Badjaos go green, clean

The Bajau Integrated Area Development Project (BIAD-P) of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. has taken steps to help Badjaos in barangay Alaska Mabaling, Cebu City create a clean and orderly community.

Ten Badjao cluster heads were tasked to lead in cleaning their surroundings. The rest of the community were taught proper sanitation, like the frequent washing of hands and daily bathing.

“We are now well-disciplined that we take a bath every day with our children,” Jovelyn Amad, a Bajau cluster leader, said in Cebuano.

Another cluster leader, Lydia Jamare shared that parents woke up early in the morning to prepare things and groom their children before sending them to school based on what they learned from the training on best parenting practices.

Every Monday, the Badjaos hold a general cleanup activity where they practice bayanihan. Each household was also encouraged to plant trees, which has become a contest in every cluster to motivate them to care and nurture their plants.

“We now know how to do waste segregation and to appreciate the importance of plants,” Amad said.

The Badjaos noticed that through maintaining cleanliness, cases of common ailments like cough and colds were lessened.

“There is really a difference now in the Badjao community compared to when we first arrived in their locality,” said BIAD-P development officer Anthony Fuentes.

BIAD-P, an initiative of RAFI, the Presentation Sisters and the University of San Carlos, aims to make the Badjaos a self-sufficient, progressive and self-reliant community.

For more information on BIAD-P, contact Anthony Fuentes at 418-7234 local 515 or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.