BATO, Leyte,
Feb. 22 (PNA) -– Members of Badjao tribe dwelling in this coastal town are now
reaping the benefits of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Alternative
Learning System (ALS).
The 676
Badjaos living in 105 houses have been settling in a coastal community here for
several for about five decades. They relocated to Leyte from Sulu to stay away
from troubles hounding the south.
Tribe member
Masijah Bansale, 45, one of the ALS program beneficiaries in Dolho village,
shared how ALS program empowered her.
“I now know
how to read and write. I won’t get lost now because I already know how to read
directions,” she said.
Bansale
shared that she was not able to complete elementary education because her
family had no permanent dwelling place.
“I wanted to
study nursing, but because of poverty was not able to pursue that dream,” she
recalled.
Her
relatives, Jesus Menjani Esmani and Salvador Lampingin were the first two tribe
members based in this town who managed to earn a college degree.
Both of her
relatives completed teacher’s education course, but only Esmani works as
secondary school teacher at the Bato National High School. Lampingin has yet to
take a licensure examination.
“College
days were difficult for me especially during examination days, being a child of
a poor fisherman,” Esmani recalled. “During examinations, I used promissory
notes so that my instructor would allow me to take the exam.”
Esmani also
endured racial discrimination at the campus as tribe member, but after landing
a teaching job, he’s been respected by people.
“Badjao
tribe has this strong family ties. We don’t want to be separate from each
other. That is why my parents forced me to take education course instead of
accountancy,” Esmani shared.
The decision
of his family has proved them right since it did not only open the mind of
people, but he also became an inspiration to the younger tribe members to seek
formal education.
“Education
is really important, like for us who belongs to minority tribe, people look
down on us. But if they learn that you are a professional, they look up unto
you and feel inspired of what you have achieved,” said Esmani, who used to be a
volunteer ALS program worker.
The ALS
program for Badjaos does not only aim to educate them, but also seeks to lessen
the number of tribe members begging for food and cash, said ALS program coordinator
for DepEd Leyte division Roberto Mangalinan.
“This is a
good program to encourage them to study. This does not only cater to tribe
members, but also to out-of-school youth and others who are willing to attain
education,” Mangalinan said.
With the
success of the program, the DepEd is hiring more volunteers for ALS as
teachers.
“The ALS
program does not only help teach Badjao to read and write, but this also raises
their awareness of what’s happening in the society, said Camila Albani, a Badjao
member and a village health worker.
The program
teaches her fellow Badjao that mendicancy is unlawful and risky.
Albani noted
that many Badjao parents send their children to school because of the
government’s Conditional Cash Transfer Program. This helps them connect to the
mainstream society, which they were not able to experience in Mindanao.
Before
education was introduced to the tribe, proper sanitation was a major problem,
recalled Llarita Salilit, Badjao ALS education coordinator.
But the
local government unit of Bato was persistent on helping them. After building a
common toilet for the Badjao community, they were also allowed to build their
own houses and be registered voters of the town.
“They know
now why it is important to use toilet and maintain personal hygiene,” Salilit
said.
She added
that if a Badjao family decides to stay in the community, they are asked not to
indulge in begging. If one is found out that they are begging on the streets,
they are asked to leave the community, according to Salilit.
“Before,
people are either scared or ridiculed of Badjaos, but now that they are
educated, people in the mainstream society have started accepting them,” she
added. (PNA)
LAP/SQM/ROEL T. AMAZONA/EGR
