Project Report - La Trobe University

culture, language, traditional political
system and history.
With the ACED project, it is expected that
teaching and learning will be more
interesting and aid in the preservation of
their heritage. The project is also being
supported by AusAID through its
Volunteers for International Development
from Australia (VIDA), La Trobe
University through the Philippine-
Australia Studies Centre (PASC), and UP
Baguio via the Cordillera Studies Center
(CSC).
Some 21 books were published through
the help of AusAID including short story
books for children (with Ichananaw,
Tagalog and English translations and
illustrated by Ang I.N.K artists) books of
songs and history, an Ichananaw
dictionary, and a coffee-table book with
photographs taken by the Cameron
couple.
ENSURING A FUTURE
Before returning to Australia, Maria
turned over the management of the
project to ACED to make it sustainable
and ensure the future of the young IPs in
Kalinga.
Carmela Oracion, assistant to the
president for Basic Education of Ateneo
de Manila University reveals that longterm
plans are being set for the project
which includes teacher training and
performance monitoring.
“We are also helping empower the
principal on what steps to take to
improve performance of the children and
then eventually help them with access to
high school. Most of the children are very
gifted so we really like to provide them a
good future by sending them to different
high schools or maybe to Baguio for
higher learning,” she explains.
Indigenizing Education in a Kalinga Public School | 35
However, the ongoing project is now
being threatened by a major obstacle.
Dawing, who has been teaching at DES
since 1993, was transferred to another
school. The community even made a
petition for Dawing’s retention -- but to
no avail.
“The school is lost now because she’s not
actually assigned in the school of her
tribe. The project was also largely
undertaken with her help so it is just right
for her to be there to manage its full
implementation,” Maria points out.
By this time, Maria and Edwyn Cameron
have already returned to Melbourne,
living their lives as government employee
and a doctorate student respectively. But
in a few years, they intend to come back,
hopefully with children in tow, to Kalinga
where they found their greatest
fulfillment.
“It’s very rewarding to see that the people
are happy with what we’ve done. I’m
happy to have made wonderful friends
there. I will miss the people, the hiking,
the simple food of rice and eating with my
hands, the coffee and conversations that
go with the meal, and the language. We
plan to return and raise our children
there as well because the children in
Kalinga have a very strong spirit. They
know how to play and really enjoy but
they are also very responsible and work
hard to help their family,” says Maria.
She hopes that through the project, the
Ichananaws will be able to continue
engaging themselves with the “outside
world” for genuine self determination and
development but at the same time, still be
the ones to decide the development they
want for their community.
The formal turnover of instructional
materials to the Ichananaw tribe was held
last Friday at the Australian Embassy
during its celebration of NAIDOC