My colleague in Manila asked for my notes on our resource gathering in Zamboanga last year.  She needs portion of my notes for the story she’s working on about how young ladies in a village in Zamboanga view education and life.

While some of the young girls we interviewed are beginning to realize the importance of education and strive to defy the norms in their village.  A great majority still let their lives be swept away by the tides of their culture. What will be, will be… Que sera, sera

21-year old Raisa shyly sat near the edge of the bench. She was 8-month pregnant. Asked what her dreams for her baby are, she said “wala” (nothing).

Raisa portrays the typical Muslim girl in the suburbs of Zamboanga. She dropped out from school at the tender age of 15. She only reached 6th grade. She said she got tired going to school “because everytime I need something in school, like projects or school activities that needed some amount of money, my mother does not provide any.” “Tinamad na ako (I got bored),” she added. Her mother never got to study. Her elder sister also only completed grade school.

In their village it is not unusual to see young girls not attending school. “Kapag kaya ko pag-aralin ang magiging anak ko, ok lang. Kung hindi, ok lang din. Mag-aasawa lang din naman (If I’ll be able to send my child to school, that’s ok. If not, it’s still ok because they will just get married anyway),” Raisa simply explained. Majority of the villagers never really put value on education because they are “satisfied” with what they have. Raisa worked as a maid when she was 18.

Raisa got married to a laborer in their village when she was 21 years old. Her husband, seven years her senior, did not have a good education too. She said her husband carries huge pails of fish at the nearby fishing port. What he earns, she said, is just enough to feed both of them.

“Wala akong pangarap. Mangyayari ay mangyayari. (I don’t have dreams. Whatever happen, happens).” For Raisa, as long as they have some food to put in the table, that is all that matters. She never looks forward to her future…. much more her child.