Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

Bajau children enjoyed a day of fun in a wonderland set right at their own backyard. The rain did not even let up the excitement and joy of 300 young Bajaus in Sitio Puntod, Alaska Mambaling, Cebu City, as they were treated to a day full of stories, artworks, games, and magic.

With excited chatter filling the air, the Bajau children made wonderful memories during the Bajau Children's Festival last Oct. 21. The event carried the theme, "Celebrate Childhood" and provided pleasant opportunities for the children to showcase their talents, play traditional Filipino games, and dance children's songs.

Among them is 12-year-old Denessa Sabrani, who, along with other Bajau children, wore a white shirt bearing the Bajau community brand, "Wow Badjau! Akong Tribu, Akong Garbo". For her, no words can express how grateful she was to be once again part of the celebration.

Life's pressures and demands made her forget that she is just kid and deserves to have fun, she said.

"I again felt the joy of being free and enjoyed the magic of my childhood. Every kid dreams to play all the time and this is what we experienced for one full day in the Children's Festival," she shared in Cebuano, adding that many of the other Bajau kids feel the same way.

She said that her favorite part of the event was the magic show, which showcased different magic tricks. Other activities included film showing, face painting, drawing, and Pinoy games.

"Magic shows never fail to amaze me. The best part of the show was the dog part. The dog was really smart. He could answer math problems and spell words like psychology. It was really amazing," she added.

Stories of heroism, friendship, and magical spells also charmed the young audience as storytellers from RAFI and Bajau youth animatedly narrated stories, such as Akong Bugsay.

"I love the story of Mulan. Before, I only know the stories of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" and "Cinderella". There are still a lot of stories that I know about," five-year-old Lysa Mihani shared, adding that Mulan is now her favorite fiction character.

Since many children are still learning the Cebuano language, a storyteller read the story in English and a Bajau youth translated it into their native tongue. 

Junri Jundan, a Bajau volunteer storyteller, said that storytelling is a great way to impart knowledge to the young minds. His bubbly personality attracted the children's attention to listen and interact with him.

"I realized that as long as I enjoyed the story I narrated, so did they. The power of storytelling has an impact to the children's listening skills. I always acknowledge the importance of reading books to children and how it helps them to appreciate stories," the fourth-year education student shared.

Jundan chose the book, The Story of Moses, which depicts the life and journey of the great Jew leader Moses. Even though the Bajaus are not Roman Catholic, he said that the book shows the value of faith of a group of people.

"Storytelling enables children to revisit their original source of creativity. I can see in the eyes of the children that they have imagination with no bounds. If only people will read books to them, they will be educated," he added.

Other children dipped brushes on green, yellow, blue, and red paints before swishing them on paper to produce masterpieces that depict their culture as an indigenous people-houses, wooden boats, vending, fishing, and sailing.

"Most of the Bajaus, especially those in Mindanao, still live in stilt houses along the shores. These houses are made of bamboo and nipa huts. My drawing reflects the kind of life we have. Bajaus like us who have moved to the mainland have learned to adapt to city life," Jomari Alim, 8, said.

 His painting shows a sunny day with his family out at sea. His parents are onboard a yellow boat sailing out to fish. He is portrayed  swimming happily in the open sea with a big fish.

"My father is a fisherman. Sometimes, my mother goes with him to fish. I also help him in fishing because I'm not studying anymore. My drawing tells people that we need to earn a living in order to survive," he added.

Illustrations created by other Bajau children also show their dreams, such as living in concrete houses, attending school, and bring in whole families, among others.

The room next to the painting area was the face painting section. Beaming happily, Denessa Sabrani, 12, went out from the room with blue butterflies and yellow flowers on both cheeks.

She personally chose the design and also helped in sketching other children's selected designs on their faces. Some kids have fish, water waves, and boat designs on different partsa of their bodies.

"I chose butterflies because they have beautiful colors. Butterflies also represent me as a kid who is free and can do anything that I want," Sabrani said.

The Bajau Children's Festival also aimed to instill among the children different lessons and values necessary for character building. Past Hiraya Manawari episodes were played, which tackled garbage issues and present how communities can solve this problem.

The short film entitled "Nakakalat na Basura" opened the young minds on the importance of cleanliness, cooperation, and self-discipline.

"I can relate to the movie because in the past I threw my garbage anywhere.  But now, I see the effects of the problem to the environment and to us. The film is a good source to raise awareness to the people," Jasan Dawmani shared.             

He is proud to say that through bayanihan system that the Bajau community has established, they now help one another in addressing the garbage issue in the area.

The annual celebration of Bajau Children's Festival is in line with the observance of  National Children's Month and the National Indigenous People's Month every October.

The children of the Bajau community in Mambaling, Cebu City have inspired the Dolores Aboitiz Children's Fund and the Bajau Integrated Area Development Program (BIAD-P) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. to provide an avenue for children to interact and learn from each other's uniqueness.

"The aim of the children's festival is to have fun together with other children through various creative activities. It also provides an opportunity for the Bajau children to experience the value of being cared and loved not just by their immediate families," Anton Fuentes, development officer of BIAD-P, said.

The partners of the festival are the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Cebu City Government.

The Bajaus have already established their community brand. They finally want to be called as "Wow Bajau" and be known as "Limpyo, Himsog, Hapsay, Aktibo, Edukado, Malamboon, ug Mapasigarbohong Tribong (clean, healthy, peaceful, active, educated, progressive, and talented) Bajau."

Children seem to understand big issues expressed creatively. And if given the opportunity to express their creativity, they can be boundless with imagination and become effective community members.