The third Hulas (the Pulangiyen term for training and formation) batch graduated in Bendum on May 28.
Led by Fr Pedro Walpole SJ, the Hulas initiative reaches out to address the skills and education needs of a growing number of indigenous youth in upland communities in central Mindanao, Philippines. The youth are encouraged to bring their knowledge and learnings into their personal vision and to use these to help sustain their families as well as the broader community in Upper Pulangi.
In his speech at the graduation event, Fr Pedro said, “Today, we are celebrating your graduation on the level of skills – skills that we need to sustain our activities, to help others and also to remain flexible so that our learning is not simply academic. We hope in having these experiences, it will also strengthen your high school engagement.”
Fr Pedro spent the last year working with the communities in Bendum on concepts of deep value and experience to the way of life in the Upper Pulangi − the concepts of gaup (ancestral domain), kalandang (peace), kagena (culture) and pulang (process of resolution through dialogue).
Fr Pedro also told the youth “we need to give thanks for having this opportunity. First, we give thanks to Magbabaya, our creator who has given us life and resources to live by. Second, we ask that we have the strength to engage in the studies and other work that we need to undertake as students. And third, we must go out from these experiences and share with others our resources and our talents.”
He also said they should thank their parents for their support to this effort, for our forests and environment that have provided all the resources needed; and for the sustained peace over the summer which allowed them to study without interruption.