Ecotourism in the Philippines: Balancing Economic Development and Social Responsibility

I. Introduction Batang Pusit is a story of children in Masbate who catches squid to earn a living. They work to provide their families and themselves something to eat in their everyday. Their families depend on them. These children are hardworking for the sake of their families, but even though they’re hard up in catching squids they still continue doing it because they don’t want their families to suffer from hunger. Unlike other kids who just waste their time doing things that won’t help them.

With the children in the film, “Batang Pusit” they are encouraged by their parents to do well in their work as squid catchers for them to have a brighter future. II. Summary The day starts early for a group of children at a remote coastal village in Masbate, an island province in the central Philippines. Even before dawn breaks, several children and a few adults line the seashore, busily preparing their boats and nets for a day of squid fishing. Jameson, Estoy, and Jason who at a very young age were taught by their fathers to dive for squids. The residents largely depend on the sea to make a living.

There are no concrete roads, water comes from deep wells, and there is no electricity. Everyday, they set out to sea. A boat crew is comprised mostly of children. The adult stays in the boat while the children do the diving. The kids wear improvised goggles and fins made of wood that are fastened to their feet by strips of rubber. The kids lure the squids into the nets by making noise hitting the water surface hard with their arms or getting rocks underwater and throwing them hard at the water surface. They then dive as the net closes in to secure the squids that were trapped in the net.

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After a full day at sea, each goes home with less than thirty pesos in their pockets. But for the overworked children, this is more money than they have ever known before. Most of the time however, they catch just a few not even enough to shoulder their families expenses in a day. The children say they still have time to go to their classes, walking for hours through tall grasses along hilly landscapes to reach school. Their elementary school teacher, Melchor Rojas, though, says most squid catchers report to school only once or twice each week.

Squid fishing takes up the kid’s time and when its harvest or planting season, there are the teacher reports even fewer students. Of the few squid divers who are his students, Rojas expects less than half would be able to pursue higher education. The kids parents themselves seem resigned to the fact that they would never be able to send their children to school. For these children, education remains uncertain, but they maintain high hopes. Given a choice, they prefer to attend school in order to finish their education rather than spend their time at work.

Every summer, the number of child squid catchers rises because they are also saving for the coming school year. The squid catchers are torn between studying for a better future and providing for themselves and their families. III. Reaction Children do the work of their parents to provide their needs for themselves and to give expenses to their families. Children worked hard for their families for them not to suffer from hunger. Their parents depend on their children. Children worked for their families for them to survive.

I feel sad because they only go to school once or twice a week, they do not attend their classes anymore because of their work. I feel happy because at a very young age they were able to help their parents and they were able to provide their needs. They worked very hard and providing for their families. These children need time in studying than working because it helps them to achieve their goals in life. IV. Conclusion / Lesson I learned that we should be proud of what we are having right now. I learned how to be a responsible child. We must help our parents because they provide all the things that we need for us to have a good life.

We must be thankful to our parents because they give us the opportunity to study. We must study hard so that we can achieve and reach our dreams in life in the future. We must be proud because we go to school to learn new things because it provides numerous opportunities for the development of our life. We must not waste this opportunities of going to school because some children do not study because of too much poverty. We must take this as a great opportunity for us because it only comes once, because education helps us to reach our dreams and goals in life.

We must be hardworking and patient enough to study because it can make our dreams in life come true. We must not waste our time in the things that is useless and can destroy our life. We learned many good traits in our life such as discipline, obedience, and respect to elders, honesty and many more. It is our duty to acquire these qualities of life which will enable us to stand in good stead in the future. We must pursue and do our best in all aspects of life for us to have a brighter and better future and for us not to suffer from poverty.

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