior. I was fascinated watching how they built the model house.”

Their diligence and hard work paid off as they were the first family in their batch to complete the sweat equity. EJ was excited for his family to get a housing unit. He could even vividly remember the feeling when it was being awarded to them.

“It was raining. The pastor was blessing each unit. I could remember how happy I was knowing that we could move in anytime soon and we could improve its interior and put dividers,” he said.

Eduardo, who was once skeptical about the project, finally saw the fruit of their labor when the Certificate that awards the units to the families was given to them.

“I was happy because I never imagined that we would be living here. So, when it was finally complete, I was full of joy because we would not be squatters anymore and we’d live in a peaceful community,” said Eduardo.

The Pablo family moved into their home on December 16, 2008, and celebrated their first Christmas with their new blessing. As the years went by, Elvie and Eduardo started improving their home while the Pablo siblings were able to push through with their studies in state universities.

Dreams built and fulfilled

Growing up, EJ Pablo always wanted to become an Engineer like his father and uncles. But it was not an easy road toward his dream. Living in informal settlements, EJ and his siblings had to enroll in schools farther from their neighborhood to get away from bad influences, so they could focus on their studies. He was even traumatized after experiencing the fire.

“Our life in the informal settlements inspired me to work hard to achieve my goals. I said to myself that I would not settle for that kind of life. We need to rise from that situation,” said EJ, recalling the hardships his parents went through just to send them to school.

In 2011, EJ’s father, Eduardo, had an accident at work and the following year, he suffered from a mild stroke, preventing him from working and providing for his family. Struggling to make ends meet and buy his husband’s medicines on top of their daily needs, Elvie asked her children to stop studying for a year because she could not afford to support their education. EJ, who was then in his third year taking BS Civil Engineering, refused to miss a school year. In his efforts to be frugal, EJ would walk to and from his school in Makati.

Fortunately, EJ was a scholar and their home was a refuge where he could study better.

“I felt strange during our first night here in our Habitat home because it was peaceful. It was totally different from our previous neighborhood,” EJ recalled. “It was a huge help for us because here, we could concentrate on our homework without the noise.”

EJ graduated from college in 2014. When he first started to work, he saved up to be able to install tiles for their flooring. He’s now a network manager in a water company and is planning to review for the board exam. It’s ironic to think that they had a scarcity of water when they were still informal settlers; now, aside from having their own water connection, EJ is working to provide more families access to safe water. He is also supporting his parents as a way of giving back for all their sacrifices.

“I am thankful to my parents for persevering to build and improve this Habitat home despite the doubts of others. I am happy that we’re given this opportunity,” EJ said, adding, “Now, I’m able to get a new house in Cavite. It’s not yet fully furnished but it’s a good start. I’m also planning to help my parents put up a business, so they would have a source of income.”

Elvie and Eduardo’s children are all degree-holders and have stable work – their greatest dream fulfilled. Their twins now have their own families; and they have a seven-year-old grandson, who dreams of becoming an astronaut someday. Fifteen years have gone by so fast but their house still stands with all the treasured memories they continue to create as a family.

“I hope they’ll carry all the lessons we imparted to them and teach their children the same way we taught them,” remarked Eduardo.

“This house played a huge part in our lives – for our education and the security of our family. Ever since we moved here, we have created a lot of memories. It strengthened the bond of our family,” realized EJ.

“Every time there’s an occasion, especially when it’s Christmas and New Year, they all come here and we celebrate together. We even wear matching-colored outfits,” said Elvie, beaming with pride and joy. “This house is valuable to us because this is where we built our dreams for our family and for our children’s education, which we thought we could not achieve. This community made it possible.”