Life goes on living at a shanty in an abandoned slaughterhouse
Teresita Gatan, a 56-year-old widow, and her niece, Julie Baculi, have been living in an old abandoned slaughter house in Brgy. Calamagui 1st, Ilagan City, Isabela for twelve years now.
They live in the second flood of the old slaughterhouse and to get to the building, you must go through a narrow street going upstairs of the building where Teresita and her niece Julie made stairs out of wood. As for their living space, they have made small corners out of recycled tarpaulins and blankets. When asked why do they keep living in the abandoned building, they said it is essentially the only place they can go to. Julie says it is the only safe place to keep them dry from typhoons and rainfall.
Teresita and Julie survive their day-to-day needs by offering laundry services. They pay 50 pesos for them to be able to get a tapped connection from their neighbor every night. But most of the time, they don’t have 50pesos to spare. That means most of the time, they do not have light for the rest of the night.
Despite the struggle, Teresita and Julie believe that they can endure all the challenges.#
