Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: New classrooms give hope to Patikul children

Monday, June 10, 2013

New classrooms give hope to Patikul children

From GMA News (Jun 10): New classrooms give hope to Patikul children

Students of Kaunayan Elementary School will not have to endure attending classes in obsolete, poorly-ventilated and over-crowded classrooms this school year. On May 27, two days after the clash between the Philippine Marines and the Abu Sayyaf Group in the nearby barangay Tugas, the six newly constructed classrooms and a library were inaugurated and turned over to the school principal Dalma Indanan.

It all started with Indanan's dream of providing a decent school building for the children studying in this school, which was constructed in the 1940s.

In January, Indanan sought the help of Lt. Col. Antonio Mangoroban, commanding officer of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-6 (MBLT-6), in rebuilding the classrooms. Mangoroban himself saw the miserable state of the school when he visited the site. "I admitted to the principal that building schools is beyond my mandate but I told her that the Philippine Marines is one with them in their dream of providing decent facilities to the children of Kaunayan," he said.

Tabang-tabang para sa Kaunayan

“Nag-tabang-tabang kami upang mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan ang mga bata,” narrated Indanan. “Tabang-tabang” is a Tausug word which means “bayanihan.”

Moved by the stories of Indanan about the condition of Kaunayan, Mangoroban went beyond his mandate and decided to respond to the simple request of the principal. "A dream remains a dream unless someone actually steps in to make the dream a reality."

Acting as the convenor of the Kaunayan community, he consulted the teachers, parents, religious and political leaders about the possibility of renovating the classrooms. "We made a pact to each other that we, as a community, will help make this dream a reality on a condition that each of the stakeholders will cooperate in the project."

Mangoroban admits that there was apprehension about whether the project would come to fruition because of the history of conflict in the area. "There will always be doubts in our quest of giving a good education to the children of Patikul, especially [as] the peace situation has been a problem here in Patikul for many years now and also because of the promises that the villagers have received that remained merely promises. However, we stood firm and moved forward towards achieving this goal – all for the children of Kaunayan," he continued.

Klasrums ng Pag-asa Tungo sa Kapayapaan

Meanwhile, the “Klasrums ng Pag-asa Tungo sa Kapayapaan” Project was initiated by Atty. Angelo Valencia of The Entire Nation (TEN) Moves in Barangay Pansul (also in Patikul) and also in Barangay Tulay in Jolo town. TEN Moves is a social campaign to raise funds for the construction of public school classrooms across the nation. During the turnover of the new classrooms in Pansul last March, Mangoroban got to meet Valencia wherein he mentioned to the latter the project in Kaunayan.

Seeing that Kaunayan needed help, Valencia did not hesitate to give the proposal a go-signal saying that helping the children of Patikul is a way of giving back to the community. "It is imperative that we level the playing field. These kids were like you and me in a time past. We got to where we are not because of a name, an influence or a pedigree – we got here because of our teachers and the education they gave us, we have the moral duty to pay it forward," he said.

After three weeks, the official construction began. Mangoroban formed a workforce composed of 25 skilled Marine soldiers from MBLT-6 for the construction of the building. "Nasaksihan ko kung paano nagsakripisyo ang mga marino upang maitayo ang mga klasum na ito. Their commitment and dedication to serve the community cannot be questioned. Most importantly, we got to earn the trust of the villagers of Patikul. Parang barkada na ng mga marino yung community. The parents of the kids offered their help without us even asking for it," he said.

Tausug kids have dreams, too

Having lived their whole life in a place known for insurgency and violence is surely not easy for the schoolchildren of Patikul. But this reality does not stop them from dreaming. "Kahit magulo po dito sa amin sa Patikul, sanay na po kami sa ganitong sitwasyon. Patuloy lang po kaming nangangarap na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral. At sana po pagdating ng araw ay maging mapayapa po ang bayan namin," Grade 6 student Chrestin Valmores said.

Sharnilla Hawari, a Grade 6 student and consistent honor student, dreams of becoming an architect. "I want to build schools and houses when I grow up," she said. Sharnilla sees the importance of having new classrooms in their school. "Mas gaganahan na po kaming mag-aral dahil dati, sira-sira po ang klasrum namin at butas yung mga bubong. Ngayon pong may bagong klasrum na kami, mas makakapag-aral na kami nang mabuti," she smiled.

Mersaida Mohammad, Grade 5 honor student, dreams of becoming a nurse. "Gusto ko pong maging nurse dahil ako po ang nag-aalaga sa tatlo kong nakababatang kapatid. Nasa Saudi po ang mama ko para magtrabaho. Si papa naman po, ay gabi na nakakauwi dahil din po sa trabaho. Gusto ko pong bigyan ang pamilya ko ng magandang buhay," she said.

Indanan is grateful that her dream for Kaunayan is now a reality. "With the Klasrums ng Pag-asa, the commitment to realize education for all solidifies the inherent value of basic education not only for the individual development but also for the overall social development of the children of Sulu. I sincerely thank the efforts of all sectors in giving the Patikul kids a quality education. With the construction of the new classrooms, the children of Kaunayan will now have a conducive place to learn , an essential factor for them to succeed in life," she said.