Holistic education for Sagada’s kids, with a little help from friends

VISITORS wait to see the famed Sagada sunrise. Photo by Richard Reyes

ABOUT 275 kilometers north of Manila, some 12 hours away by car, is a paradise where clouds hover just a few feet above the mountains and you feel as if you can touch heaven with your bare hands.

Sagada, Mountain Province, about 1,500 meters above sea level, is a small town with a population of about 12,000, most of them Igorot who still try to live harmoniously with nature and preserve their rich traditions and heritage.

Sagada boasts of breathtaking scenery, clean and fresh air, superb food and world-class Sagada coffee.

In this idyllic small town, composer and music producer Ed Formoso has found a new passion—complementing and supplementing the classroom education of young Sagada residents through the Henry V. Moran Foundation, which he manages.

Formoso has undertaken several initiatives for Sagada, including fund-raising activities and support for art and writing workshops, football clinics and even a special education (SPED) program for children with various learning disabilities, with the help of the foundation chaired by Danny Moran.

Athletic club

A football clinic was conducted in the first quarter of this year to train Physical Education (PE) teachers in Sagada in football.

Formoso said the idea started when some football players came to Sagada and played with the kids on their last day in the town.

With the help of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and the support of the municipal government, the program Teach the Teachers was launched.

For five consecutive weekends, licensed PFF coach Aries Bocalan trained 30 PE teachers.

“Originally, the program was just for one weekend, but because of the fund-raising program initiated by Moran Foundation and the support of the municipality, through Vice Mayor Benjamin Capuyan, which provided lodging and food for the coach, the program was extended to five weekends,” Formoso said.

As a result of those five weekends, Sagada now has a football team composed of children ages 12 and below. Coached by two of the trained PE teachers, the team topped the recent Mountain Province Provincial Meet.

Art club

The Sagada Art Club is also for children 12 years and below.

The must-see hanging coffins PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

The program, started middle of the year, is also supported by the Moran Foundation. It aims to train kids for free in visual arts like drawing, painting and sculpture.

The art club has 48 members, who come from the 12 schools in Sagada. Formoso said they asked the principal of every school to send four students each—ages 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Supervised by three local art teachers, the art class meets every Sunday, 1-3 p.m., at the municipal hall function room.

This month, the class will hold an art exhibit to showcase the works of the young artists.

SPED center

Last year, Dolores Cheng, head of the Center for Possibilities Foundation Inc., met the town’s special children when the Philippine SPED Football team that competed in Australia, of which she is a patron, trained in Sagada.

The Center for Possibilities Foundation Inc. aims to help families with children with special needs. Cheng said one of the programs of the foundation was visiting underserved communities to help children with developmental disabilities.

She saw the need to establish a SPED center for Sagada children.

Through the collaborative efforts of Cheng, Sagada Councilor Jane Bawing and Reach International School, headed by Cynthia Gonzales, the SPED center formally opened on Nov. 19.

Formoso, who brought the different groups together, said the center was the result of the collective efforts of private institutions and the municipality of Sagada.

The center’s building was made available by the Anglican Parish of St. Mary the Virgin, repair and repainting of the classroom were handled by the local government. The municipality also provided a shuttle service to bring students, especially those who live far away, to and from the center.

Formoso is the first to admit that so much remains to be done. The center currently has 16 students—8 boys and 8 girls—ranging in age from 6 to 23. The children have specific needs and their special circumstances are a challenge for teacher Sara D. Calang-ad, the only SPED-trained teacher in town.

Calang-ad said the center conducts two sessions, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. But the schedule is often affected by the availability of the shuttle service and the convenience of the students.

“It’s very hard. [The students have] different cases and there’s also the age gap. It means different lessons for each one. I also have two home-based learners who cannot come to school because of physical disability. I visit them every Friday afternoon,” Calang-ad said.

Such commitment, the efforts of people like Formoso and the all-out support of local officials have brought to the children of Sagada, despite its remoteness, some of the services and fun things their peers in the lowland take for granted.