Katja Wohlrab AETA Schools

The Katja Wohlrab Memorial Aeta School
Sapang Uwak, Pampanga
	News September 2006 The schools is in the process of having a facelift funded through the kindness of Peter Wohlrab and EVACF. The community is growing in understanding the importance of education and the significance of owning a school
The school is used as a centre of activity for the village. Cultural meetings and gatherings can be held in the school. Livelihood skills training can be given here at weekends. The school provides a clean facility for visiting Medical Missions. Schools are also used as polling stations in elections. Therefore, a village that owns its own school and keeps it well maintained is a proud village and a true role model for others. The villagers built the school in as traditional a style as was feasible, in accordance with the Traditional Origins Ethnic Education School principles adopted by EVA (click for details). They donated labor and natural materials as their counterpart in the project. The roof is of natural materials grown or gathered by the villagers, so these can be harvested to provide materials for the village's annual roof maintenance activity and celebration. The school is owned by the village.

A view from inside the school		...and more inside photos..
Teachers for the school have been provided by the Department of Education including at least one Aeta teacher. Supporting the teachers in the community will be the Adult Aeta Action, Literacy Numeracy "Activators" who will teach the parents and grandparents of the school children through this program. This will ensure a positive home learning environment for the children and helps adults improve their livelihood opportunities. Additionally, by learning literacy, Aeta elders can write down Aeta traditions and stories to pass on to future generations.		Sapang Uwak Model Aeta Village with The Katja Wohlrab Memorial Aeta School at its heart, will give new homes and hope for a better future to those Aeta whose old homes are gone forever. Their future will no longer include going to the city as beggars. Their future will be a bright one in Aeta ancestral lands and close to their sacred mount: Mt. Pinatubo.