My Assets Map

Hope for the Indigenous Women

Thousands of Lumads in my home province and in other neighbouring provinces in the island of Mindanao have fled their communities. Not to pursue opportunities in the lowlands. But to escape the killings.

'Lumad' refers to the group of indigenous peoples of the southern Philippines. They are the ‘natives’ whose communities existed and flourished long before the colonial period in the country. They may be the first people in the land, but they, for many decades, have been pushed off from their ancestral domains. And historically, have suffered from discrimination. I grew up hearing the term ‘native’ used as a stigma—denoting being illiterate, uncivilised. I knew of people back home, who kept their identities as belonging to tribal groups in fear of being looked down upon.

The communities of Lumads sit in vast natural deposits. Large commercial mining companies came and exploited the land. Resistance among Lumads steadily grew. So did the militarisation of their once peaceful communities.

Their ancestral lands are so far from town centers that social services do not reach them. But the Lumads long history of struggle led to their self-organization and were able to establish alternative schools. But caught in conflict, the schools increasingly became targets of military attacks as well. There have been 400 documented cases of attacks on both Lumad and government-run schools in Mindanao. The intensified military attacks on schools and communities led to to the massive displacement of indigenous peoples, including children and women who are the most vulnerable.

I dream for the Lumads back home to be able to attain their rights to their ancestral lands and to self-determination. As an advocate, I hope to contribute in raising their voices which have been historically silenced by discrimination and lack of access to education as well as to media.

How I can contribute

I aim to contribute my knowledge and skills to support in building their capacities, particularly for the Lumad women and girls to be able to share their views. The on-going popular campaign #stoplumadkillings, thankfully, led to amplifying their voices in both traditional and social media. There have been numerous news reports, human interest stories, photo and video documentaries about their struggles. But I hope for them to be the producers of the contents themselves. To tell their own stories from their own eyes, their own voice.

I am fortunate to have been able to learn of the principles and gain skills in communications that I hope to be able to utilise to support the campaign. Though not an expert, I love taking photos of subjects that resonates with me. While in my professional career, I am able to attain growing responsibilities in strategic communications and developing participatory trainings for women and children. As a member of the Advocates for Women’s Empowerment, I have access to the amazing support of women activists that had always inspired me to pursue the cause for women and children’s rights.

The training and resources that I can get through the VOF training will hopefully strengthen my skills and help me navigate the intricacies of developing a campaign using digital media.