Black Pencil Project Reached Lake Sebu, Finally

Makati City – Black Pencil Project has successfully reached Lake Sebu in South Cotabato last June 5, 2010 together with local Black Pencil Project partner Maniniyot Community (MCom) who spearheaded the initiative.

From Manila, Black Pencil Project co-founder Zer Cabatuan flew to South Cotabato via Davao City to oversee the outreach and personally assess how future endeavor could be possibly made for the community. He met with the MCom group headed by Phillip “Toto” Biboso in Marbel, South Cotabato. Marbel is a four and a half hours bus trip from Davao City. Passing through the cities of Digos and General Santos. This is the meeting place for the volunteers joining the Lake Sebu outreach activity.

“It’s very refreshing to see this side of Mindanao, clear blue skies, sweeping plantations and verdant rolling hills against the mountainous background are quite a sight to behold” said Cabatuan; a Davaoeño who is now based in Manila. From Marbel, the group travelled to Lake Sebu for forty-five (45) minutes on an elf truck and another forty-five (45) minutes to the the first community, which is Sitio Be Nef.

The back-to-school program benefited the communities of Be Nef and T’no-us. About 200 T’boli children received the school kits prepared by the team. Each pupil received a basic start-up study kits of notebook, pad paper, pencil, sharpener, eraser and crayons, complete with a bag.

“I’ve been to quite a number of outreaches and treks but this one was totally different. It was culturally uplifting” shared Cabatuan when asked how the trip was. “The T’Boli community are very proud of their cultural traditions. During the outreach, the team were serenaded with songs by the kids and cultural dance was performed as appreciation and gesture of receiving the kind-hearted photographers. At night, the volunteers were granted a performance by Ma Fil. Ma Fil is a known artist from Lake Sebu who plays the hegalong, a T’boli lute. The performance, together with his cousin and son, revealed a much interesting tribal culture of Lake Sebu. “It’s like Cambulo (Ifugao) of the south” Cabatuan observed.

When asked what else the community need, Cabatuan revealed that they (families) asked for  ”a carabao” to help with the farm and transporting of goods, several shovels for each family to be used for planting root crops, and assistance to build a new classroom at Sitio T’nu-os. Aside from rattan furniture making, fishing and subsistence farming of root crops are the main source of livelihood in the area.

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