Lena (not her real name) seems to be like most mothers we know: she wants the best for her children, she yearns to support her husband, she longs for her family to remain safe and well.

But unlike others, Lena is faced with the challenges that come with her ethnicity.

She is of the Sama-Bajau indigenous community of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Because of political unrest and lack of livelihood opportunities in her hometown, she dared to take her chances by moving to Metro Manila even before her children were born.

Together with her husband and the rest of their family, Lena is now part of a small yet thriving community of Sama-Bajau residing in Barangay San Dionisio, Parañaque City. Their only livelihood is selling handmade trinkets around the metro. Lena often expresses her desire to help augment her husband’s income; with only Php 250 on good days, she says what he earns now is barely enough for their food and housing.

In desperate efforts to help feed the family, Lena admits to taking her young daughter with her to the market where they hold out their hands to strangers and beg for spare change almost everyday.

But this practice has changed for Lena and young Risa (not her real name) this past year.

Risa is one of the first learners of the Education and Child Development Program for the young Sama-Bajau children residing in Parañaque, initiated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR) in collaboration with development partners Cartwheel Foundation, Inc. and Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation.

Lena says she continues to see in her little Risa so much enthusiasm to go to class every school day. And this has been since the program re-opened some nine months ago. She shares that Risa rises early, takes a bath on her own, and rushes to the Activity Center where classes are held. Risa now takes pride in being able to write her name independently and is excited in learning how to read.

Lena is completely supportive of her daughter’s education. She is among the most active parents on whom teachers can rely on during consultative meetings and cultural gatherings.

Timo (not his real name), her eldest child, lives in a province in Luzon with relatives. Lena says this is where she knows he is safe and can continue his elementary education at the same time. She makes sure to find ways to visit him every so often.

It is from her experience with her eldest Timo that Lena learned about the need for a birth certificate when enrolling in public schools. She expressed that this would indeed be a very important document to have. She hopes to be able to acquire one for her youngest Risa, in preparation for when she transitions to grade school.

Lena shares that she sees education as a way to land good jobs, earn a stable income, and keep from kalye-kalye — how she describes begging in the streets. She takes delight in seeing both her children, though apart, commit to their classes with a strong determination to keep learning. She knows that these are sure steps towards a hope-filled future for their family.

 

(Illustration by Arjie Duma)