A Song from an Unsung Hero

“I will continue working to change the people’s attitude… I may cry again but I know that when I finally look back, I have my chin up, knowing I have made a difference. At least, in my own little way…”
-Lucia Tafaleng Adchang
KALAHI-CIDSS Area Coordinator


The best songs we hear usually knock our hearts in melancholic feelings of love and pain.

Lucia would make regular rounds in barangays of Tinoc, a poor agricultural town of Ifugao. Being an area coordinator, she would monitor how things progress in the Project’s implementation. Several times, she could pass through groups of women in mid-morning, searching lice on each other’s heads. She finds it irritating to see women complaining about their hard life and yet would do such. Without hesitation, she would go straight to them to begin her litany…

Lucia embraced her life as a servant-worker in Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS). Her responsibility to her community mirrors the inspiration she draws from her past.

Life was not a hand to mouth existence in her youth. She spent simple living with her family in Bontoc, Mt. Province. Her family lived in tilling the soil as most middle classes in the Cordillera. There were hard times though and a many; those she made motivation to strive. After taking her education in Baguio City, she recognized the cracks in her community. There was a clear line that separated the rich from the poor. In occasions, she noticed how the uneducated and poor were treated; served with the smallest portions of the meat, fed on the edges of the feast table. “Why can’t we give the same treatment while we belong to the same community?”, she would ask. That question, she continuously asks, up to these days.

“Educating people is one good way in empowering them. I wanted to enlighten them, teach them to work for their growth as a community”, Lucia adds. KALAHI-CIDSS was an instrument for Lucia to give education back to her folks. It was her chance. She did her best in explaining to the people the good that the Project offers. There were many times people doubted. It was never easy. Getting the support of the whole community, the local government units, and uniting them through the Project were such great sacrifices. Many times, she cried and raged. But, she remained.
The realities in the grassroots reflect the country’s similar problems. Local councils and government units divided by politics, envy amongst various groups and individuals, volunteers and the people hostile to one another in trivial matters– these factors served and are serving challenge not only for Lucia. “We can’t move forward. We can’t accomplish anything if we doubt each other and remain estranged. These I always reminded them”, Lucia explained. From these she also agonized on personal struggles. People tempted her with amounts of money in exchange of project priority and endorsement. She might have needed it too, but she stood firm.

Lucia realized that by helping the people, she elevates herself in a higher level of maturity. Her experience went through, making her grow as an individual as part of her cultural community. She walked hours to reach barangays and told them good news of project prioritization and implementation. She led the area coordinating team that taught women and men to make solutions to their own problems. With such dedication, she went beyond her functions as KALAHI-CIDSS area coordinator. Lucia was involved in saving a battered wife and a rape victim in her area. People went to her for help. She taught women to prepare good food for their families. She mediated in conflicts, defended what she thought was humane and fair. Even if some commented her to going beyond the limits, she believed more in her supervisor up there. There was responsibility. “I considered the people as my friends, my family so I became a lawyer, a nutritionist, a doctor, a counselor in my way. Because they were part of me I cared a lot for them, even if sometimes, it did hurt. I had to continue”, she added.

Now that various projects such as roads and water systems were handed-over to the Tinoc community, Lucia hopes that what she has exemplified during the implementation would at least serve as something to remind and educate the people. She doesn’t ask for more but for people to value the true lessons of life. Still, she dreams that more and more people would go to the grassroots and (re) educate. “KALAHI-CIDSS has all the good values to teach: honesty, unity, and responsibility. As for the community: empowerment, transparency, and good governance. I hope more and more will come”, she said.

Lucia Adchang is just but one of the many people who believes that there is hope for the Filipino people. And while rugged roads come, the road to our goals in bringing development is not lost. Indeed, she represents the heroes - the many unsung heroes working in the field. Heroes like those of KALAHI-CIDSS who are doing the noblest work for the greater good.

This one song might finally be heard. But there are more melodies that we all ought to hear and sing…