Rather than stay at home and remain dependent on her husband, Lorena Indalan chose to enroll in a housekeeping course at a school accredited by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).
“Ako ni gibuhat para sa akong pamilya. Makatrabaho na ko (I did this for my family. I can work now),” said Indalan, one of 22 Badjao students who secured a certification from the Center for Healthcare Professions Cebu Inc. (CHP).
Indalan finished only second year high school prior to enrolling in CHP.
She is part of the pioneer batch of Badjao students who were sponsored by TESDA, which paid P5,500 per student to enroll in the school.
“They are the first ever graduates from the Badjao community who finished a TESDA course in the Philippines. We are very proud of them. They have come a long way,” CHP President Bernardo Restrificar said.
Mobile training
CHP program director Myrma Restrificar said it was hard for them at first to keep the students committed to finish the 55-day course.
“When we started the program, a lot of them wanted to surrender. We had to keep encouraging them not to give up,” she said.
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The Badjao students were taught through CHP’s mobile training program, in which instructors would bring all their training materials and hold classes within the community.
Engr. Jing Jayme of TESDA said they decided on housekeeping as a course for the Badjao students after researching on their core competencies.
He said this would help ensure their immediate employment either locally or abroad.
Hope
They were also taught how to write resumes, apply for work and conduct themselves in interviews.
“They are now job-ready individuals,” Jayme said.
Hazel Torrefiel, head of the National Commission of Indigenous People, said they will help the Badjaos look for jobs.
“We want to tell the whole world that there is hope for the Badjao community. We want to tell them that they are a part of society, and that they have something to contribute,” Restrificar said.