Aeta kids learn diversity through PDI’s Read-Along

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – LYNDON AZER, 8, knew that this particular Saturday was going to be different. Usually, he and his friends spend most of their Saturdays outdoors, especially during summer. But on July 2, a bus fetched them so they could take part in something he likes to do in his spare time: Reading.

Along with his classmates, Azer and about 40 Aeta children from the upland community of Pastolan inside the Subic Bay Freeport joined the Inquirer’s Read-Along held in the free port.

Azer and his friends woke up early to attend the session held in the main audiovisual room of the Comteq Computer and Business College.  Pastolan village, located in Hermosa town in Bataan, is about an hour’s drive from the venue.

To Azer, their Saturday trip was “like an adventure.”

Aeta chieftain Bonifacio Florentino, one of three guest readers, welcomed the enthusiasm shown by the children and their parents. “These are good kids. When [they got the invitation], all of them wanted to come, even their parents,” he said.

Florentino, who read the story “Bruhaha Bruhihi,” by Ma. Corazon Remigio, elicited laughter from the children as he mimicked the cackle of a woman who looked like a witch. The story, illustrated by Roland Michael Ilagan, revolved around an old woman whom people avoided due to her strange appearance.

Monica Dilajota, 9, said at first, she thought that the “witch” was bad. “But it is just the way she looks. She is really nice and I like the way she laughs,” she said.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza read Boots Agbayani Pastor’s “Alamat ng Iba’t-ibang Lahi,” a story about the origin of different races.

The children listened as Arreza explained how “Bathala” (supreme being) created the different races in the world. The story helped the Aeta children understand some unfamiliar Filipino words, like luwad (clay), and how people get along despite their differences.

The children murmured among themselves as a girl pointed at the projected image of five men representing the different races—white, yellow, red, brown and black—which included someone who looked like an Aeta.

Arreza said the reading habit has to be reinforced. “Getting the children interested in reading opens up their minds to [experiences they never would have] in their lives. It is a starting point in the learning process that could be life long,” he said.

SBMA Chair Roberto Garcia read “Ang Itim na Kuting,” by Natasha Vizcarra. It tells the tale of Ignacia, a black kitten, who thought she is jinxed because of her color.

Garcia narrated how Ignacia met a girl who took her in and treated her as a friend despite her appearance.