River Warriors: A grassroots movement to reclaim our future
On May 26, 27 and 28, some 100 adults, 53 teens and 51 kids were brought to the La Mesa Ecopark. I took pictures of them, and inside I thought: Life will never be the same for them again. Training them would be 45 military men, 15 police and 13 Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig officers. Everything was documented by our production crew. Our objective: to infuse in them discipline, a sense of mission, to touch their hearts — to transform them into the key to success of the Pasig River clean-up, the River Warriors!
The very fact of their training process was inspiring. Police, military, priests, PRRC — all were focused on their transformation. Personally I felt the group that took the gold medal was the kids. The adults and teens were great, but the heavens lit up when the kids went in with their joy, their sincerity and their purity of spirit. Everyone’s heart was blown away by their sweetness.
The teens were tough. Some were undisciplined and broke rules, but when handled with firmness, they shifted 180 degrees, and some even went on to receive an “Excellent” rating. This dramatic turnaround further underlines the drama of possibilities.
The military handled the drills, the self-defense and the morning routine. The police took one day to teach the Warriors, via role-playing, what to do if laws are violated. PRRC took on the logistics of food and transportation. My group took on the orientation and candle lighting — where the sharing led to hearts opening, tears flowing. The camp was a superb manifestation of the elders of society — having no agenda other than the future of our country, taking the downtrodden by the hand, and giving them a sense of purpose.
I have such high hopes for the River Warriors. I get “drunk” with the possibilities. Right now the top 50 are undergoing training in Iba, Zambales at the ABS-CBN Ecovillage, where there is a pristine river with hot springs that leads to a white sand beach. I need them to see the quality of life that can be if the river is clean. Our country’s resources are not totally destroyed, our people’s souls have not been so subsumed by despair. If we work with will and passion — with no other agenda but our future — miracles will continue to strew the path towards our destiny. There is nothing that cannot be done by a people who stand united.
Those who want to help the River Warriors or know more about the movement can e-mail regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com. or geraldsamson108@yahoo.com, the deputy director of Kapit Bisig. We need River Warriors in various disciplines: in film, IT, social workers, civil engineers. We need help to cover all the esteros of the country. This is everyone’s river. If we work together, we can make our future happen.
