Three tales of inspiration and hope

In the face of despair, adversity, uncertainty and conflict the work of committed citizens can change our country.

We have a tendency to give up because we do not see changes within our midst but always have faith that a ray of sunshine will be present to bring us hope and inspiration as we march toward progress.

Last week, I attended the Karunungan Festival organized by the UNESCO Social and Human Science Committee headed by Felice Sta. Maria and the Ateneo de Manila University, Philosophy Department Chair, Professor Rainier Ibana. It was a symposium on Transforming Schools from the Ground. During the said event, there were three public school principals who shared their stories with us. They awakened the senses of all the audience as they were able to successfully touch our lives.

Mr. Benjamin Caling, is a public school principal of Lupang Pangako (in Payatas dumpsite) Elementary School. The moment he spoke, we all woke up as he told us how his elementary school was so depressed within the confines of the smelly garbage around. The fumes of the garbage which he reminds us is not theirs but ours surround them 24-hours a day that they have to protect their hair, their skin, their eyes and their nose as they walk to school and back home with umbrellas.

When Mr. Caling was transferred from the Tandang Sora Elementary School in Novaliches to the Payatas School District in 2003, he said he knew that it was God’s calling to have sent him there. He had no other choice but to take full responsibility over it. He said, “I was faced with a bleak scenario as the school was ranked 97 out of 98 schools. There were so many things I had to work at: the school had no administrative order, the teachers’ morale has hit rock bottom, the student population had no respect for teachers, and the student population consists of 630 non-readers out of 3,400 enrollees”. He had three objectives: to discipline the “rebellious” teachers by being the model teacher, going to school as early as 4 o’clock in the morning everyday to this day; he had to change the mindsets of the teachers for them to gain a more positive and professional attitude toward teaching; and finally, to instill the value of community amongst the students, teachers, and parents.

The school improved as it ranked 16 out of 98 in the Division Achievement Test the following school year. He had implemented programs to improve skills and efficiency of both students and teachers. He was also able to empower the Parent Teacher Association being actively involved in instilling the value of education to the young. His persistence and strong determination is a good example. He was able to convert the school into one of the best schools in Quezon City.

Ms. Marilou Juanitas, a public school principal of Bahoyan-Yapo Multigrade School in Barbaza, Antique is another inspiration. She made us jump out of our seats by telling us that parents in their community would have to bring their cows, water buffalos and goats to school lest it be stolen in their fields as they fetch their children from school. What made it more difficult was that all the animals would eat up the plants in the garden and the parents wouldn’t care less about it. They saw how ruined the schoolhouse was and yet did not bother to volunteer to improve the site.

Bahoyan-Yapo is a depressed locale. The main source of livelihood is fishing. During the rainy season, the men would go to Negros to work as sakadas (sugarcane farmers) and the women would work as housemaids.

She did not wait for the Department of Education and the local government to improve the conditions in her school, she called them to help. She made an effort to contact possible supporters like UNICEF and other private entities to answer her plea. She took a personal plight to improve this school to the point of spending her own money and asking her friends to contribute to their programs – just to make ends meet.  The community’s values had marked improvement. They became one in achieving the dream to be the best. She improved the environment and little by little invited the community to be a part of this development. She even initiated programs to motivate the students come early to school.

It is quite amazing to note that the school was able to rank no. 1 out of 33 schools in the area on the Public School Achievement Test. But this could not happen had it not been for her unconditional love and the budding relationship she had established with the community. She said that in her journey, she surely met a lot of disappointments but all did not outweigh the inner fulfillment she had as she knew she was on the right path of dedicating her life to the people.

Ms. Monica Sison, a public school principal in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental (134 kms. from Dumaguete City). The school she was assigned to was in an area which was declared, “No Man’s Land” as it was the seat of Communists and New People’s Army rebels. Avocado Elementary School has a panoramic view of mountains and valleys. It is an isolated area where poverty exists. When she arrived there, there were no basic services in the community. The impoverished population became vulnerable to the ideological shift – and the armed conflict was inevitable. Her main problem was how to convince the town folk to trust her and to return to the area since everyone was scared. She started with five students only. Years passed and her population grew little by little. She had to accommodate all students in one classroom from age 5 to 47 years old. She made an effort to reach out to the people – going out her way to make them see that she was not a threat to their lives. She wanted to educate an illiterate population even it meant that she had to babysit while the mothers would attend classes. She narrated that as people began to acknowledge her goodness and sincerity, they would all flock to her house to make her solve their problems. She did not only build a school (preschool to secondary level) but she went as far as to provide agriculture skills training on tilapia culture, freshwater clam culture and other new technology with the help of TESDA — to help alleviate poverty in her community. She called on several agencies to guide them including the local health district for medical concerns, the local social welfare and development office for seminars on the Rights of the Child and Responsible Parenting, and the DENR for environment conservation projects. What a magnificent job.

How I wish our politicians had the same “deep” concern for their countrymen. If you dedicate your work to something meaningful your thoughts will become things, your dreams will come true, and all the things will remain forever possible.