The Filipino child as Hero

MANILA, Philippines - Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, colors – and ages. A new series of children’s books makes it quite clear that heroism is not limited by age. The “Batang Bayani” series, published by the Museo Pambata and the Kwentista ng mga Tsikiting (Kuting), includes four books – Song of the Ifugao, Palette of Dreams, A Reader’s Story and Hands that Bridge – that tell the stories of four children who have made a difference in their own and other people’s lives

Their stories may seem ordinary, but heroism need not be grand. Rather, heroism can even start from good habits and the development of a good character and grow to be something big.

Song Of The Ifugao

In Lagawe, Ifugao, a grade 4 student at the Burnay Elementary School stands out. Trisha Mae Kitong, only 9, is one of the youngest students of the Hudhud School of Living Tradition.

The hudhud, a collection of epic narratives about the wealth, skills, beauty and valor of legendary Ifugao heroes, is an oral tradition chanted on three occasions: wakes, weddings and harvests.

Trisha has been awarded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for chanting the hudhud 58 times from June 2008 to June 2009 – the most number of recorded chants a munhaw-e, or the lead character, has rendered in the whole of Ifugao.

While most of the children in Ifugao forget their traditions in the pursuit of things modern, Trisha opts to continue practicing the hudhud even if it entails sacrifice, particularly of her time.

“I find Trisha very inspiring because instead of playing with the other kids, she goes to practice after school everyday,” says book author Agay Llanera, a Kuting member. 

The young girl lives with her father Edward, a farmer, and younger sister Trixie Ann. Her mother Celia works in Hong Kong as a domestic helper.

Despite limited opportunities in the mountains, Trisha is happy with the simple life that she has. She wants to become a doctor someday, so she could treat family members when they get sick.

Hands That Bridge

Growing up hearing in a household of the deaf is rare, and Brendon James “BJ” de Guzman Yulo knows how special he is.

BJ’s parents Maria Theresa and Manny Yulo are both deaf, and his grandparents, Lolo Gil and Lola Arsenia, with whom the family lives, are also deaf. His mother’s sister Tanya is also deaf, but younger sister, seven-year-old Darlene, is hearing.

BJ, now 13, serves as a translator for his deaf parents and grandparents using sign language. He has been doing this since he was six years old.

His role as bridge between his family and the larger society is not just a matter of using another language, says story writer Perpi Tiongson. Rather, Perpi says, it is also about dealing with perceptions of society – bridging the deaf and the hearing worlds.

BJ likes to spend time on the computer and is now learning to paint with the help of Lolo Gil, Maria and Tanya, who are award-winning painters.

BJ says while there are times that he wishes he was a baby again so he does not need to interpret for his parents and other relatives, he also says that nothing makes him happier than seeing the joy in his parents’ eyes when he translates something for them.

Palette of Dreams

From being a street child in Baguio, Ariel Estigoy lived in the streets of Baguio City but he is now a high school scholar of the Save Our Street Children Foundation Inc.

The story by Kuting member Liwliwa Malabed relates how Ariel, 16, learned to paint in a workshop under artist-volunteer Bumbo Villanueva. What Ariel learned from Bong he is now teaching to young scholars.

Ariel, who sees the world as a palette of colors, looks at every scene in his daily life as a moving painting, and thus encourages his students to make their world more colorful through art.

A Reader’s Story

Despite poverty and physical disabilities, 16-year-old Precious Cabus relentlessly pursues her passion for reading and her love for learning.

Not having money to buy books, Precious has made a neighborhood bookstore her very own library, where she gets the information she needs for her assignments in school. The bookstore is beside their stall in Katipunan in Quezon City.

Determined to obtain a good education, Precious is very disciplined in dividing her time between schoolwork, household chores and helping her grandmother at the store to help support their extended family.

Precious’ aunt Cashell says her niece would often spend many hours in the bookstore, jotting down notes to make sure that she is prepared for school. Now a high school student at Balara High School, says she wants to become a teacher someday.

Having started reading books at a very young age, Cashell says she will never forget the look on Precious’ face when she is gifted with books.

 Trisha, BJ, Ariel and Precious are honored to be considered heroes. The privilege, they say, more than compensates for the frustrations, disappointments and physical demands that they have experienced in their lives.

With the series, the Museo Pambata and Kuting hope to instill in the minds of other Filipino children the idea of heroism, with the values of compassion, respect, honor and dignity coming to fore.

The four-book series was designed by Daniel Tayona with photos by Jaime Unson.