Ira Jaan in the Mountains
Overlooking the mountains in Capas, Tarlac near the Santa Juliana Station is Sitio Bulacan, the site of the next school we are looking to build. In partnership with Project Liwanag and the Dept. of Education of the Philippines we are building a 3 classroom + 1 living quarter school to allow for a teacher to live amongst the Aeta community. This school will focus on math, reading, and english for grades K-6. Despite challenges in electricity, food, and water the small village wants to build a school so that their children can live better lives.
The Community
Capas, Tarlac, is known to be a home for indigenous Aetas who are among the most neglected indigenous groups in the Philippines. The Aetas in the mountains of Capas, Tarlac lack access to basic necessities such as light, water, food, education, health, legal rights, and livelihood activities. The indigenous Aetas are in this difficult situation due to their distance from the lowlands and difficulties reaching other communities (even amongst one another). This is a direct result of forced separation of the Aetas from the Filipinos over the years. Very similar to the fate of Native Americans in the United States, the Aetas were the original inhabitants of the country long before the Filipinos inhabiting the country today. Most of the children in mountain villages don’t go to school because the nearest school is a two-four hour walk and becomes even more challenging during rainy seasons and periods of extreme heat.
The Location
There are seven communities within the mountains with hundreds of people who work every day for a better life. The first community has 217 individuals with 35 students ages 4-7, 25 students from ages 7-9, many more students from grades 2-6 with a total population of 217 from 97 households. The children that the community wants to serve are there kids from grades K-6. As the village greatly values education they want to give their children the chance to learn. Despite all the physical challenges of sending kids to school, the village tries its best to empower its members.
Our Journey & Goals
In January we set out to learn where we can continue our impact from our initial efforts in Guiguinto, Bulacan, Philippines. Our first school was focused on teaching skills to families within the community. In this trip we wanted to focus specifically on kids and build their foundational knowledge. In our first research and build trip in September we also visited Mindanao and was exposed to efforts in helping the Aeta. In this journey we also discovered the teams helping the Aeta today, including Project Liwanag. In partnership with the organization, we decided to conduct another research trip to learn about the communities, their issues, and see how we could help.
We traveled via motorbikes up entire mountains, ate, and slept amongst the Aeta in their communities. With a complete lack of electricity, plumbing, simple foods, and no easy water source we tried to understand the difficulties these individuals faced. However, in our journey we were able to see the beauty of their homes and see their passion to empower their next generation of youth. It was heartening to hear a village chief emphasize the importance of education. This passion resonated with Ira Jaan’s mission and desire to educate and empower families.
Our Partnerships
Through our research trips we worked to establish a relationship with Project Liwanag and in coordination with them, also the Department of Education of the Philippines. Project Liwanag has been instrumental in guiding, informing, and coordinating the information needed to help the Aeta communities. Project Liwanag has previously worked with the Aeta communities to build and establish solar panels to power entire villages. The organization has also worked to improve the health and nutrition of the communities through food programs in partnership with the government. In terms of oversight, Project Liwanag and Ira Jaan will be working to oversee the construction of the school. The Department of Education of the Philippines has agreed to sponsor a teacher to live in the community and teach kids during the week. This partnership between two non-profit organizations and the government will enable these children to learn and grow for years to come. It will also enable the government to sponsor more initiatives to educate and empower disadvantaged communities.