Summary Report of Focus Group Session
  • The Focus Group was the initial official activity of the Calantas Young
    Dreamers Foundation, Inc. among the Nabuclod Aetas to assess their
    NEEDS and from which an integral approach in its methodology could
    be designed to effectively respond to their identified needs. This was
    also an opportunity for the Officers and Members of the CYDFI-
    NACEAC to have an initial exposure of the "down-to-earth" life
    situation of the Aetas. Per Foundation's mandate and structure, NACEAC
    under the guidance of the Founder is delegated with a responsibility "to
    provide support and guidance in the efforts of the CYDFI to
    empower and enhance the self-esteem of the Nabuclod Aeta Youths
    through the CYDFI Scholarship Program Model (SWREM Theory In
    Action), designed to help them help themselves so they can help
    incoming scholars leading to breaking the cycle of poverty among
    them with implications, not only personal but community growth and
    development, as they learn to become socially responsible".
  • The NACEAC Officers and Members are made aware that their
    involvement is voluntary and that should they find their participation
    fulfilling and worth pursuing, they could design their own response as
    they appropriately see it reflective of the contents and process of the
    Focus Group discussion.
  • The mood during the Focus Group was serious with some doubts in the
    hearts of the Aetas but passionate in articulating their issues and
    concerns something that our Group in the 70's hardly experienced due to
    the fact that we brought our own agenda that produced a doubtful
    outcome because the Aetas saw us more as employees of the programs
    being introduced rather than they, as co-partners in community growth
    and development. There was no meeting of the mind, so they say. At one
    point in the middle of the session, one of the Aetas verbalized her pain
    against those who were coming, making promises to provide support but
    unable to deliver, that made her feel to hope a.gainst hope, despondent
    and a forgotten race! And posing a challenge to the NACEAC Group
    "that should  we are unable to deliver, we better not start promising
    anything. Apparently, what has been verbalized is a typical example of
    those who are coming with their own agenda claiming to provide
    support but unable to deliver. This is exactly what the Founder would
    like to avoid from happening. It has to be articulated what the
    Foundation can do and able to do on the basis of what has been
    processed in the Focus Group. So, the CYDFI methodology on
    community growth and development should be sensitive and responsive
    to the identified needs of the Aetas in the Focus Group.

Focus Group Guide Questions
  • There are 8 guide questions designed to assess the NEEDS of the Aetas
    in Nabuclod from which a meaningful discussion and response could be
    generated from them for Plan of Action by the Foundation. The following
    are the guide questions:
  1. What do you think are your needs in the community?
  2. If you rank their importance from first to three, how would uou
    rank them?
  3. Why? (Reasons of why you consider them 1st, 2nd and 3rd?)
  4. How do you plan to provide solutions to these needs?
  5. If resources are available, how are you going to use them to
    address your needs in the community?
  6. What do you think are the resources you need to help you
    solve your needs in the community?
  7. What kind of resources you have in the community to help you
    solve your needs in the community?
  8. How can these resources on item #7 be used to help address
    your needs in the community?

Summary of Focus Group Discussion
  • After four hours of vibrant interaction among the Aeta participants, they
    were able to identify through a consensus process as their top three
    identified needs and these same identified needs would be considered as
    the initial phase for Calantas Young Dreamers Foundation, Inc. to
    formulate program design to enhance community growth and
    development, in addition to the envisioned CYDFI Scholarship Program
    for their children, the Aeta youths. Discussion of response is
    intentionally omitted in this section but would, instead, present a
    summary of the Focus Group in terms of the top three items that they
    identified as their community's needs: (a) electricity  (b) water and, (c)
    elevation of Nabuclod School into Elementary School, with additional
    teachers.

  • Nabuclod Community Electrification Project. Initial response
    from the community ranked electricity as their top   priority of
    needs in the community which, apparently, was influenced on the
    thought that the barrio (village) next to Nabuclod already enjoys the
    benefits of having electricity in the community. However, Rey
    Manlulu made them aware that as a process and him, as a Council
Very Engaged, Vibrant, Dynamic and Intelligent Participants in the Focus Group. These are the Aetas in Nabuclod. There is a lot of emotion coming out from their hearts because they
feel "hurt" being looked down as second rate citizens, whose dignity as a "human being" is lost on how other people interact with them. This had been an excellent opportunity for Cherry
Ann, the 1st Awardee of the CYDFI Scholarship Program from Calantas, in that thru this exposure and other community services, the CYDFI Scholars are empowered to think of others
in-need in a very socially responsible way. For if youths of today are shown the way, they may have the role model to emulate on how to do it themselves in being socially responsible.
All Eyes and Ears were glued to the Focus Group Process at the Height of the Session attended by, among others, Atty. Billy Buan, Jun Pusung, Fe Quiambao, Jovy Lacson, Rey Galvan,
Santa Mangalindan, Cherry Ann Estrada, Roxanne de Ausen, Rey Manlulu and others, together with Brgy. Capt. Mr. Serrano and Other Nabuclod Aeta Brgy. Officers & Aeta Residents.
Member of the Municipality of Floridablanca, Pampanga, had at one point a
deliberation in the Town Hall to extend electricity to Nabuclod. One major
concern of the Electric Company in town is the ability of Aetas to pay for
their electric bill since their source of income is not as stable and most of
them are  dependent on what they could farm in the forest. While it is true that
electricity is vital and needed, but as far as the Nabuclod community is
concerned, it may still at this point: a WANT and not a NEED. Meaning, the
Aetas in Nabuclod   can still do without electricity in their community. This is
about economics! If electricity will be extended to Nabuclod, there has to be
a responsible party to guarantee payment of their consumed electricity.
Otherwise, the electric company  will end up putting up the electric bill for
the Aetas. And this is not in consonance with the principle of empowerment
where the Aetas because of their inability to pay for their electric bill will be
dependent on payment of their own bill from the electric company that could
only write off as a loss from their business account. In this case, Aetas will
not learn to stand on their own but be dependent on resources that would
encourage them to become more dependent. If this situation will be tolerated,
the principle of empowerment will loose its significance and hardly had an
impact on community growth and development in Nabuclod that Calantas
Young Dreamers Foundation, Inc. espouses and advocates for.

  • Water. In Nabuclod, potable water remains a problem especially
    to those lowlanders who are not used to having less in an
    environment where personal comfort and hygiene is very important.
    For the Aetas, this may not be the case! But as they become more
    exposed and educated, their sense of self-awareness on hygiene and
    sanitation is, in no doubt, increasing. Although water was initially
    ranked as a 2nd priority of needs due to their "getting-used-to" to
    the situation where they are in, most of them acknowledged that
    potable water really needs to be addressed first because of their
    increasing self-awareness on personal comfort and hygiene. The
    Aetas in Nabuclod usually get their water supply from the creek at
    the foot of the mountain where their community is located at. The
    water from the creek flows from the "spring" located few
    kilometers (3.6 km) away from the community and if the flow of the
    water is redirected, it could benefit the residents of Nabuclod. The
    lack of potable water supply affects a lot of things in the day-to-day
    life activities of the residents and to those who work there as
    teachers, farmers, traders and visitors, to name a few. You don't
    need to think any further about the adverse effects of the lack of
    potable water supply to one's own hygiene and comfort. It is not
    surprising to notice then that to some extent, even the school
    teachers' ability to teach, is nuisancely affected because they have
    to attend to their personal comfort and hygiene. They have no
    choice but to bring, at some point, their own potable water supply
    in bottled containers to neutralize their personal discomfort.
    Noticeably, the Aeta school children's personal hygiene is very
    much to be desired, too. A good supply of potable water could help
    them well to become neat, clean and hygienic at all times in their
    life. In this captured moment, the Founder together with some
    officers/members of the NACEAC, Chrisanta A. Mangalindan
    (CYDFI President/CEO) and Cherry Ann G. Estrada (the First
    CYDFI Scholarship Recipient from Calantas Elem. School), gave
    some pep-talk to Aeta school children about personal health
    and hygiene. "They look like little stars ready to shine in the
    middle of the night as they sprinkle the water of life in the
    heavenly sky". These Aeta youths are the future of Nabuclod
    where the Calantas Young Dreamers Foundation, Inc. is dedicated
    to explore some ways on how to effectively empower them to
    become the best of what they are capable of being and becoming.
    After all these years, sad to say, none of those coming to provide
    services hardly ever listened to the pulse of the Aetas unarticulated
    needs for potable water supply and would have responded
    effectively by redirecting the "spring water" to the community. A
    project proposal to address the construction of water pipeline to
    bring the spring water closer to community is drafted.

  • Elevation of Nabuclod Primary to Elementary School with
    additional Teachers. This is the 3rd priority of needs that the
    Aetas identified during the Focus Group. Looking back at the
    discussion on "Some Issues of mplementation of the CYDFI
    Scholarship Program Model" in Nabuclod, this identified need by
    the community is well said and articulated for it is in consonance
    with the Foundation's search to become sensitive and responsive to
    the needs of the Aetas. Only in being able to identify with utmost
    sensitivity the needs of the community that the Foundation could
    respond effectively and appropriately,  and able to maximize the
    use of its limited resources in the service of the Aetas in Nabuclod.

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