The Community and Family Services International (CFSI), in partnership with EDUCO Philippines, is implementing phase two of the Sama Bajau Education Support Project (SBESP/2) in the Barangays of Rio Hondo and Kasanyangan in Zamboanga City, Philippines. This effort aims to support the right to safe, equitable, and quality education of in-school children from Indigenous Peoples groups, particularly the Sama Bajau.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, classes were held virtually as schools shut down. Community volunteers of the project facilitate the virtual tutoring sessions with guidance from the local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (MEID). House-to-house tutoring sessions are also being carried out to assist Sama Bajau children in lower grade levels to adjust to the distance learning setup. Hot meals and snacks are provided to the learners.

Sahibul, 8, with his mother, is one of the learners being assisted under the Sama Bajau Education Support Project Phase Two.

Sahibul, an eight-year-old grade two learner, is among the beneficiaries of SBESP/2. No one from his family has accessed education before and they do not know how to read and write.

Last year, Sahibul was not able to submit even one module because nobody can assist him. Seeing the difficulty of the family, the community volunteers of SBESP/2 tutored him on reading and writing so he can catch up with the modules. Now, he is one of the active learners in the class and submits his modules on time with complete answers. He will be moving up to grade three by next school year.

Part of the project’s activities this year is to contextualize the modules for grades two and three to facilitate better comprehension among Sama Bajau learners. Material support to schools for the production of the contextualized modules will also be provided.

Aside from the tutoring sessions, the learners like Sahibul and their siblings will be assisted for birth registration. Children with special needs will also be referred to other agencies and organizations to access appropriate services.

CFSI maintains strict observance to the minimum standard health protocols in combating the effects of the pandemic. Community volunteers and learners are provided with personal protective gear on a monthly basis for the conduct of the sessions, especially for the house-to-house mode.

The SBESP/2 is a continued partnership of CFSI and EDUCO Philippines that aims to improve the retention and completion of in-school Sama Bajau children, particularly students at risk of dropping out. It also supports out-of-school children and over-age learners to enroll in alternative learning options. The 18-month project is expected to run until 20 June 2022. #

Check out the gains of the project’s first phase here.