As a resident who grew up in Puerto Princesa, I have observed many changes, as our city has become the cleanest and greenest city in the country, and as we earned the name “City in the Forest”. The people here are able to see the urgency of protecting the environment, the forest, the importance of every seed to be planted during every Pista y ang Cagueban. (This is our yearly “Feast of the Forest”.)  But sometimes many of us miss the other kind of seeds that also grow into trees and also must be protected and preserved: our children.

As the Child Health Program Associate for Ugat ng Kalusugan I started to look at the community of Pulang Lupa with this in mind. When I started to work in this organization, the main focus was on the mothers in community. As we have evolved we have increased programming for the children more and more. We started out by reading stories and keeping the children entertained with songs and activities. During my first lesson I told a story to about 80 students. It was a huge group for one teacher to keep interested and I was exhausted by the end of the day.

As time went by we hired extra teachers to provide tailored lessons and activities to the students. During the summer vacation (March-May) we had many extra students but with school resuming in June, we needed to cater to the children who couldn’t afford to go to school and those that need extra help. So Marcus, Susan and I constructed a curriculum that will be used and followed in Educational Support Program (ESP). In three levels divided by age groups we focus on reading, writing, and math with integrated themes.

We decided to conduct a survey of the community to determine which parents would want their kids participating in the new program. We also used the opportunity to gain more data on the households. We interviewed 55 households and found that 111 students would willingly enroll in our program classes. We also identified 21 babies for our infant Nutritional Support Program for babies 0-3 years old. Meeting with the parents and kids in their houses helped me know exactly where to begin with the education sessions.

While conducting the survey I realized I too had been missing the trees, the realities of people’s lives, the every day dilemmas people face. In one home I discovered that a mother and her three kids were getting their food from the landfill near them.  Her husband cannot find a decent job because he never finished elementary school. Perhaps one day we will be able to provide an adult education program as many of the parents have very low levels of education.

Even so, the parents clearly place a high value on education, as all of the parents were serious in supporting their kids through our ESP. They assured me that they were willing to make an effort to keep their children involved in the program. And for their part, the students have become more excited with every session we have.

In one of my sessions with the older students, I asked them to draw a tree in the middle of the paper and write the words “Ako ay Puno” (I am a tree). I asked them what kind of tree they would be, what they would like to be in the future.  A student named Paulo*, wrote that he wants to be a teacher who gives free education to poor children who cannot afford school. Another kid named Marie wants to be a doctor in order to heal sick kids. I was touched that at their young ages they already have the vision to help not only themselves but also others.

How will their dreams be attained and fulfilled? There are many possible answers of course. Here in Pulang Lupa we are doing what we can and learning as we go. We hope that by focusing on improving the daily life of the community, they can one day nurture their own seeds. Make sure you yourself don’t see the forest yet miss the trees!

*Names have been changed.