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St. Louis Center conducts Dialogue of Life

BAGUIO CITY (Jan. 30) — To fulfill its mission for social transformation through education, the Saint Louis Center, spearheaded by the school directress, Sr. Lulu Dulay, ICM, came up with a project dubbed as “Dialogue of Life” for the faculty and staff. The project was meant for the participants to have a feel of the issues and concerns affecting the lives of the basic masses.

The project, consisting of various components, started with a lecture on the situation of the Cordillera people. The situationer gave the participants a historical background of the Cordillera Region and its people, collectively known as Igorots. Cynthia Dacanay, coordinator of Educator’s Forum for Development (EFD), extensively discussed the economic, political and socio-cultural conditions of the Igorots. She enlightened the participants on the problems the Cordillera people have been suffering from, particularly discrimination and marginalization.

The second part of the project was the community immersion. This was held on November 25 and 26, 2005 for the high school department and January 13 and 14, 2006 for the elementary department. According to Sr. Dulay, this component is necessary so as to give the participants a first hand experience on how poor, ordinary people live their daily lives with all the problems and issues affecting them. She encouraged every participant to talk, hear, feel, relate with the people they will stay with. These methods, she said, are very important in understanding what social transformation is all about and what is to be done as educators.

The participants were divided into groups and assigned in various areas. The high school department went to Cordillera Village in Fairview and Tapaw in Pinget (urban poor communities), Vital Farms in La Trinidad (workers’ community), Ucab in Itogon (mining community) and one discussion group tackled the Cordillera Women’s Situation and Violence against Women. For the elementary department, the groups were assigned to San Luis, San Carlos and Cypress (urban poor communities), Vital farms (workers’ community) and four discussion groups tackled the issues on: 1) bulk water project with a visit to the proposed reservoir and affected communities, 2) Cordillera tribal elders situation, 3) Cordillera women’s situation and violence against women, and 4) Cordillera peasant situation.

According to the participants, the experience was an eye-opener and a very humbling activity. They did not only share stories with their host families, but also slept, ate, did chores and earned a living with them. Some teachers in one of the urban poor groups sold fruits with their host families along Harrison Rd. and experienced being chased by the policemen. According to one of them, “this experience at first was embarrassing but in the process we gained immeasurable wisdom about people, family, priorities, values and life in general.” The participants said that the activity gave them the opportunity to understand and appreciate the issues and concerns of the people and “to take the challenge to work for what is best for the greater majority of our people”. As educators, they agreed that their experiences should be shared to their students so that they too will be aware of the issues affecting Baguio people. One of the teachers said, “This is very important especially in the value formation of the students.” Another stated, “As teachers, it is our social responsibility to awaken the minds of our students.”

The community immersion by the high school department was immediately transformed into action when, in December, the faculty, staff and students went to Vital Farms for their annual outreach program where gifts and goodies were distributed to the families and their children. The participants identified the community as the priority area because of the living conditions of the families. Vital Farms is home to 28 families who were formerly hired as farm workers of a mushroom-producing agro-industrial company. They are now engaged as farm workers of nearby private farms planting various kinds of vegetables. They also look for seasonal jobs to augment their income.

As a way of processing their experiences, the last component of the project will be the theological reflection. The participants will have the opportunity to share what they have experienced and relate this to the Bible considering today’s realities. This will give the school a chance to realize their mission.

The exposure program was facilitated by the Educators’ Forum for Development EFD), an organization providing alternative education to students, teachers and academic personnel and was made possible through the cooperation of the following organizations: Organisasyon dagiti Nakarupay nga Umili ti Syudad (Ornus), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)-Cordillera, Inter-Itogon Barangay Alliance (IIB-A), Alyansa dagiti Pesante Iti Taeng Kordilyera (Apit tako), Tongtongan ti Umili (TTU), Metro Baguio Tribal Elders-Leaders Assembly (MBTELA), Innabuyog-Gabriela, Cordillera Women’s Education and Resource Center (CWERC), Cordillera Labor Center (CLC), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Movement for Quality Education (MQE). # Myra Caguioa for NORDIS

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