POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS

Department of Architecture
Sta. Mesa, Manila

CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Term Paper:
Interview with a Street Dweller

Submitted to:

Prof. Christopher Yanilla

Submitted by:

Tapar, Ma. Darish

AR 3-1
 Nanay Dominga Navidad Story

25th of January 2014, having the mission to interview a taong grasa or pulubi my friends
and I decided to do it in Luneta. We walked near the fountain where I spotted an ale sitting on
the side of some plants. She looked frail and has two bags with her maybe containing her clothes
and some valuables.
I sat beside her and introduced myself. I asked her what her name is and she said, “Neng,
ako si Nanay Dominga Navidad”. She told me that she is 51 years old. I asked her where she
lives and I got “Diyan sa may ilalim ng tulay o kaya dito sa bangketa”. I asked her again if she
has anyone else with her and she replied, “Wala na anak, ayaw akong lapitan ng mga anak ko
e”.
I got confused I said to myself ’may mga anak pala siya, e nasaan na sila’, thus, I asked
her. She told me that she has four children, two of them are males and both have families now
while the other two who are both females are still single but they won’t acknowledge her as their
mother anymore.
Nanay Dominga told me that she originated from La Union but in late 1980s she became
a Domestic Helper in Saudi leaving her four children back then for she has to earn money
because she was a single mother. She became a widow when her second husband died due to
tuberculosis.
In her six years of stay in there, she managed to gain enough money to buy a house.
Thus, she came back in the Philippines and she did buy a house. She returned to Saudi and
renewed her contract. After three years, she came back again because her auntie, who took care
of her when she was a child, died of stroke.
When she arrived, she was stunned that the house she bought for her children was already
sold. Her two boys who by that time were already in Army were not in La Union while the other
two girls were living in her cousin’s house.
She didn’t want to go back in Saudi for a lot of men there were abusing the Filipinas,
luckily she was offered to a mission where she get paid to organize a feeding program for pulubi
in Luneta.
Years passed and the sponsors of the feeding program stopped giving money including
her salary and slowly her money drop until not cent in her hands making her one those she feeds
before. She said that her children don’t care anymore.
I asked her when was her last meal and she said, “kagabi pa anak”. Nanay Dominga
deserve a proper meal thus I bought her food and she said her thanks a lot of times but I really
am the one who thankful to she shared with me.
Interview with Nanay Dominga