Far from the Madding Crowd
The road to Tawi Tawi is fraught with difficulties. We loaded 26 boxes of materials from an unfriendly airport. There were not enough carts and we had to carry the boxes one at a time. But I forgot the hassles upon seeing small islands that appeared like jade stones all over the sea. The plane flew at a low altitude which gave us a panoramic view of the beautiful Philippines.
The airport in Bongao has hardly changed since I last visited years ago. Everyone pulls his own luggage from a cart full of cargoes and boxes. Quite a bedlam especially if your luggage is at the bottom of the pile – an exercise of pulling, pushing and jostling your way through a crowd.
Mayor Jimuel Que warmly welcomed us. We felt safe but concerned with a van of marines guarding us. The former Mayor survived an assassination attempt and no stone should be left unturned in ensuring the safety of every one.
Sunny Sevilla, the former BOC Commissioner who now dedicates his time training teachers reminded us that he had already said "I love you Mom" before he left for the airport. I quickly vibered my nephews and nieces to tell them I love them.
Our passion and love were tested when we reached Marawi State University which served us the venue of our workshops for School Governing Councils. It was challengingly warm, the toilets stink, and the floor was hardly swept. I spent the whole day without going to the bathroom.
I kept fanning myself and drinking loads of water while saying hello to urinary tract infection and pneumonia. By midday I was totally drained of energy and was about ready to collapse before a hundred participants from Siminul. I alternated yogic breathing with praying. I remembered that God helps those who help themselves. Councilor Rovin Feliciano, our youngest mentor, was sitting on a chair while giving instructions.
This is the first time when I saw him looking burned out. He was drenched in perspiration before the 130 contingent from Bongao. We were sound-system challenged and had to speak with the loudest intensity possible. Khong, our Program Coordinator used all the table napkins to wipe his sweat and supported himself by leaning on the walls. He said he ordered IVs for us in the evening.
But I look forward in coming back again and again. It was very fulfilling to watch the participants work in teams.
They were listening to each other's ideas, debating, and went through the process of arriving at a consensus. This is empowerment at the grassroots! I am seeing democracy at work. Often, we take freedom for granted and we only realize how valuable it is when we are threatened that it will be taken away.
Our heart swells with pride when we listened to their stories of successes. Barangays organized watchers to serve as lookouts for children who are at risk of dropping out. Like the widow in the Gospel, community members give what they have to build projects that will help children – a stage for co-curricular activities, feeding program, a fence to ensure safety of children, and multi-purpose rooms.
They have committed to reduce the number of poor readers from 63% to 30% by March. I gave them a quick lesson on how children can say their sounds well, blend sounds to form words and how to develop their comprehension. It was very different from my work in public finance, but very rewarding.
We went through exercises on breaking goals into tasks and the importance of identifying persons of accountability.
"This is the person whose head will roll when things are not done well." They nodded their heads in agreement because they were so used in group work where accountability is blurred.
Their last exercise was developing a logo and a brand that can serve as their mantra and give them a distinct identity. One group drew a boat facing the sun; another drew a Venn diagram with the crescent moon at the center. Then off they went to catch the last boat to return to their homes. They thanked us for learning so much.
They did not know that we had a better deal – we took more than what we gave.
mguevara@synergeia.org.ph