One Sunday morning, Barangay Mantapoli in Marantao woke up to something no one expected. Floods. Fast, forceful, and unforgiving.
Jehan, who’s lived there all her life, couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The rain wasn’t just heavy—it was angry. She’d seen storms before, sure. But this one? It was different. It felt like the sky had cracked open.
Over the past few years, Jehan had noticed the changes. Rainfall had become unpredictable. When it came, it came hard. The rivers that used to handle the flow now spilled over. Summers were no better. The heat was unbearable. Something was off. And deep down, she knew it wasn’t just bad weather—it was climate change, creeping in.
She shared all this during a climate change workshop led by Synergeia. It was a space where people could speak freely. And many did. They talked about how even a small town like Marantao wasn’t safe from the effects. But they also admitted something else: climate change wasn’t acting alone. We were helping it along.
Trash was everywhere. People dumped waste without thinking. No segregation. No system. Some still burned plastic, even though they knew it was harmful. The local plans? Either weak or nonexistent.
But the workshop didn’t end in frustration. It sparked action.
Together, the community came up with a roadmap for solid waste management. Four key steps stood out:
- Strengthen Information and Education campaigns.
- Run awareness drives in schools.
- Set up proper waste collection points.
- Organize regular barangay clean-ups.
Jehan didn’t just listen. She acted. She joined the Barangay Waste Management Team of Mantapoli.
It wasn’t a grand gesture. But it was real.
Because she realized something important: the fight for a cleaner, safer environment doesn’t rest on government alone. It starts with people like her. Like us.
