Gitara, Lapis, atbp.

Davao City. The Philippine Business for Social Progress held its annual membership meeting at Marco Polo Hotel today. My office was invited to showcase the Muslim Bridging Program dubbed as "Ateneo Human Resource Training for Muslim and Lumad." The program actually is an assistance/grant for poor Muslim and Lumad in Ateneo de Davao University.

Different corporations also featured their interventions to the dismal situation of education in Mindanao, especially ARMM where 69% of the population lived below poverty threshold with the lowest literacy rate for decades. Foremost of the companies which presentd their programs as corporate citizens were Philam Life represented by Max Ventura, SMART COmmunications represented by Mon Isberto, Microsoft Philippines, and PNOC.

I made a 10 minute documentary of the Ateneo program which ran in looping mode for the entire day. It featured our annual seven million pesos scholarship grant for poor kids in Mindanao, with preferential option for the poorest Muslim and Lumad. Our Muslim scholars who manned the booths complained that they had memorized already the script of the documentary! Just imagine watching it 54 times in a day?

On the last part of the business meeting, there was this Grade 5 kid from Lamitan who made a speech in Tagalog. It was a very moving speech of gratitude. I was mesmerized that aside from initiatives exerted by the private sector and NGOs, still the devastation and havoc done by war and violence had made this child's future a dream. Her innocence had been stolen from her. And this was just a single child with a dream for a better world, a peaceful Basilan. What more if we are talking of communities in Mindanao, displaced and homeless because of war?

And this child fights to make her dreams come true. She told her mother, "Nay, mag-aaral ako kahit wala akong lapis at papel." Her mother had to laundry the child's only uniform every day so she could go to school. Her mother had to borrow money so she could have a baon of dried fish for school. Other times, "Di ako makapasok dahil basa pa ang uniporme ko. Minsan, may tuyo para sa kanin, minsan walang tuyo ni kanin." She had to share her book in school with three other kids.

And this kid was shy. But now she speaks to CEOs and company presidents, cabinet members of the government, leaders of local government units, presidents of schools and universities. She further said, "Noon mahiyain ako. Yan ang ako NOON. Sino naman ako NGAYON. Di na mahiyain dahil meron na akong dalawang uniporme. May mga tao na nagdala ng mga gamit isang araw sa amin. Sabi ng titser ko, iskolar daw ako. May dala silang lapis, papel, may bag pa."

She spoke for 15 minutes without faltering. She memorized out from her heart her speech. Her voice was penetratingly groping for a glimmer of hope from the heart of each one in audience. In closing, she shouted "Mabuhay ang Pilipino!"

She was burning with hope.

I still believe in dreams. But what I was hearing was not a dream. It was a dream come true.

xxx

There will be concert in Davao by Noel Cabangon and Joey Ayala, come December for the benefit of these children in Mindanao. CDs will be released three weeks from now, titled "GITARA, LAPIS, ATBP" featuring original compositions of two artists for the education of poor children in Mindanao. If you buy a CD, it will cover a month of school supplies of one child. Visit www.pbsp.org.ph for more details.

If you want to support other poor scholars who are now in the tertiary level, you can buy christmas cards from Ateneo de Davao University (c/o Elvi Tamayo). A card (Php 20.00 or US$0.45) covers a meal for a hungry scholar in Ateneo.