CLASS ACTAt Eskwelayan, students like Thea Gacita learn how to be active in their community.
On a Saturday afternoon, Thea Gacita, 13, sat on the front row of a makeshift classroom in Barangay Parada, Valenzuela, wide-eyed and eager to learn.
Her cheerful smile and that of 20 others were in sharp contrast to the pile of garbage just outside the window.
“What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘demolition?’” volunteer teacher Richel Otero asked the class, pointing to a photo posted on the board.
The mentor, a member of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Lakas ng Manggagawa sa Valenzuela, had focused on the challenges that beset the area so that solutions could eventually be found.
Thea quickly raised her hand and answered, “When there’s a demolition, new buildings would be constructed in place of our homes.”
Otero gave her a nod. There are no wrong answers in this class.
Such an approach has children aged 5-13 in the community eagerly donning their shirt uniforms to get to Eskwelayan, or Eskwela Para sa Kalayaan at Kamalayan, a mobile alternative school for the urban poor in Metro Manila.
Today, the children listened to a story by political prisoner Eduardo Sarmiento about a faraway town called Baryo Maligaya where peace and plenty reign, while abuse and hunger are unheard of.
It’s an ideal world that children in this community can only imagine. That is, until Eskwelayan became part of the neighborhood.
Life-changing
The alternative school run by Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) traces its roots to 2016 in a depressed area in La Huerta, Parañaque, a coastal community where most kids scrub mussels for P50 a day instead of going to school.
IFI now has alternative schools in Taguig, Valenzuela, and Parañaque.
For Thea, the lessons she’s learned in Eskwelayan are life-changing and opened up another world beyond house chores and family obligations.
Born to a working-class family, Thea had to look after her baby brother while her parents worked in a plastic factory. The little time left for herself, she found out, was best spent on hobbies learned at Eskwelayan, in her case writing poems and drawing. Such skills might prove useful in her dream of becoming a fashion designer, she said.
“It also gives children who have no means to go to a regular school a chance to learn new things,” Thea added.
Meanwhile, inside a tiny roofed structure in Barangay Mapulang Lupa, Valenzuela, the kids have found teachers in four mothers who are no strangers to the struggles of living in a depressed area.
Jesebel Serena, a “guro kalinga” or volunteer teacher, said she based her lessons on the abject poverty experienced by the families of some 100 kids under their care.
As in any other school, children here are taught the “3R’s” of literacy—Reading, ’Riting and ’Rithmetic. But IFI added another “R” in Eskwelayan: basic rights.
“More than teaching children basic lessons they can learn in traditional schools, we want them to be aware of their moral or legal entitlement in their own community,” said Serena. “We also need to listen to their opinions.”
Modules
Eskwelayan’s program has two modules, one for children aged 5-8, and the other for those aged 9-13. Each session features two to three activities, such as singing, reading or writing exercises, community visits, and art projects.
Mapulang Lupa is an industrial community with 21 factories, including the Asian Plastic Center where most of the children’s parents work. Poor working conditions and lack of job security are perennial sources of anxiety for them.
To give the young students a better understanding of this problem, one exercise had the kids creating a detailed social map of their marginalized neighborhood that helped them learn about the density of homes in the area, the social landscape, how streets are interconnected, and so on.
Serena and other volunteer mothers would often meet until the wee hours of the morning on weekdays to prepare the learning tools and workshop topics for the students. Though they lack professional training as teachers, they treat their volunteer work as a mission.
Progressive consciousness
“Our community has no development programs for children,” Serena said. Instead of them falling prey to crime and vice in the streets, they can use their time better by having learning spaces like this,” she added.
Through their weekly lessons, the children become aware that lack of discipline and concern over social issues, such as improper waste disposal, can have disastrous effects on the community.
The full support of parents is at the heart of the program, said Leah Valencia, board member of Eskwelayan. “As much as we would like the kids to start developing a progressive consciousness at a young age, their parents need to have a different level of awareness of their circumstances as well,” she added.
Understanding the community’s limitations also help the teachers understand the culture of residents in the area.
A case in point is La Huerta, where teachers have observed how some kids would go out of their homes naked or report to Eskwelayan unbathed. They later found out that water supply has been a longtime challenge in the area. With kids as advocates, the community tackled the problem and managed to improve their water supply. The kids were then taught how to take a bath as well as better grooming and hygiene habits.
Based on IFI’s project assessment, the kids’ improved social skills and sense of responsibility helped them see their role in their home beyond babysitting and doing chores. They’ve realized that education can be key to change and that despite being young, their voices can still be heard.