ย While most students spent their summer break seeking rest or recreation, 25 student volunteers and 8 facilitators of BTTHS chose a different path, one that saw them settle into the hills of Patag, Silay. From May 24 to 30, 2025, they took part in the 3rd Serviam Summer Workcamp, extending not only their time and energy but also their hearts to Patag Diotay Elementary School. The project entitled โPagbalay sa Patag Diotayโ had been in the works since January. Led by Head Organizer Wico Miguel Jalea and facilitated by Francis Tan Espera, the team, working hand in hand with Mr. Benito โNong Boyโ Pacheno and two PTA officers, successfully built a multipurpose room that will benefit the community for years to come.
Throughout the week, campers took part in various tasks, from worksite duties like hauling materials, mixing cement, painting walls, and using power tools such as drills and grinders, to campsite responsibilities such as cooking, sanitation, and many more. In between the scorching summer heat and being drenched in heavy rainfall, the volunteers found themselves building not just a facility for Patag Diotay Elementary School, but also their characters as individuals and a lasting brotherhood amongst themselves, fostered even more by nightly formation talks led by the facilitators.
Sir Roger Sarmiento, one of the facilitators stated that โA work camp is many things, but my number one definition of work camp is helping yourself, and helping othersโ. He later added that it can also be understood as helping yourself by helping others, a reflection that many other volunteers came to realize throughout the course of the week.
โPagbalay sa Patag Diotayโ proved to be more than just a construction project. The final two days of the week saw the campers enjoying themselves with an excursion at the Dumalabdab and Pulang Tubig waterfalls, followed by the turning over ceremony of the project on the next day. For many of the campers, the friendships formed and the values lived out during the workcamp will leave a lasting imprint far beyond the mountains of Silay. After the dust has settled, it is clear that this edition of the Serviam Summer Work Camp chose to build, not just with cement and stone, but with heart and care for the community.
Written by: Jacob Troi P. Canastillo
