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 Peter's visit to the Inauguration of Marie Serendipity School It was well worth the effort when I saw the happiness and smiles of all the schoolchildren in the Aeta tribal community of Eastern Nacolol, Botolan, Zambales. Alain Antonio, Vice President of Entrepreneur Volunteer Assistance Charity Foundation (EVACF) and I had left Makati at 4:00 A.M. Dr. Ramos of the National Commission of Indigenous people (NCIP) Region 3 joined us in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. In Botolan, we were made very welcome by Mayor Yap, who was happy to learn that EVACF and NCIP will build a further school in Cabanatuan, another remote Aeta community in Botolan. This will be EVACF's 41st school under their program for TOE2S (Tribal origins Ethnic Education Schools). Then finally at 10:00 A.M. we left Botolan in a convoy of three weapon carriers, one from 1940s and two from 1980s.
We carried about one hundred coconut tree seedlings from my garden, school supplies from EVACF, T-shirts from Sime Darby, big toy cars from Banci Trading, Christmas presents donated by BSM (British School Manila) and ANZA (Australian and New Zealand Association), and cement and rice from EVACF for the Aeta community of Eastern Nacolol with 150 families or about 1,000 persons with 76 school children, attending the school we now were to officially open. The school had been built by donations from my sister Marie as a way of celebrating her 60th birthday. She sent the money from Sweden and it was added to funds raised by EVACF from a fund-raising party at Manila's Club Mwah called "A Return to Serendipity." Therefore the school had been named Marie Serendipity Aeta School. The Aeta community had their lives devastated in 1991, when their holy mountain, Mount Pinatubo erupted. They fled as their village and homes were enveloped by powerful lahar flows. After ten long years, in a low land resettlement camp, they decided to return to their beloved mountain home. They started to cultivate rice again and many vegetables. Their carabaos could be seen again and they rebuilt their houses. However, the children had to walk miles through lahar flows to be educated. They had no energy left to absorb any education after having to walk half a day just to attend classes. So a request came to NCIP RIII from the Mayor of Botolan and the Aeta community for the construction of a school building including a two room toilet. The NCIP told EVACF and guided the community to complete the necessary 15 steps to TOE2S. So here we were on our way to officially open the TOE2S school building. The journey from Botolan to the Aeta community should have taken two hours but took five and a half! Our vehicles got stuck repeatedly in the lahar flows. We got them out, only to be stuck again and again! Finally, we arrived. We were greeted by many smiling faces and helping hands to unload all the goods we brought. It was well worth it. It was one of the very best days in my life to see the happiness of all the people in the village. These young children will have a great future ahead of them thanks to their loving parents, caring community and EVACF and NCIP Region 3 effort to conserve their heritage and give them a school of their very own. If you are interested, you can also help. Do contact EVACF of evacf_org@yahoo.com and learn more from their website www.evacf.com. Donations in money and kind are always welcome. On the return journey, EVACF Vice President Alain Antonio texted, "We are still in lahar area. So dark. Cold. Beautiful skyline. Star bright!" We all began to understand why the Aetas returned home to Mount Pinatubo. By Peter Wallum
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