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| 350 out-of-school youth from Upi, Maguindanao recently graduated from EQuALLS2's Basic Literacy program |
People not only from the Philippines but all over the world have been talking about the gruesome massacre in Maguindanao; but in some parts of the province, life goes on as usual and is in fact looking better. In 14 barangays (villages) in the municipality of Upi in the province, for instance, more than 350 out-of-school youth graduated last January 16 from the basic literacy program of the Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS2) project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program gave the school dropouts, who are victims of poverty or conflict, an opportunity to learn what they've missed in school so that they could go back to formal schooling at their age level or earn a high school diploma after passing the Department of Education's Accreditation & Equivalency exam.
This was the first graduation of out-of-school youth in the municipality from such an alternative learning program, and the youth's parents and the rest of the communities were understandably thrilled. The graduation was aired live by the local radio and TV stations, and even shown on the Internet for Upi natives who are working abroad. One of the graduates, a Teduray (one of the native tribes) girl, said onstage in her native dialect, "My dreams have been rekindled." One of the teachers, also from Upi, was among the proudest during the event, as she recounted, "I once hiked 10 kilometers just to check on one of my learners who was not attending our classes." The communities, including the parents who are now more inclined to send their children to school instead of forcing them to do farmwork to augment the family's income, are now looking forward to their next batch of EQuALLS2 basic literacy classes this February.
