“I can make a difference. I can make a BIG difference.”
It is not often that you hear these words from anyone asked about the country’s complex issues like disability inclusion. In this case, this is Safiya Sugala-Unggas’ response to making disability inclusion happen in the Bangsamoro region through Inclusive Education.
Safiya Sugala-Unggas is the current Regional SPED Focal Person of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). She is a current member of the MBHTE Regional Technical Working Group for the KaISA Project or the Inclusive Schools Approach, an MBHTE-led initiative for inclusive education supported by the Australian Government.
But long before this, she was a teacher in her hometown, Tawi-Tawi.
The first step to a lifelong journey
Teacher Fiya began her journey as an educator in 2003, a time where education for children with disabilities was not yet fully accepted by most people in her hometown, due to the cultural stigma that was prevalent among families here.
Amidst this setting, she continued her mission to teach the children of Tawi-Tawi, where she encountered a student who inspires her to this day.
As a Grade 3 advisor, she noticed a student who sat all the way to the back of the classroom. This student did not participate in class.
This observation made her wonder how to reach out and encourage them. She decided to use class recitation.
She began calling the students at random to read passages to the class, eventually calling on the student at the back. Suddenly, the other students started laughing.
It turned out that they had speech difficulty – the reason for their shy personality, and the reason why their classmates began laughing. The student couldn’t help but cry.
“I got offended for the student, and said, why was this happening? So, I told the student to go in front, and I said, ‘You should not be ashamed of your speech difficulty… We all have a right to education, to study. You are here to study, and not to be bullied.’”
Teacher Fiya educated the students on being inclusive and taught them to accept every one of their classmates, no exceptions.
The next day, she discovered that this made an impact on them, and they learnt. The student she once saw as a quiet outcast found friends in the classmates that were laughing at them before.
Teacher Fiya created a connection with the student that she remembers fondly after all those years. Though she had lost contact with them after moving and changing schools, she still thinks about them, happy with how they had changed for the better.
Every person has their “why” for everything they do; this story was hers. This gave her the strength to become the Regional SPED Focal Person.
“Up until now that I have become the SPED Focal Person, I say, ‘I can make a difference. I can make a BIG difference.”
What it means to make a big difference
Today, she desires to make a difference not only for Bangsamoro learners with disabilities, but also for the future of BARMM.
“The youth is the hope of our nation. So, if everyone is given the chance equally despite their disability, then all will be productive individuals. We will spend a lot more today, but I’m sure, we will reap what we sow.”
She emphasized that education means achieving justice for all children, especially children with disabilities and other learners who are left behind. When education is made accessible to everyone, we ensure a better world.
It is important for her to be true to this purpose; this is why she chose to lead and contribute to the Inclusive Schools Approach (ISA) initiative of MBHTE.
“[ISA] is great. This is our chance to make everyone understand that everyone is included, that no Bangsamoro child will be left behind. All of us, hand-in-hand, together will make BARMM progress, including the advocacy for Bangsamoro learners.”
The importance of supporting and empowering educators for inclusive education
For Teacher Fiya, educators are the seed for Inclusive Education to take root and grow to benefit all learners in the Bangsamoro. She tells her fellow teachers, “Inclusion starts with us.” Education opens the door for Bangsamoro to move towards a more progressive and inclusive tomorrow.
Education is founded on the belief that teaching creates the world we aspire for. As educators go on and continue the work of empowering learners with disabilities, in the process, the world changes as it is molded into one where no child is left behind – where every child knows and feels that they belong.