In the past, the Dumagat-Remontados who settled in the highlands of Tanay, Rizal, had been in turmoil with the people from the lowlands. This is due to their settlement issues, when they are forced to vacate a certain parcel of land that is not theirs. This system of settling caused a lot of problems in the way they live, especially that of their children. Many of these indigenous people became aloof with those living in the lowlands (fondly called “Unat” or “Straight,” owing to their hair type, as opposed to theirs, which is not, so they are called “Kulot” or “Curly”). Their children were even bullied in schools, and their trade was taken advantage of because they lacked the necessary trading skills. Being in constant conflict with those outside of the tribe, peace seems to be an elusive dream. Where there is no peace and conflict abounds, hope is a luxurious commodity.
This picture prompted the Rotary Club of Constitution Hill-Bagong Sandigan (RCCHBS), under the leadership of HCP Gina “Nang” Santos, to contribute to pacifying the conflicted situation of our Dumagat brothers and sisters through the project Kaloob Pag-asa (Gift of Hope). This project is a comprehensive endeavor covering the areas of focus of Rotary International and adapted to the needs of the Dumagats. Through this project, the club anticipates that the pains of the past years of conflict and anxiety could be replaced with hope and love. Indeed, an act of “service above self” on February 3, 2024, will forever be etched in the annals of club history, for this is the day when finally hope is rekindled and the chain of conflict is severed.
Hope with the Partners
A task will never be too heavy if it is done with some help. Thus, this big project was made possible in partnership with certain organizations. Foremost is the Share a Smile Project, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to “put a smile” on every indigenous person in the country. They have been active in organizing charity work for the different tribes in the Philippines, gathering donations from various sources. Dumagat-Remontados is one of the communities that is being helped by this organization.
Sharing the same vision of giving peace and hope to the world, the Rotary Club of Metro San Francisco Del Monte and their club president, HCP Jocelyn “Jing” Castillo, poured their hearts into this project as well. RC Metro SFDM is the buddy club of RC CHBS for this project. HCP Jing also believed that our IP brothers and sisters must enjoy equal opportunities, and as such, we must help them have equitable access to basic needs such as food and education.
Wearing their badge of courage and service to humanity, the Rover Scouts had no second thoughts about extending their services for this noble activity. The young ones and the more senior members of the Rover Scouts were one in providing their services to be able to carry out this project. The very essence of “bayanihan” was highlighted by their presence. True enough, activities such as this will teach the youth good lessons that they will be able to pass on to the next generation. Similarly, the Rotaract Club of Bagong Sandigan and the Interact Club of Judge Feliciano Belmonte Sr. High school were both helpful in the same way that the young rover scouts were helpful.
Coming from the same platform, two important corporate partners joined the club in this year’s project with the Dumagats. Capar Steel Roofing, Inc., and GNS Metal and Glass Corporation were two benevolent sponsors of the club, having shared the same sentiments for the indigenous people in our country. This is also their way of giving back to the community in order to help us make a better world for everyone.
All of these were made possible in close coordination with the local police and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Department. The tribe was just too enthusiastic to welcome everyone aboard and get a taste of how warm they can be in the lowlands as they heeded instructions from their local teacher, Teacher Irene.
Hope Amidst Disasters
Starting with a lecture on safety and security, the Rovers demonstrated to the father-participants the use of emergency gadgets, such as the flashlight and the whistle. Very briefly, the Rovers emphasized the importance of having emergency plans, especially when trapped in difficult situations that may cause the loss of life, such as natural disasters. The chosen participants were just too eager to listen to the short lecture while they revealed the new flashlights and whistle. Such simple gadgets will surely give hope when it seems to be off the horizon because a person is placed in a risky situation. When someone is properly educated on what to do during earthquakes and typhoons and needs help to survive, these helpful tips given by the Rovers will come in handy.
HCP Gina of RCCHBS and HCP Jing of RC Metro SFDM helped in the distribution of the gadgets and facilitated the activity to make it more fun for the participants.
Hope for a Hygienic Community
Health is wealth, so they say. A healthy community will definitely yield a better living condition for everyone, free from diseases and sickness. At Rotary, we believe that hygiene starts with the individual, and there is no better practice of hygiene than learning how to properly wash hands. With a short discussion from one of the Rover Scouts, the Dumagat children were taught how the proper washing of hands should be done.
Modeling the proper washing of hands were HCP Gina and HCP Ging, as assisted by the other members of the club and the Rover Scouts. It was a sight to behold as the children sang their hearts out “Happy Birthday” while they washed their hands (the washing of the hands must be approximately as long as this song), meticulously mimicking the way HCP Gina and HCP Jing stroked and massaged their hands with soap and water. After which, the two club presidents lead the rest of the team in the distribution of hygiene kits.
Hope for the Mothers and Children
The mothers play a vital role in the well-being of the children and, in general, in the family they nurture. More importantly, expectant parents are given more care because they are the vessels that hold the future generation, thereby ensuring the continuity of one’s lineage. For the Dumagats, the mothers will simply be the future of the tribes. Without them, the tribe would become extinct and forever be forgotten.
Therefore, for pregnant mothers, the club gave a brief explanation through PE Evelyn “Lyn” Adrino on the importance of caring for the health of both the mother and the unborn child in her womb. This can be done by drinking milk to sustain the nutrition needed by both the mother and child. To demonstrate the importance of PE Lyn’s talk, HCP Gina and HCP Jing initiated the community’s drinking of milk and helped out by giving out free milk to pregnant mothers among the participants. Along with the milk, they were also given some vitamins and other necessities.
Hope for a Better Education
Education is the great equalizer, which tells us that every man and woman, rich or poor, no matter what background we have, is entitled to a quality education. As such, it is a basic right for every Filipino child to relish, including the children of Dumagats. For this, the club also made it a point that help will be given to ease out a little burden in conveying educational services to the Dumagat learners. HCP Gina and HCP Jing handed out learning kits to the Dumagat children. Each kit is composed of paper, pencil, crayon, art materials, a sharpener, and an eraser.
Apart from this, the team also donated bond paper, books, used clothing, and pens for use in the school. These were all turned over to Teacher Irene, the caring teacher of the Dumagat learners. Before these donations were given, a storytelling session with Interact President Zam Pador was also held. Zam brought the children into a different world of good lessons and heroic characters. Added to this, HCP Jing and HCP Gina taught the children some letter recognition, and prizes were given to those who were able to read the words that start with a particular letter of the alphabet. Assisting them were the Rover Scouts to pacify the energetic children.
Hope for the Environment
The move now is to stay sustainable and care for the environment, such that everything that we do impacts the environment, and therefore our actions must be constrained in order to lessen the bad impacts that they will create on nature. A small talk was also facilitated by HCP Gina, HCP Jing, and PE Lyn about sustainability and care for the environment. It can be deduced from the reaction of the participating group that they too feel the effects of human intervention on the state of the environment. And so they are in complete agreement when we say that there is indeed a need to be sustainable in what we do and that we must always consider the effects of our actions on the environment.
To further emphasize this part of the event, the club handed out seeds for planting that can be used by the Dumagats as cropping alternatives aside from the main crop that they are used to planting, which is ginger and turmeric. Upon arrival, the group had an actual experience of the post-harvest activity of the Dumagats with their ginger, where both HCP Gina and HCP Jing gladly joined. As a show of support for their crop trade, some members of the Kaloob Pag-asa Team bought ginger and turmeric.
Hope for a Well-fed Community
Treats were also given to the community by the team. About 90 food packs with two kilos of rice and 100 packs of assorted goods with vitamins and milk were given to the adult participants. One could just feel the joy that radiated from the faces of the adult recipients as HCP Gina, HCP Jing, IAC President Zam, and RAC President Carlos handed out the food packs to them. They were gladly assisted by the Rover Scouts to facilitate the organized distribution of the goods for all of them.
Also, the children were given snacks of packed fruit juice, bread, and apples. The delight among them as HCP Gina and HCP Jing led the group in distributing the food snacks to the young ones was truly priceless.
Hope for the Future
Looking further beyond, the team also assessed the other needs of the tribe that Teacher Irene was asking the team. It can be recalled that during the first visit of HCP Gina and ISP Roland (both of RCCHBS) to the Share-A-Smile Project, Teacher Irene pointed out some concerns regarding their classroom, which houses the Dumagat learners and is also used for adult learning sessions. From the assessment, it was planned that the team would be coming back to the place to deliver the second phase of help that the RCCHBS, through HCP Gina and RC Metro SFDM, and HCP Jing, have collaboratively planned to improve the learning situations of the Dumagat learners. It was agreed upon that the floors, ceiling, roof, and windows would be fixed sometime in the last week of February this year. The two clubs and Share a Smile are yet to convene to finalize the pledged donations for the Dumagat classroom.
One would only realize that if people would come together to uplift a brother in order to make the world a better place for everyone, then we could always be assured of peace and harmony. When we try to be more understanding and empathizing, we finally realize that we can make a person’s life better than before. Our support or help need not be grand; the more important thing is coming together, sharing what little from the heart we could give, pulling these resources together, and making things happen. There are challenges, but the best way to give is when we share what we love the most, be it time, convenience, or other things. Anyway, the One Almighty sees it all, and He will surely shower us with rewards for our kindness, even without asking.
