Education: A Strong Weapon Against Poverty

At 16 years old, Ustia Daomani, a Sama-Bajau girl, knows where she is heading to. “I want to be a businesswoman,” she said. Eldest among the five children of Edari and Arlyn Daomani, Ustia is doing her best to finish her studies.

From Sitio Side A in Alaska, Mambaling, a community of 910 Sama-Bajaus, Ustia commutes daily in a trisikad, a vehicle with three wheels that is moved by foot pedals, to attend school at Gothong National High School at C. Padilla Street, Cebu City where she is a junior high school student.

Ustia is a recipient of educational assistance given by the Department of Social Welfare and Development through the Comprehensive Program for Sama-Bajau implemented in partnership with the local social welfare office of Cebu City.

Recently, Ustia together with other 14 Sama-Bajau youths joined a leadership training conducted by the DSWD.

When asked what she learned from the training, Ustia, without batting an eye said, “It gives us skills on how to lead a group and facilitate activities, which we will be doing as youth leaders in our community.”

“I liked the way the training was conducted because it was done through workshops and games. After each activity, we were asked to share our learning insights,” said Ustia in dialect.

She said, “Our knowledge on things related to being youth leaders have been enhanced because of another training called Empowering Learning Sessions for Indigenous People’s Initiatives or ELIPI carried out by DSWD. The ELIPI consists of 6 modules or sessions such as 1) Indigenous Knowledge, System and Practices, 2)Attitude and Capacities 3)Needs as Human Beings, 4)Role Modelling, 5)Traditional System of Organization and 6) Rights Based Approach to Empowerment.

Ustia shared with enthusiasm that she will be discussing the module on the rights of children.

“Pipila sa mga katungod mao ang katungod nga maka-eskwela, mahatagan og pangalan, magpuyo sa limpiyo nga dapit (some of these rights are the right to be educated, right to have a name and right to live in a clean environment),” Ustia voluntarily mentioned.

Ustia is a shy young lady, but her determination to help her community especially the youths encouraged her to speak before them on July 30, 2016 during the roll-out of ELIPI in her community in Alaska, Mambaling, Cebu City.

“As a member of the Bajau Youth Council, it is my duty to involve them in our activities. I realized this when I joined the leadership and ELIPI trainings. I want to help the Sama-Bajau youths particularly in the aspect of education. It would be a challenging one, but I see the need to do it,”Ustia expressed.

According to Ustia, her group surveyed the entire Sama-Bajau community in Alaska, Mambaling and found out that there are 145 youths in their area. More than half of the number or 81 of them are out-of-school youths (OSY).

“That is why we have to motivate the Sama-Bajau OSYs to go back to school. I always believe that education is crucial in overcoming poverty among our people,” the seemingly shy but determined Ustia, expressed.

The Sama-Bajaus are traditionally from the many islands of the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines, as well as parts of the coastal areas of Mindanao. Most of them have become beggars in the streets.

Education is one area that the Sama-Bajaus need. Most school age children in Ustia’s community do not attend school despite the fact that the public schools are free to attend.

Armed with her vision of becoming a businesswoman someday, to help her parents send her siblings to school, Ustia takes up Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) Strand, which prepares the student for a business course in college by introducing the basic subjects in Accountancy, Business, Management, Economics, Finance and Marketing.

“Kining ABM akong gikuha kay mao ni siya ang mo-preparar sa ako nga mahimong negosyante (I chose ABM because it prepares me to become a businesswoman),” Ustia proudly said.

For Ustia, education is a strong weapon against poverty. This conviction guides her towards achieving her goal. Ustia wants to share this belief with her fellow Sama-Bajaus so that together they will work for their community’s development.