Monday, September 11, 2006
Oledan: In the margins
By Radzini Oledan
Slice Of Life
"NORMAL LANG man sa amo dinhi na maminyo sa ingon ani nga edad, (It's nomal for us to be married very young)," quips Saila Samihon, 15 years old and a resident of Sitio Kabagaayan, Barangay Sibulan, Davao City said.
Sitio Kabagaayan is a Tagabawa Bagobo community at the foot of Mt. Apo, which can be reached from city proper by passing through Marawer, Davao del Sur route by foot, in four to five hours.
The lumad community manages to survive the day to day by growing their own root crops, vegetables, and indigenous variety of rice. Bringing their produce to the lowland is not an option, as it would only wilt due to the sheer distance and lack of road access.
With her kid in tow, Saila goes about her usual round of domestic chores -- tending their crops, fetching water and looking after the need of her husband and her own family. She is only one of the many girls in a community of Tagabawa Bagobo residing at the foot of Mt. Apo who marry at a very young age.
The natural terrain effectively isolates and hinders them from accessing basic services such as education and reproductive health services.
Children here face these options -- either bear the difficulty of going to school at the Tudaya Elementary School in Davao del Sur, which can be reached after three hours of walking or stay home to help out their families and eventually "settle down" and raise their own family.
"Sa una, maglakaw ko og tulo ka oras kada buntag para makaadto sa among eskwelahan. Kasagaran, magpuyo na lang ko sa balay kay mahurot lang man akong oras ug binaktas. Sayang man gud ang oras, puwede pa itabang dinhi sa uma (Before, we would walk for three hours to be able to reach school. Sometimes, we just decide to stay at home rather than spend a lot of time hiking to and from school. We might as well spend the time helping our parents in the farm)," Saila said.
Yet, getting married at a young age is not seen as problematic by the community, which gives value to a large number of family members. Often, bearing children is seen as a will of Apo Sandawa, a blessing that would help their family survive the demands of farming and other economic activities.
Bai Gina Laidan, a volunteer ECCD worker said the sheer distance of the school from the community prevents the children from regularly going to school.
"Naay uban mag-drop out na lang ug magtabang sa uma kay malisdan sila sa kalayo sa eskwelahan," she said. "Makahadlok pud kay lasang man ilang agi-an," she added. (There are those who would dropout from school in the middle of the school year and instead help out their parents in the farm. They have difficulty in going to school, which is very far from their residence. It is not even safe for them.)
Bai Gina is the only trained lumad day care teacher who teaches both in Sitio Kabagaayan and Mariras, another far-flung lumad community, which could only be reached by passing through a deep ravine.
The absence of an elementary and secondary public school in the area forces children and youth to focus on their own community, which relies on subsistence farming for their survival.
"Kapoy pag-abot sa eskwelahan, usahay gutom na tapos manlimpyo mi pag abot didto, maghulat mi sa among mga titser," Saila said. (We are already tired by the time we reached school, sometimes we are already hungry. We also clean the school while waiting for our teachers)
Due to its distance, any necessary follow-up with service providers in the city could be prohibitive for members of the community. For one way cost, those who would transact business with agencies like the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and other local offices have to spend P200-300 in order to reach out to those who are deemed to be in the know.
This indigenous tribe had to contend with a low health status where pregnant mothers either ends up dead while delivering their baby due to the absence of trained health providers or would not have any post-natal care for themselves and the newborn.
The lack of information and education on proper health care and nutrition has also resulted to a situation where adolescents ages 13-14 years old still appears like an eight year old child.
The stunting of growth, hunger and deprivation, including the absence of crucial social services and facilities such as school and health center has effectively disabled the children from having the best start in life. (Tomorrow: Reproductive Health Care for IPs?)
Email comments at roledan@hotmail.com
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (September 11, 2006 issue)
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