the filipino champion magazine The Sunday Times


September 19, 2010


LIFE IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE H


BY MARIA PAOLA MARGARITA V. SIASOCO


AN-AYAN, Surigao del Sur: The rocky mountain and the vast terrain will never hinder a Filipino’s passion to live. In the middle of the


militarization and an ongoing fight between the innocent and men in power, a struggle contin- ues to emerge. Families begin to evacuate; leaving them with no choice but to do so. With an uncertain home and unstable location, the Lumads of


The start »EVERYDAY CHAMPION


Mindanao hold on to the dream of being free and sober. From the adults to the infants, the day-to- day life in the middle of their very own land is an emotional and physical battle.


Because the military assumed the land that the Lumads own, they had no choice but to evacuate. Now living in the midst of the wilder- ness, they temporarily built houses made of bamboo leaves. According to the Datu’s of the group, they have been living with the


situation since they are young. They always experience being invaded by the militants, accused of being rebels, and forced to leave their land. Now, at his age, their recent evacuation brought almost 30 families to walk in the dark not knowing where their feet will lead them. Children from the tribe shared that they had wounds on their feet because they cannot see the sharp and steep terrain that they are following. One woman, a mother of a one-week-old son, experienced walking for long hours. When asked why she did this, she answers “Kailangan mabuhay, kahit mahirap [We have to survive and live].”


Now living almost three mountains away from city proper of Surigao del Sur, a small organization called the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development Inc. (ALCADEV) thought of helping the Lumad community. They began to build schools that will enable the children to study even in a set up very far from what they were used to. A small nipa hut was built near their bamboo homes. Everyday, a teacher from Marihatag walks her way up the mountains to teach.


The middle


b


Beyond bottomlines


BY: CRISTYL MAE B. SENAJON ATENEO SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT


THERE is another way of doing business. Good business, that is. It is called social entrepreneurship. It is good primarily because it does not deal with profit alone. As a matter of fact, it deals with double or even multiple bottom lines. Unlike the traditional business enterprise that seeks profit and profit alone, social impact lies at the heart of any social enterprise. It does business for the poor, in another words. It seeks to improve the life of a marginalized community and at some rate, achieve environ- mental


sustainability. It measures itself based on develop- ment outcomes rather than the


profit generated, as in a business enterprise.


■ The Lumads of MIndanao: Filipinos, champions, survivors of life’s toughest battles. PHOTO BY EDWARD HERNANDEZ


Along with this, ALCADEV taught the elders to plant crops on the field where they live at the moment. The Lumads started to plant vegetables. If the staple food in the city is rice, the Lumads have kamote. As a matter of fact, whenever visitors who want to help them come, that is the only time that they get to eat rice. Because of the products that they grow, some of them go down to the city and sell it at a cheaper price. This serves as one source of income, but not a stable one. Some institutions like St. Scholastica’s


ADELFA makes women’s lives in Maimbung, Sulu much better


WHEN 60-year-old Samha Sali stepped into Tubig-Samin Primary School, tightly clutch- ing her notebook, pencil and other school supplies close to her chest, she could only muster these words: “Bukon pa huli in maglawag-ingat. In paghagdir ko ha class ko landuh ko hiyahalgaan iban landuh tood ako makuyag sin nakalamod ako ha pag-iskol ini [It’s never too late to learn. Attending my class is a priority now and I feel so happy to be in this class].”


This is Maimbung, Sulu, 520 nautical miles away from Manila, a town populated mostly by the Muslim-Tausug tribe. On a typical Monday, the Laum Maimbung Public Market transforms into a brisk trading


College (SSC) regularly help them by sending school supplies, canned goods, clothes, and personal necessities.


The unknown ending At present, the Lumads are still


staying at their temporary homes in the mountains. The culture land that they well preserved for a long time is still being invaded by the powerful men. The military are still living at the native’s home land. Recently, SSC got news from the administrator of ALCADEV that there is militarization in the


»KAYA NATIN!


school near Han-ayan. They fear that the armed men will assume the remaining land of the Lumads. The Lumads are examples of everyday champions. They are the perfect embodiment of champions in life survival. They possess positive attitudes that keep their harsh and hard lives to continue. The Lumads are Filipinos. They live in Mindanao, the third largest island in the country. They are humans that posses the rights that they should have; the right to breathe, the right to live and the right to life.


As the problem of poverty in the country continues, the need for an innovative way to solve it runs high. This is where social entrepreneurship comes in. As the poverty alleviation programs of the government do very little, if any, to ease out the situation in a significant way, social enter- prises can actually fill the gap by creating economic opportunities for the base of the pyramid.


Existing social enterprises in the country prove economic growth and social empowerment for their beneficiaries or partner community. What used to be a hopeless case of destitution is now a model of success for everyone else to follow. If you want to learn more about social entrepreneurship and help change the Philippines, join: Beyond Bottomlines III: An Introduction To Social Entrepre- neurship on September 22 at the Bernas Center, Ateneo Professional Schools, Rockwell Center, Makati. Registration fee is P950 only. To register, call 434-1458 or e- mail ateneoylse@gmail.com


3


Good Governance vs. ‘jueteng’


■ Maramao women in Maimbung, Sulu, pose for the camera prior the graduation rites. PACAP PHOTO


center. Women clad in their traditional sambra and tadjong and men in their worn-out rolled-out shirts, looking weary after spending long hours under the searing heat of the sun, haggle in a language only familiar to the traders.


A typical breaktime could be dull, but not with these busy folk, who know a great deal of what went on during the recent national polls. Stories, in particular those about how some local politicians took advantage of people who could not read nor write, have become staples of the conversation.


This is because the literacy rate in Maimbung is very low at 32.3 percent compared with the national average of 95 percent. Young boys and girls, with ages ranging from 6 to 15, lack complete education; they could not even write their names. Parents are not capable of guidance because they have not experience school at all.


But this is not a choice they wanted but is unfortunately a common scenario in Mindanao. With the advent of literacy classes funded by national agencies, nongovernment organizations, foreign donors and civil military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, women here have come out to enrol in classes teaching basic literacy and numeracy.


The Mindanao Integrated Resource Develop- ment, Inc. (MIRD), through the assistance of the Australian Government-funded Philippines- Australia Community Assistance Program (Pacap) implemented the project, “Adult Education, Livelihood and Food Adequacy for Women [or ADELFA]” in the five barangays each in Maimbung and Tawi-Tawi. In Maimbung, the identified five barangays are: Poblacion, Duhul Kabbun, Patao, Tandu Patong, and Tubig Samin. Each class has 30 women- learners, except in Patao where a man begged to attend class even though his name could not be included in the roster of learners.


Adelfa is a one-year project for Sulu and Tawi-


Tawi where a high rate of illiteracy among women and out-of-school youth is prevalent. It was conceived to provide opportunities to enhance women’s potential, so they could contribute to household economic and social developments and to the larger community in general.


Nurisa Bakil, a community organizer of MIRD, endearingly recalled how Nannay Majid, 60, of Barangay Tanduh Patong, was able to write after attending classes in Adelfa.


“Majid wrote ‘10’ on a piece of paper then ‘ten’ on the blackboard, when at the start she could not even recognize a single letter of the English alphabet. Can you imagine how Adelfa instilled a life-long knowledge that had now become a legacy to her?”


Insih Igasan, in her 60s, could now also write her name after six months of attending Adelfa classes.


Igasan narrated: “Bukon pa huli in umingat sin mga undang-undang alphabet. [It is never too late to understand the alphabet].” The same can be said on Samha Sali, 59, who confessed that attending her Adelfa class is her priority. “These are [pointing to her notebook and pencil] are my priceless possessions, I could not sleep without making sure that these are out of my grandson’s reach.”


Bakil said these incidents and comments occur regularly, and she can’t help at times but shed a tear of happiness. “I see a picture of bliss etched on their faces and can truly appreciate that these women are not limited to learning only the English alphabets and Arabic numerals, but they now appreciate that the gift of knowledge can help them blossom in many areas. Many of the women who took Adelfa realized that years are not a deterrent to study, they only need commitment and the opportunity to learn.”


KAYA Natin! is a national movement for good governance and ethical leadership initially convened by the Ateneo School of Government and was co-founded by Among Ed Panlilio, Grace Padaca and Jesse Robredo. Padaca and Robredo are Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for Government Service, Asia’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize. The movement is a leadership sanctuary for effective, ethical, and empowering leaders in our government. It currently has 16 Champions of Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, found all over the country. Volunteers of the movement also help in organizing forums and events that help promote its advocacies. Recently, the


Kaya Natin! leaders issued a statement calling for the complete


eradication of jueteng in the country. Jueteng,


according to


the good governance advocates, can be used as a tool for corruption and deepens the poverty level of already poor families who spend what little they have to gamble.


The illegal numbers game, which originated in China, is a hugely popular gambling game that lures people with the possibility of quick riches with a small bet, albeit long odds. Unfortunately, efforts to curtail the game has been largely futile because of allegations that the Philippine police, in charge of eradicating jueteng, reportedly receive “protection money” from gambling lords to turn a blind eye to jueteng operations.


In their statement, the Kaya Natin! Movement called for support from the Filipinos and President Benigno Aquino 3rd to support Secretary Robredo in his fight to eradicate jueteng, a major source of funds for vote buying during the May elections, according to the group. “Let us not wait for the day when we will be known as a country that is fully controlled by gambling lords,” Kaya Natin! said. For more information about Kaya Natin! or to volunteer, visit www.kayanatin.com or e-mail kayanatin@yahoo.com.


■ In photo (Standing from left): Hanz Angping, Ibrahim Bernardo, Alvin Tsoi, Howard Paw, VJ Sianghio and Lyshiel Valencia whose valuable support has been well received in the project. (Sitting from left): Rameses Banzuela, “Buhay ko” student; Ronnel Golimlim, Youth Focus Foundation’s Board of Director; Toby Claudio, Manila Jaycees president; Jovelyn Andia, “Buhay ko” student.


Smokey Mountain scholars get multimedia-savvy


AIMING to empower and provide modern learning opportunities to underprivi- leged yet promising youth, a special outreach program was hatched through a partnership by the Manila Junior Chamber Interna- tional, the Young Focus Foundation, and motion capture outfit MoAnima. Dubbed “Buhay Ko sa


Smokey Mountain,” the program is composed of a series of workshops covering a wide array of multimedia disciplines, including writing, multimedia editing, photog- raphy and videography, with top professionals from each field helming the sessions. 25 young scholars from


Smokey Mountain were chosen as beneficiaries, who will be trained to utilize modern tools in sharing their stories with the rest of the world through their very own blogs, photos, and videos. All blogs that will be created by the scholars will be hosted at www.blogspot.com withwww.buhaykosasmokeymountain. blogspot.com serving as the project’s website. The ongoing project has already generated great interest across various fields and organizations, with several individuals volunteering their skills and knowledge as the scholars’ instructors. For more information on the project, visit www.buhayko.org.


NOTICE OF LOSS


Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Provisional Receipts Nos. 1490731, 1490740 – 1490750, 1536676-1536700, Manulife Financial Receipts Nos. 259773-259780, 269901- 269910, APDC Life Receipts Nos. 219132-219140, APDC Plans Receipts Nos. 37371-37380 were cancelled. Any transaction covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines and Manulife Financial Plans.


MT – Sept. 19, 2010


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