I was once worked as a Community Development Field Supervisor of a renewable energy project in the provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan in our beloved island, Mindanao. Of all the municipalities covered especially at the barangay level, I was most interested to visit the barangays along the coastal areas under the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Shariff Kabunsuan. Though, it was part of our project monitoring scheme but it is really indeed a very nice experience to visit the area.
One of our project sites along the coastal area of the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat is Barangay Sedem. As a background, the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat is just newly created and their satellite office was located in Cotabato City at the house of the municipal mayor. Previously, Sedem is under the municipality of Upi, Shariff Kabunsuan. To reach Barangay Sedem, from Cotabato City you need to ride a motor bike in going to Tapian Fish port (under the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat) and it is about 30 minutes ride of rough road. There is no other way to reach Sedem but to ride a motor boat (pump boat). And so from Tapian Fish Port to Barangay Sedem it takes four (4) hours travel but along the sea shore. It is really a long ride but you'll enjoy the sceneries while travelling if it is on dry season but during rainy season or when there is a storm gigantic waves will surely you encounter. Fortunately, I have visited the area twice it was a smooth sailing and we all thank to that. But according to the local people, they risk their life if at the middle of their travel they will encounter a storm and they can't turn back.
In my two days stay in the barangay because we need to attend the turn-over ceremony of our project I meet and talk with the people casually. Even though I am a Christian because most of the people living there were Muslims I was able to communicate with them and share their hardships in life living in a very remote area. This is the most two important aspects that I was able to observed during our sharing which is education and health services. The teacher whom I talked to was living there for almost 16 years and for 14 years of that she was the only teacher in the barangay. She said that she could not stay there for that length of time if she was not married with the incumbent barangay captain. And we learnt that she was not a Muslim.
She shared to us that they still using 1972 books and their school building was gradually built. The structure of their building during the time of our visit was renovated 5 times already because it is only made with wood and the other half of their building was occupied by a local church. With that limitations (access to new and updated educational materials and facilities), her only aim is to teach the children how to read using those 1972 books and write. But she also proudly said that some of their children who pursuit their high school studies was getting higher grades and even honors when they graduated. During rainy and stormy season was the most difficult for the children to attend their classes. Most of the children were coming from other Purok and they need to travel by boat to reach the school and they can't do it during those season. By the way, their school was located at the barangay center which is interior. Usually it takes about a month before they can go back travel by boat. There is also an alternative way but it is too stiff because they had to pass a mountain cliff and very dangerous for the children to pass and it also takes almost an hour and a half walking. With these situation, teachers, parents and children sacrificed and suffered a lot.
With their situation, their other concern was the poor and inadequate delivery of health services. Access to these kind of social services was very thin. According to them, it is very seldom that a health personnel visited their barangay in a year. And we also learned that health services was still under the municipality of Upi since their municipality was just created.
But somehow these people was able to live and survive amidst their situation. But they were very much hopeful that after our project turn-over there will be a continuity of assistance that would come despite its inaccessiblity. And one of this manifestation was a donation of books coming from KNG (Kawani ng Gobyerno), an e-group of concerned individuals coming from the public sector who has the heart to help and work for the betterness of our society.
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