Helping Violence-scarred Children to Read
By Arnold Divino, Pathways
In 2017, Marawi City in Lanao del Sur was rocked by a 5-month violent armed conflict between government soldiers and militants belonging to an ISIS-affiliated extremist group. For the government, the siege of Marawi, which started on 23 May of that year, was a consequence of the Philippines’ long struggle against terrorism. The prolonged conflict killed around 1,200 individuals; flattened homes, schools, and commercial infrastructure; and severely impacted the socio-economic conditions of the affected areas. Immediately, the hostilities displaced 300,000 individuals, including 200,000 children. Around 24,000 learners were not able to report to their schools, of which only a handful resumed classes. Various humanitarian and charity groups quickly responded to alleviate the suffering of the displaced population and others affected by the conflict in one way or another. Child-focused organisations, in particular, implemented a variety of education in emergencies projects, such as temporary learning spaces, handwashing facilities, provision of teaching and learning materials, and supplemental feeding, among others. Among these groups was Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), which came up with storybooks for the children of Marawi and its neighbouring municipalities that were also affected by the conflict.
PBSP is the largest business-led non-government organisation in the Philippines. It has been operating in the country since 1970 to contribute to the promotion of corporate citizenship, sustainable development, and poverty reduction. Recognising that children affected by the conflict might have been yearning for learning materials, PBSP partnered with Bookmark, Inc. to produce 4 story books that highlighted the Maranao culture, identity, resilience, and community values. ‘The intention, at first, was simply to contribute to the development of the culture of reading among the conflict-affected children,’ Pearl Aba-Ulla, a member of PBSP Grant Management and Implementation Team shared. PBSP collaborated with the Australian supported Education Pathways for Peace in Mindanao in 2019 to reproduce the books and thus reach more children.
‘Later, we decided to develop the stories in the post-conflict context of Marawi so that the books could also be used as materials for healing and psychosocial rehabilitation of the affected children,’ she added.
PBSP and Pathways worked with renowned authors, illustrators, and Maranao translators to develop the story books. The Day The Typhoon Came is a story that underscores the values of caring and helping, which helped Christians and Muslims survive challenges and difficulties. Water Lilies for Marawi speaks about camaraderie and understanding among people in spite of the differences in their cultures and faiths. Marawi, Land of the Brave is a story that serves as a reminder of the beauty of pre-conflict Marawi and of her strength as a community. Lastly, Lost and Found, A Song for Marawi highlights the kindness among strangers during the siege of the city.
These stories were generated from conversations with various Marawi residents — teachers, children, and parents. From these interviews, the authors crafted the shared experiences into fictional stories that highlighted Maranao culture and values, which made them resilient throughout the conflict. In total, PBSP and Bookmark printed 25,000 copies of the 4 titles and distributed them to several schools in Marawi City and the neighbouring municipalities to where the displaced children and their families fled.
Realising that there were much more children outside Marawi City who, aside from wanting to have books to read, also needed positive voices and stories from what they read, PBSP collaborated with Pathways in 2019 to reproduce the books and thus reach more children. Pathways put on the table some innovations to improve the stories and to ensure that these were relevant to the young Maranao learners. Among the improvements introduced by Pathways is the review of the stories by the Bureau of Learning Resources (BLR) of the then-Department of Education (DepEd) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The BLR, in turn, made recommendations that further improved the social content, grammar, and spelling in the books. For example, the BLR suggested the use of neutral words in lieu of terms that could be offensive or viewed as blasphemous or hostile to Muslims.
In January 2020, PBSP conducted a read-along session at the Mapandi Elementary School in Marawi City in collaboration with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a news broadsheet with national circulation. Attended by staff from Pathways, representatives from MBHTE, parliament members in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, and representatives from the Bangsamoro Youth Commission, the storytelling sessions, which were delivered by celebrities, professional storytellers, and volunteers, aimed to promote the love of reading and continuous learning among young children. It should be noted that at this time, DepEd-ARMM had already transitioned into the MBHTE and all the succeeding collaborations for the production of the books were done with the Ministry. Finally, on 25 November 2020, PBSP virtually handed over to the MBHTE 45,000 copies of the books for 13,405 children in 73 schools in Marawi (2 schools), Lanao del Sur Division 1 (34 schools) and Lanao del Sur Division 2 (37 schools). BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal spoke to PBSP and superintendents of the 3 Schools Division Offices via videoconference due to the social restrictions imposed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He thanked PBSP ‘for extending so much valuable help’ to the MBHTE. He also extended particular thanks and gratitude to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Philippines and to Pathways, which he described as the Ministry’s long-time partners in advancing the cause of education in BARMM. ‘With all sincerity and humility, in the name of the MBHTE, we heartily accept the turnover of the 40,000 (sic) books for the learners,’ the Minister said.