Integrated Health Initiatives for Two Indigenous People (IP) Communities Analysis

+ Desire to have their own permanent settlement;

+ Desire to send their children to school;

+ Some members, mostly women, have been trained on health and literacy. The training/classes were part of the ICHSP, an Aus-Aid funded project of DOH;

+ Indigenous knowledge on herbal remedies. The Mamanwa group in Brgy. Payapag has a mananambal(healer) who also serves as mananabang (one who learned to deliver babies through experience).

- Prevalence of communicable diseases like filariasis, tuberculosis and leprosy. Children are highly susceptible to diarrhea;

- Poor nutrition/malnutrition specially among children;

- Low level of literacy among adults and teen-agers.

+ Cohesiveness and loyalty to the group due to kinship. A Mamanwa band is practically an extended family.

+ Presence of a Mamanwa in LGU. One of the councilors of Brgy. Gacepan comes from the Mamanwa community.

+ Mandate of SUNGCOD to "help empower" the Mamanwa communities in the province;

+ Presence of NGO leaders and workers who are committed to work with the Mamanwa;

+ Trained community organizers. The two COs were trained on IP issues and were sent to the T'boli community to observe methods in conducting an adult literacy program.

- Non-affirmative attitude of `lowlanders' toward the Mamanwa's norms, e.g., perception that they are 'dirty' and 'backward', hence, are treated as 'outsiders;'

- Weaknesses in government's processes recognizing IP's ancestral rights. For instance, mining concessions are given priority in the two Surigao provinces, which are major sources of nickel.

+ Presence of older generation who are still able to hand down the history and tradition of the Mamanwa tribe.

- Diminishing interest of younger generation to learn indigenous practices. The educational system does not affirm the Mamanwa's cultural practices and history, hence most of those who have attended formal education are made to feel inferior;

- Non-observance of tribal practices. Some traditions such as the kahimunan and the burial practice of leaving the land when a member dies, could no longer be observed because of frequent displacement.

+ Access to forest resources, e.g., materials like bamboo and coconut for housing and plants for food

- Lack of access to permanent and decent shelter;

- Lack of access to basic services: potable water supply, electricity, waste management, and health services

+ Selection of a tribal leader is based on the group's unanimous acceptance, hence the leader is able to maintain cohesiveness.

- Income is derived mainly from working as farm laborers. Some earn as much as P120/wk.

- The province is prone to natural calamities such as typhoons, landslides and floods.

• Desire of the Mamanwa to have a permanent settlement, to be able to send their children to school and to improve their level of literacy.

• Low level of literacy;
• Lack of knowledge in preventing the spread of communicable diseases;
• Malnutrition among children.

• Culturally-affirmative method of carrying out the health and education campaign. COs lived with the Mamanwa to build trust between beneficiaries and stakeholders.
• LGU support for the project. The municipal and barangay LGUs were tapped for the acquisition of land, construction of the toilets and in providing supply of water and electricity to the settlements.

• Lack of access to permanent and decent shelter;
• Lack of access to basic services: potable water, electricity, waste management and health services

• Kinship among households;
• Women are tapped to become health volunteers since by tradition they are given the responsibility of learning indigenous treatments.

• Legal processes such as those used in acquiring a land title not yet known to Mamanwas;
• Systems in managing a permanent settlement still lacking;

• Available resources from the forest like bamboo, nipa shingles and coconut lumber were used in constructing houses that could adequately shelter each family.

• Difficulty in observing some tribal traditions due to frequent displacement.

• mobilizing SUNGCOD’s member NGOs in the health campaign;
• tapping the municipal development office in  drawing up an area development plan, with  the active participation of beneficiaries;
• re-aligning funds from PEF to provide other services like water and electricity.

• regular consultations with beneficiaries in  formulating policies for the settlement;
• establishing a core group of leaders that will oversee  the management of the settlement
• establishing a formal organization for each  settlement

• utilizing pahina (volunteer work) as local counterpart in the construction of houses, installation of  water pipes and in carrying out the area development plan. 

• conduct basic leadership training to improve  knowledge on community management;
• facilitate training on bio-intensified gardening to enhance skills in food production;
• regularized literacy and health classes to  improve knowledge and skills of adult members

• encouraging the Mamanwa to observe tribal  practices during gatherings, such as the groundbreaking ceremonies and food festival;

• Potable water is available in the community;
• Access to electricity;
• Access to services of rural health units;
• Access to public schools/primary school constructed inside community;
• Communal compost pit for waste management.

• Formulated vision, goals and policies for governing community;
• Formed two formal organizations that are recognized by LGUs ;
• Leaders trained on community development;
• IPs able to participate in drawing up area development plan.

• Awareness of and putting into practice preventive measures against communicable diseases;
• Community has trained health volunteers;
• Knowledge of basic leadership and organic farming;
• Improved skills in counting money (i.e., no longer short-changed);
• Sense of security.

• Municipal and barangay LGUs supportive of IPs’ goals;
• Gained interest of other donor agencies;
• PACAP gave livelihood project (livestock) to the Brgy. Payapag settlement.

• Gained reputation as model of development project

• Ownership of land (collective);
• Ownership of individual houses that are made of sturdier materials;
• Each household has its own toilet and kitchen;
• Communal garden in each settlement and individual gardens in Brgy. Payapag
• Center for health and literacy in each settlement
• PO’s office for each community