Story provided by Schools Division Office of Lanao del Sur I, Nashrema Mauyag 

Under the educational sector, the province is divided into three Schools Division Offices (SDOs) to focus on the educational welfare of the Bangsamoro learners, in which the SDO Lanao del Sur I leads the campaign for the KaISA Project, also known as the Inclusive Schools Approach (ISA). 

The main goal of the ISA is to reach every child by addressing their functional difficulties, documenting their lived experiences, and bridging the circumstances of the Bangsamoro learners with the current education system to make it more inclusive. The 20 Days to Reach Every Child Campaign was initiated by the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) as part of the KaISA Project supported by the Australian Government through the implementation of Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao with partner The Teacher’s Gallery. In line with the Learning Recovery Plan, the activity in Lanao del Sur I – led by Team Leader Nobaisah Ibrahim, JD and 10 field enumerators, with the support of the School Divisions Superintendent Shanee Macarampat-Sumagayan, Ph.D. – garnered more than 2,000 respondents1.  

Education serves as a ticket to a better life for children by giving them knowledge that would allow them to navigate social, political, and economic aspects of life. However, when education infrastructure may be insufficient to meet any learners’ unique needs, this may be difficult to achieve.  Rema Hayfah Agasor, a 9-year-old child with disability enrolled in Grade 3 (as of July 2022) from Barangay Radapan Poblacion of the municipality of Piagapo, is one of many children here who yearn to enjoy the education that they deserve.  

Rema has an undying love and enthusiasm for learning. Nashrema Mauyag, a Field Enumerator from the Schools Division Office of Lanao del Sur II, described her as a ‘jolly’ child. Rema is a unique child who sees the value of education, eagerly seeking to learn and deeply interested in attending school. However, the physical accessibility of the nearby school (only about 500 meters from her home) makes attending school a difficult option for her as a child with mobility issues. 

Rema Hayfah’s backstory 

Rema’s mother conceived her through a twin pregnancy, but unfortunately she miscarried met with the miscarriage of her twin due to a rare condition identified upon consultation with medical professionals at the time. With this, Rema needed to be birthed before recovering the body of her twin who passed away. After the safe delivery of her mother, newborn screening was conducted for Rema in a local hospital and found no forms of disability.

Two months after she was born, Rema was taken care of by her grandparents as her parents went to Manila for a living. When she was just learning to walk, her legs suddenly crossed which made it difficult for her to stand on her own. Soon, this affected her ability to walk permanently. Now, she uses a locomote to move around.

While Rema’s home is in proximity with the school and the pathway is made of concrete, the state of the road is in poor condition with potholes, making it hard for Rema to physically attend school. To make matters more challenging, the family’s earnings are not enough to buy her a wheelchair. The only other option would be to physically carry her to and from school, which is impractical and not ideal for people with physical disabilities. True inclusivity that manifests in physical accessibility must result in a facility where those with mobility issues can navigate the premises independently.

Making inclusion happen regardless of all barriers 

Regardless of all these barriers, Rema’s love for learning does not wane, and her eagerness to achieve academic growth and success remains. This is something her mother observed. In BARMM, it was common for parents of children with disabilities to hide them at home and not enrol them in school for fear of them experiencing social discrimination. But Rema’s mother was moved by her daughter’s longing for an education. 

When the pandemic hit, her mother saw this as an opportunity to enroll her in school by taking advantage of the modular learning set up that was implemented. This kind of set up was greatly beneficial to Rema and her family, given that they did not have to exert any excessive physical effort to access education – the only thing they needed was the module from the school, and Rema was able to continue her studies. 

Why inclusive education is important for children like Rema 

Rema is one of many children with disabilities in BARMM who yearn for an education that takes their unique needs into account so they may equitably learn. This entails creating learning environments that are not only physically accessible, but also providing inclusive options like modular learning set ups that can help education easily reach every child.  

As of writing, Rema is dedicated to pursuing educational pursuits with her dreams of becoming a professional teacher in the future. Of course, in the future, her dreams may change – but what matters is that the possibility of creating their own future is made open for every child. Her journey, along with the Bangsamoro children, deserves regard in their undertakings with continuous, inclusive, and supplemental systematic support.  

“Passing through the footbridge in Barangay Tubig Tanah was very scary especially when you are not used to it. Despite that, I continued the survey because I am committed to it.” This was a sentiment shared by one of the field enumerators in Tawi-Tawi when they took the initiative to implement the 20-Day Campaign to Reach Every Child, an initiative of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) supported by the Australian Government, with the goal of documenting learners with functional difficulties in far-flung and difficult to access areas of the island.  

This field enumerator was not alone in being afraid of travelling to remote and unfamiliar territories such as Barangay Tubig Tanah – fears that were warranted, considering the difficult passages that they had to go through. Some field enumerators specifically identified Luuk Siabon as one of the more challenging journeys they had to make as part of the campaign, requiring a boat ride and a 40-minute motorcycle ride through a rugged terrain that could only be caught either at the crack of dawn or at sundown. To accomplish what they needed to do, they had to catch the rides early in the morning. 

This is only one of the challenges that the field enumerators of School Division Office (SDO) Tawi-Tawi encountered as they set out to conduct household interviews with families of learners with functional difficulties. Remote areas such as those in Tawi-Tawi are faced with the challenge of providing quality education to learners here, especially with the many (figurative and literal) roadblocks that they may face.  

Despite these challenges they faced for 20 days, SDO Tawi-Tawi field enumerators would still choose to continue what they had started here until they have reached every child. What makes inclusive education this important for the island of Tawi-Tawi that it is worth going the distance for? 

Getting to know Tawi-Tawi  

The field enumerators of SDO Tawi-Tawi learned learnt many things about this place and the people who resided within it, despite having served here. The campaign served as an opportunity for them to bridge what they already knew about their school community and the context of the larger community they belonged to. This was essential not only for the goal of making inclusive education happen here, but especially in getting to know what was needed to truly reach every child who seeks to learn.  

In Barangay Tubig Tanah, children of the Samah Badjao tribe often ended up not receiving any formal education. This was common amongst Badjao families living in the areas of Pag-asa. During the campaign, the field enumerators learned learnt that this was caused by the parents’ fear that enrolling their children in school will only expose them to bullying. One of the parents claimed, “We, the Badjao Samah, are always bullied.”  

Having learned learnt the challenges that indigenous learners with functional difficulties, the field enumerators found valuable insights about Samah Badjao children and their families. These insights helped inform the KaISA Project’s understanding of the intersectional experiences that indigenous children with functional difficulties may have.  

The challenges that they encountered in the campaign implementation tested the abilities of the field enumerators. However, beyond this, what they have learned learnt about their communities is invaluable and helped them connect with people who were hindered from accessing quality education. These field enumerators proved themselves to not only be determined teachers, but also capable advocates for inclusive education that are ready to face challenges to reach every child. 

Issues and difficulties can often be the reason why most people decide not to pursue certain goals; but for the field enumerators of Tawi-Tawi at least, they see this as an opportunity. Challenges are opportunities to serve, to understand, and most of all – to make a meaningful change for the children of the island who want an education to reach a brighter future not only for themselves, but also for the communities to which they belong. 

When communicating what inclusive education is to people who may have not yet heard of it and what role it plays in school communities, the message may not immediately come across. This is especially true in a context where disability is not yet fully accepted and has yet to be understood.  

The primary goal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education-led pilot 20-Day Campaign to Reach Every Child supported by the Australian Government was to document and locate learners with functional difficulties and understand their current situation in relation to accessing quality education. In the process, it also became a campaign to promote awareness of how school communities can be inclusive of learners with disabilities by word of mouth. This was how the selected field enumerators of each school division office championed inclusive education wherever they went during the campaign. 

For the field enumerators of School Division Office (SDO) Maguindanao del Norte (then called Maguindanao I), conducting interviews with parents of learners with functional difficulties was a challenge in itself; however, they also understood that making inclusive education happen was only possible when members of the school community understood how to be inclusive of each person, regardless of their identity and background.  

Connecting with parents of learners in SDO Maguindanao I 

When the field enumerators of SDO Maguindanao I first explained their intentions for the interviews they were conducting as part of the campaign, there were parents who were wary and resistant to these efforts. Some parents had negative reactions towards the insinuation that their children may have disabilities – a reaction to be anticipated from those who live in communities where disability has a cultural stigma.  

It can be a challenge to reach out to people who share this kind of mindset, especially when it also comes from a place of fear and protectiveness in a world where having a disability can result to exclusion, bullying, and other forms of discrimination. The field enumerators understood this. One of the enumerators said, “I sympathize with them. Parents are the ones who are hurt the most when their children are bullied.”  

The seemingly opposing views of the field enumerators and the parents were treated not as a conflict, but as a chance to connect. Though their views may differ on the surface, on a deeper level, they had a shared interest: to protect the children and make sure that they had a bright future ahead of them and that they felt safe and respected. Learning this, the field enumerators realized that empathy is the first step to genuinely connecting with the parents and making sure that their children received everything they needed to be supported and included in education. 

To address this, their team collaborated with the Barangay Maslabeng government and were provided with logistical support by allowing their barangay hall and facilities to be used for data gathering. Elementary schools also became sites for data gathering here, which the field enumerators took as an opportunity to conduct interviews with parents and their children who came to the schools to enroll.  

In Barangay Poblacion II, one parent offered their home as a place where interviews can be conducted. This made it easier for enumerators to collect data by letting respondents come to them instead of having to walk around the neighborhood searching for them. Sharrif Aguak Central Elementary School also extended their help to the team by providing snacks for the field enumerators to re-energize between interviews.  

The 20-Day Campaign to Reach Every Child and the experiences of SDO Maguindanao I during its implementation proves the importance of community collaboration and how it paves the way for inclusive education to take root here. These barangays are two of many BARMM communities who are ready to take the initiative to champion inclusive education for a brighter future not only for their children but also for the noble of cause of creating an inclusive society. 

Genuine connections take the vision of inclusive education far 

At the core of this advocacy, educators serve as the heart that gives life to the long-term goal of making education inclusive for all kinds of learners. Inclusive education is a long-haul commitment; but to bring this vision into reality, it entails many steps in the present and the immediate future. 

These steps can only be made when every member of the community – including those who may see the world differently – is part of the action. To ensure that they are included in this process, as the field enumerators of SDO Maguindanao I proved, connecting with people where they are at plays a crucial role. Though it may be a small act of kindness, genuine empathy and patience with everyone in the community will go far. 

As part of the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE)’s initiative with the support of the Australian Government to promote inclusive education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through the KaISA Project (also known as the Inclusive Schools Approach), identifying and locating learners with functional difficulties throughout the region was found to be a priority. To address this, the Child Finding Activity – dubbed as the 20-Day Campaign to Reach Every Child – was organized across all school divisions in the region among which is the School Division Office (SDO) of Lamitan. The implementation in SDO Lamitan was led by Team Leader Ma. Cristina Delos Santos, along with 10 Field Enumerators (composed of educators and school staff). In 20 Days, the team had unearthed many untold stories of children in the Bangsamoro.  

Challenges to reaching every child in Lamitan  

The Field Enumerators of Lamitan experienced many challenges in the pursuit of their goal. Heavy rains, impassable roads, poor internet connection, and power outages were among the difficulties that they had endured.   

However, the major difficulty that they encountered was some families feeling reluctant to take part in the survey, especially given that the members of the team were considered outsiders to their community. To address this barrier between them and the community, the team cooperated with the local community leaders to bridge the connection that they needed.

Eventually, the community warmed up to them, with parents of children with functional difficulties even taking the initiative to pave the way towards gathering the data they needed, acknowledging that this was vital to identify the issues that hinder the children of their community from pursuing education.  

Meanwhile, Badjao children also experienced bullying from their peers, discouraging them from going to school. Some also identified the trauma caused by family conflicts as a struggle that they dealt with. The combination of all these difficulties contributed to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.   

Members of indigenous groups, especially their children, have experienced historical marginalization that has led to their lack of access to education. Teacher Cristina details these factors: economic poverty, child labor, and geographic isolation. These barriers to education are further compounded by the lack of teachers to serve in impoverished and isolated communities.   

The campaign gave Teacher Cristina a new perspective on what it meant to reach every child through the Child Finding Activity and how it directly addresses the barriers to quality education that indigenous learners encounter. By providing a platform to identify, provide referrals and interventions for learners and teachers alike, it is an opportunity to strategize providing not only educational opportunities but also interventions for poverty that can improve their quality of life such as financial assistance from the Ministry of Social Services and Development.  

Teacher Cristina is dedicated to generating more programs to coach and mentor more educators and school staff to enhance what they had achieved within 20 days. Recognizing that this is only the beginning of making education more inclusive in Lamitan, she is now committed to furthering the reach and impact of the Inclusive Schools Approach.   

Teacher Cristina thinks the activity was the first step in generating programs fitted for learners’ educational and intersectional needs. For her, aside from the campaign, there should also be intervention and assessment in regular schools for more programs promoting inclusion for all learners to be implemented effectively.  

“[The 20-Day Campaign to Reach Every Child] is still our obligation. While we had served [by] enumerating learners in barangays, it was found out that in regular schools, we had learners [who were manifesting functional] difficulties that [needed] to be served prior to addressing needs of regular teachers who are already in mainstreamed classes,” Delos Santos added.   

With the efforts done by SDO Lamitan to provide quality inclusive education to the learners of Lamitan City through the Child Finding Activity, it is important that all sectors of the community must also contribute to make education reach all children and provide effective programs to address their needs.