In December 2008, my sister and I visited the Philippines. The nation has always been our second home. Being half-Filipino, the sounds, sights and smells of Davao City - the capital of Mindanao in the south of the country- are sometimes startling, but always familiar and welcoming.
Yet as we’ve grown older, our trips to the nation have seemed different. We’ve come with eyes and hearts much more conscious of the poverty and desperate situations facing many Filipinos every day. For many, this life of privation is accepted as normal, the status-quo. But it doesn’t have to be. Young Filipino children shouldn’t have to live a constricted life, where university or a vocation seems unreachable.
In December 2008, we travelled to the land of heritage to implement the first phase of the project we founded, Project Matuto. Although we live in Australia, we are Pinoys, and I really feel we have a duty to help the people of our own culture, our heritage. Project Matuto is founded on a simple model. Matuto means ‘to learn’ in Tagalog, the national language. The program is committed to encouraging traditional and digital literacy among primary school students, so that they develop the skills they need to continue their education through high school, and have the drive to try for a university degree or trade. To do this, Project Matuto commits to providing disadvantaged schools with computers, books and digital training to students and teachers.
This first phase in December 2008 took place at Adecor Elementary School on Samal Island. The school has 9 teachers and about 300 students who come from surrounding villages and townships. We were able to provide 2 laptop computers (donated by Australians), books and computer training for the Grade 5 and 6 classes. The excitement and eagerness of the children to read and learn about computers was unforgettable! We hope the children of the Philippines can have the opportunities for a sound education and a life of learning. That they will reach above the boundaries of their physical and socio-economic circumstances to live a life they deserve.
We will continue to monitor the program at the school, provide support and encouragement for the teachers, and visit again in 2009 to assess the project’s progress and improve the sustainability of the Matuto model.
It’s a simple idea, but we hope it truly works towards giving Filipino children the opportunities we were so freely given, chances we often take for granted.
