This study shows that the Ayta, the indigenous people in the Philippines, choose their own strategy of survival and decide by themselves whether they should become literate or remain illiterate. So the policy makers of literacy projects need to understand and respect their decision.
This study is based on limited data by interviews, personal observation and the case study on the Ayta people living around Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. The Aytas have been forced to face a radical change in their lifestyle since Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991. The author focuses on several aspects of the history of the literacy education among the Ayta; Who conducted the literacy programs for the Ayta even though they had lived their lives without literacy? When and why were the programs applied? And how did the Ayta respond to the programs?
Before the eruption, some Christian missionaries, public schools, and NGO tried to teach reading and writing to the Ayta who lived in the east of Botolan, Zambales. Their purposes were to enlighten them in regard to Christianity, patriotism, civilization, and their development. However, the Ayta people didn't feel like they learned to read or to write because they had few chances to read or write in their daily lives. Moreover, they loved freedom, that is, being free from outsiders. Therefore, it was not an easy task to make many people totally literate. After the eruption, most of the Ayta living around the area moved into Loob-bunga Resettlement, established by the Philippine government, where public schools were built and NGO implemented the literacy programs until 1997.
The survey shows two interesting findings as to the literacy situation in Belbel which is one of the eleven villages in the resettlement. First, even though DSWD (The Department of Social Welfare and Development) says that the rate of illiteracy is 8.3%, 37.1% of the residents never got the literacy education at all or had some difficulties with reading and writing. Second, the illiterate people tended to move back to their old village or other resettlements supported by NGO for the sake of keeping their traditional lifestyle, while the literate people wanted to adapt to the lowlanders' culture.
The Ayta's culture has been changing rapidly. Some of the Ayta like to adopt a new lifestyle. Others try to keep their original way of life. Thus, their literacy abilities depend on their choice from these two strategies for their survival. It is not outsiders but the Ayta people themselves that decide to become literate or not.
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