Time to learn about the bigger world: The story of Bado and Ranlan, our coworkers at JTS Philippines

“Mayong Buntag!” (meaning “Good morning” in Bisayan, one of the languages spoken in Mindanao, Philippines)

A new day starts at the JTS Philippines farm with 5:30am greetings from Bado and Ranlan, who manage the JTS Center and farmland.  Their activity covers a variety of work including operating heavy equipment for maintenance and operation of the JTS Center facilities.

Here is the story of Bado and Ranlan.

Written by Ga-Young Kim, JTS Philippines

Ga-Young: Please introduce yourself.

Bado: Hello, I am Bacolod, Ronilo Edralin (Bado). I joined JTS in 2005. I have participated in many projects starting with construction of the school in the remote village of Alawon. I have worked in the JTS Farm Department since 2016.

Bado: Hello, I am Bacolod, Ronilo Edralin (Bado). I joined JTS in 2005. I have participated in many projects starting with construction of the school in the remote village of Alawon. I have worked in the JTS Farm Department since 2016.

Ga-Young: Could you describe your work in the Farm Department?

Bado: The JTS farmland is about 10,000 pyong in size with a garden house.   We plow the fields, plant seeds, pull weeds and fertilize crops.  We grow sweet corn, bok choy, beans, papaya, pineapples, bananas, and have 500 to 600 coffee plants.

Ga-Young: What is your most memorable experience at JTS?

Ranlan: It was the emergency relief in response to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. I grew up in Silipon and had not traveled to other regions until then. It was my first time traveling by ship. We loaded supplies in a huge truck, shipped, and delivered them to the victims of the typhoon. Through that effort, I was able to experience the bigger world away from Silipon.

Bado:  My most memorable experience was constructing a school with the residents of Sonko. The residents were not very cooperative. Without any notice, they didn’t show up for work, or they stopped working in the middle of afternoon.  It was very difficult to deal with, but the work was very rewarding. I am from a small town and was happy to help a town that is smaller than mine. I remember our staff and residents talking together while eating corn rice.

Ga-Young: Did you have any difficulty while working in JTS?

Bado: The Philippines has a different work culture from Korea.  Koreans maintain very strict deadlines, which is much different from Filipinos.  This generates some misunderstanding and conflict.  But through many conversations, we began to understand each other.  We really like “Working Together” on Saturdays.  The best time is eating snacks together after work. Haha.

Every Saturday, we ask our Filipino coworkers about their week.  Every time, they responded, “Walai Problima, Mali payon ko~” (“I don’t have any problem. I am happy.”)   We learn to live without difficulty from our Filipino coworkers who work happily regardless of conditions.

There can be conflicts between Koreans and Filipinos due to the language barrier and different cultures.  Despite our differences, we realize that all people live in one big world.

We are glad to tell you the story of Bado and Ranlan, our dear coworkers.

JTS supporters abroad:

India: Bo-Gwang, Priyanka, Dong-Pyo Jeong, and Yessel Shin Philippines: Hyang Hoon, Sang-Hoon Kim, Si-Hyun Park, Hyung-Joon Kim, and Ga-Young Kim