Bajaus improve living condition
6:40 AM
Vernon Joseph Go
The
Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) through its Bajau Integrated Area
Development Project (BIAD-P) has taken steps in helping Bajaus create a clean
and orderly community in Sitio Pungtod, Alaska Mambaling, Cebu City.
Ten cluster leaders among the Bajaus were tasked to lead
the community in keeping their surroundings clean and safe. The rest of the
community were also taught proper sanitation practices, like frequent washing
of hands and daily bathing.
"We are now well-disciplined
that we take a bath every day and keep our children always clean," Jovelyn
Amad, a Bajau cluster leader, shared in Cebuano.
Another cluster leader, Lydia Jamare
said that parents wake up early in the morning to prepare things and groom their
children before sending them to school based on what they have learned in
trainings on best parenting practices.
On Mondays, the Bajaus hold a
general cleanup activity where they practice bayanihan. Each household
was also encouraged to plant trees, which has become a contest in every cluster
to motivate them to care and nurture their plants.
“We now know how to do waste segregation, and we
have appreciated the importance of plants. This is why we plant and tend
vegetable gardens in our backyards,” Amad added.
The Bajaus attested that through
maintaining cleanliness, there have been very few cases of common ailments, such
as cough and colds, in the community.
“There is really a difference now in the
Badjau community in terms of cleanliness in their surroundings compared to when
we first arrived in their locality,” Anthony Fuentes, BIAD-P project development
officer, said.
BIAD-P is an initiative by RAFI through its Integrated
Development unit, Presentation Sisters, and the University of San Carlos, which
aims to make the Bajaus a self-sufficient, progressive, and self-reliant
community with a sense of pride and belongingness.
BIAD-P is a program under the Integrated Development
focus area of RAFI, helping communities overcome the vicious cycle of poverty. RAFI’s
other focus areas include Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture &
Heritage, Leadership & Citizenship, and Education.
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