Overflowing with HOPE - Jonepher Noja
Pamulaan Center is an institution of higher education for the indigenous communities in Davao.
Indigenous peoples of the Philippines have their own cultures and languages. However, there are many who hide their ethnic identities due to discrimination resulting from their communities being economically isolated and suffering in poverty.
The Pamulaan Center was established as a place for indigenous peoples to regain their pride, protect their own cultures, and acquire the knowledge and skills to coexist with modern society. Many students who have studied here have returned to their communities and are contributing to the development and the preservation of their traditional cultures.
My name is Jonepher Dumaplin Noja, 21 years of age and a Manobo-Agusanon of La Flora, Talacogon, Agusan del Sur. I came from a family of farmers and fishermen. I am the sixth among the seven siblings. Four of them are already married, one sister is working, and like me, my younger brother is currently studying. It is hard to say that three of my siblings - while they have finished secondary education - could not continue tertiary education anymore because of financial constraints.
Despite this, I am contented to be born into a loving and caring family. I could not help but compare my experiences to other students because of the challenges I encountered during my early years of studying. Commuting to school takes an hour from home by boat and on foot. At times, my lunch would be root crops or corn-rice without any viand. There would be days when I was not given any money to buy my school needs.
When rains fell heavily, I would have to wade through flooded areas, preventing me from attending classes. When I was in senior high school, I had to live with my uncle since the school was far from our home to continue my studies. Despite these challenges, I do not feel ashamed. When I look back, for example, on my experience of living away from my own family, I learned how to be an independent person. The challenges I had have helped me to become more resilient and to persevere better in my studies. In fact, I was consistently put on the list of academic achievers.
When I was younger, I initially thought of becoming either a soldier or a teacher. However, becoming a soldier was not a dream that my parents shared with me for some practical and financial considerations. On the other hand, pursuing an education course became a viable option for me, especially when I got an offer to apply to Pamulaan Center. I applied and luckily got accepted, together with four other applicants from our tribe.
Pamulaan Center widened my perspective about our country's diversity of cultures and traditions. I appreciate how the center brings in, recognizes, and encourages peoples of different tribes to share their unique dances, cultural attires, languages, and values. It made me appreciate my community’s identity, practices, and rituals which I feel are now gradually disappearing. Similarly, Pamulaan, being a formation center, teaches us to be responsible individuals. We live by the ideals of Pamulaan to hone us to become self-disciplined, such as waking up early to do specific tasks from cooking to tending gardens. One of the significant activities I appreciate the most is the morning praise, as it strengthens my faith and gives me opportunities to thank the Lord for all my blessings.
Currently, I am giving service to the children of my community through our Community Outreach and Service Learning Program. I am conducting tutorial classes focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic as part of our Basic Education and Enhancement Program for Uplifting Performance (BEEP-UP) of Pamulaan. In this way, I can share my knowledge with Manobo-Agusanon children in our community while improving their learning outcomes on basic competencies, especially during pandemic times, where learning poverty has worsened.
After graduation, I hope to return to my family and continue serving my community. I pray that I will be given enough strength to actualize my hope and dreams and have the passion for enduring years of studying to gain the knowledge I can share with my family and community. In my prayers, I continue to thank the Lord for Pamulaan as an instrument for me to study along with its sponsors and benefactors like HOPE International Development Agency.
