The last time we visited the
students of Sentrong Paaralan ng mga
Agta, we were enthralled by their welcome song "Welcome to the
Family."
I was expecting to hear
another heartwarming melody when we visited them again, but what they sang to
us was more heartbreaking.
"Dumagat man kami sa
baybay dagat
Kami'y nagtatanim at di
nangungulimbat
Ngunit ng dumating itong
dayuhan
Kami ay pinapaalis sa lupan
tinubuan
Para maangkin lamang ang
ninunong lupain"
This song was written by
another student from Sentrong Paaralan ng
mga Agta at Barangay Cozo in Casiguran, Aurora. I asked Teachers
Analyn and Liza, who accompanied us to this small sitio called Niyog but they do not remember the name of the
student.
The Outreach
Our group, TRails to Empower Kids or TREK was there for the students of Sentrong Paaralan ng mga Agta. We have decided that we would go back
to the schools we visited before and give additional help if needed. Our first visit to Sentrong
Paaralang ng mga Agta was May of 2007. It
was our second project.
We originally scheduled the
trip last December 11, 2011, but the bad
weather prevented us. This was supposed to be our first project where we
invited a volunteer to be our Team Leader.
Mark Fer Castillo organized the December outreach with the support of
Noel.
Mark was with us in several
TREK projects. He was also very active
in soliciting help from his friends and officemates.
Too bad, we had to
reschedule for the safety of our participants so we ended up just partying and
celebrating TREK's 4th Anniversary plus my birthday in Noel's home. We are glad the Dulay family welcomed us.
Brgy. San Ildefonso
Before visiting Barangay Cozo
where the school is located, we dropped by first Sitio Niyog, Brgy. Ildefonso,
also in Casiguran, Aurora to share some gifts and to check on the progress of
the classroom we are helping them build.
The sitio is a Dumagat settlement.
Dumagats are mostly nomads but they have already learned to live in
permanent settlements or communities.
The clothes I was wearing
just dried up before the program. It was a rough one-hour boat ride from
Dinalungan, Aurora to the sitio. A
problem in one of the boats we hired delayed it by another 30 minutes. We had
to go back to Dinalungan to change boats.
After the look of consternation on
our boatman's face, I am just glad we made it to the Sitio.
 |
| Bangka ride to the site |
 |
| Our destination |
From the boat, we could see what looked like a little house
carved on the hills. At its back, the mountain rises and in front, the gray
sand leads down to the sea.
When we landed on shore, the
first team had already fixed the donation boxes, so we immediately started with
the program. Good thing I was able to sleep during the ten-hour travel from
Manila to Dinalungan (even on rough roads).
I remembered an African
proverb that says, “Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a
girl, and you educate a community." Mary Rose, a student from Cozo, the school we visited last May 1998 and
our next destination, was there with us.
 |
| The students |
 |
| Our feast |
We conducted the program in
front of the tribal hall, which is currently being used as a classroom. We brought with us a few notebooks, pencils,
sharpeners, and other school supplies, which were donated by our friends and
volunteers. We also packed two kilos of rice and some canned goods.
The children assembled in
front of the tribal hall and the parents were watching us from the sides.
We started the program with
an introduction of the group and our mission. Noel led the program. Teacher
Analyn then welcomed the group and introduced the students, who rendered to us
the song that affirmed how important education is for our indigenous brothers
and sisters.
 |
| The donations and the students |
 |
| Construction materials for the school |
The students sang of their
heritage, their land and other people's claim to the birthplace of their
forefathers. Sitio Niyog is located at the San Ildefonso, Peninsula, cradled by
the Sierra Madre Mountain and nourished by the bay of Casiguran.
My heart went out to the
Dumagats.
I was asked several times if
we consider the impact we have on the community we visit. As tourists, we want places preserved and we are wary of indigenous people leaving their ancestral land. But what if there were no more ancestral
land to speak of because educated men decide to claim them? It is a long debate but after the song, I
strongly felt we should strive more in helping educate our little brothers and
sisters from cultural communities. They should be
able, at the least, to defend themselves and fight for their rights.
During our program, we asked
who is the oldest Dumagat present. They
couldn't say. They do not know how they
were and the dates they were born. All
they knew is that they have lived there for as long as they remember and these
are the lands passed on to them.
After the song and the
distribution of donations, Teacher Liza accompanied me to the area where they
kept the construction materials we donated.
We had a beautiful and
beguiling sunset to cap that glorious day. After feasting on some freshwater
shrimps, lapulapu and some root crops prepared for us by the school, we started
pitching our tents and then headed to the river to get our much-awaited freshening up.
We couldn't help but admire
the stars that carpeted the skies that night and the trees filled with
fireflies. It was a good day and we agreed to go back this holy week to
deliver, hopefully, with more construction materials for the school and more
volunteers.
 |
| Beautiful sunset |
Change of Plans
We decided to leave San
Ildefonso the following day when the sea
is calmer. That night was nippy and we
woke up early for breakfast.
We were prepared to leave
before 9:00 AM, just enough time for us to travel to Dinalungan, then to
Casiguran. We estimated travel time to
be around two hours, including another banca
ride to Brgy. Cozo.
The sea was calm that
morning so we didn't expect an accident to happen. One of the bancas
capsized. I remember Joseph Cruz, one of
our volunteers, mumbling and when we looked, the boat was already
overturned. Joseph was supposed to be on
that banca and he couldn't swim. He was noticeably agitated when he transferred to the backside of the boat.
The boat was carrying
volunteers Ailene Mae and Frankie, sisters May and Ponga Jadulco, and Ramon
James Dizon. We were helpless. We
couldn't do anything. Our boatman warned us against any movement. Except for Noel who was allowed to swim to
help the group, we just sat there watching and praying.
Good thing they were all
safe. All things were rescued, except
for a few damaged phones.
We all know the risks
involved in our chosen passion, but we know the power of goodness and the grace
of God are all the protection we need.
We just decided then to just
turn over the goods meant for Cozo and additional money for the construction of
the school to the teachers so that our participants can already rest.
0 comments