GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 08 October) — When 22-year-old Ronilyn Salilan first stepped onto the sprawling campus of Mindanao State University (MSU) here, she felt as though she had entered another world.
As a young woman from the Tagakaulo community, one of many Lumads or Indigenous Peoples (IP) in the Philippines, she carries not just her academic dreams but “the weight of the struggles of my people.”
The Tagakaulo are Lumads traditionally rooted in the uplands of Sarangani and the neighboring Davao provinces, where families have long depended on hillside farming and river fishing.
Like many IP groups in Mindanao, they face mounting pressures: loss of ancestral lands, migration to urban centers, and the gradual decline of their native language as younger generations grow up speaking other dominant languages like Cebuano or Ilonggo.
Ronilyn soon discovered that the college entrance exam was the easy part. In class, she was surrounded by peers who spoke English with ease, navigated university life effortlessly, and carried a confidence she did not yet have.
By contrast, she recalled feeling “small and out of place.” She was still learning to navigate a world that looked nothing like her community. At times, she admitted, she wondered if higher education was ever truly meant for someone like her.
“The lack of opportunities for those like us has always been a reality. Access to quality education in our communities is limited, and when we enter mainstream institutions, we often face prejudice, stereotypes, and cultural isolation,” she told MindaNews.
Her experience is not unique and is a fitting reminder to everyone especially since the country celebrates October as National Indigenous People’s Month. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), more than 14 million Indigenous Peoples – about one in every eight Filipinos – face steep barriers in accessing education. Around 61 percent live in Mindanao, where more than a dozen IP communities struggle with limited resources.
By the time they reach higher education, the odds narrow further: only about one in ten ever make it to college, and of those who do, up to 40 percent drop out before graduating, based on Commission on Higher Education (CHED) data.
But Ronilyn’s path, and the futures of hundreds of others like her, are being shaped by a small, determined organization called Sigay Kauyagan.
Early beginnings
Sigay Kauyagan is a local non-profit organization that seeks to facilitate education, health, community development, agri-development, and values-based livelihood programs among the IP and Moro students in the southern part of Mindanao.
Its name, from the Maguindanaon language, combines sigay (light) and kauyagan (way of life), reflecting its mission of helping students and families build brighter futures.
It began in 1998 as the Brightening Life Tutorial Center (BLTC), after the Office of the Chancellor of MSU-General Santos invited a handful of foreign volunteers to run educational support programs for students who were struggling with English grammar and basic algebra.
Back then, barely 30 percent of students managed to stay enrolled in full university programs. Within a few years, that number leapt to 90 percent, demonstrating that the students’ success was hindered not by ability, but by lack of support.
As the program grew, it moved beyond tutoring. In 2013, the group formally changed its name to Sigay Kauyagan,signaling its broader role in community development beyond the campus.
That same year, it also established its only permanent student center across all MSU campuses, located on the MSU–General Santos campus under a memorandum of agreement with the university.
The center has since served as a hub for tutorials, mentoring, and scholar gatherings, and a safe space where IP and Moro students can study and seek guidance.
From tutorials to transformation
Today, Sigay Kauyagan provides scholarships and mentoring, access to computers and the internet, health and dental clinics, and community projects in farming villages across South Cotabato and Sarangani through its field teams.
In Tupi, South Cotabato, its “farm team” trains students and local farmers in sustainable agriculture and agroforestry, while another team focuses on education and youth development through after-school tutorials and community activities.
In Malapatan, Sarangani province, a separate team leads health programs, community mobilization, and sports outreach, while in General Santos City, a “campus team” manages tutorials, mentoring, and student activities of those in MSU.
Sigay itself is staffed by a mix of long-term international volunteers and short-term interns who cycle in for on-the-job training, with the number of active volunteers varying from year to year. At present, there are at least 15 international volunteers.
Both professionals and trainees partner with local staff and cultural community leaders to carry out education, health, and development projects.
Jack, a 39-year-old from East Asia (he requested his real name be withheld as part of their security protocol), is one of six international volunteers on the campus team.
He serves as the newly-installed area head, a year after he arrived in Mindanao in June 2024. With 15 years of experience working with students across Asia – including Taiwan, Cambodia, and China – he said he has seen firsthand how the right kind of support can transform students’ lives.
He told MindaNews that the lesson was clear: the right guidance could completely change a student’s future.
“Education is one of the ways to break the cycle of poverty. If students from cultural communities can just survive campus life and graduate, they have the chance to change not only their lives but also their families and their communities,” he said.
Jack said that philosophy lies at the heart of Sigay’s mission. With limited resources, the organization consciously focuses on students from cultural communities – those most likely to be left behind.
“We only have limited manpower, limited budget, but we want to give it to the people who really need it,” he said.
Sigay’s work is sustained through private donations, partnerships, and community support.
Local businesses began sponsoring students as early as 1999, while FACE, a German nonprofit, has also supported its agricultural training and scholarship programs since 2015.
A volunteer’s vision
For international volunteers like Jack, choosing to live and work in Mindanao meant confronting global stereotypes that often portray the region as conflict-ridden and unstable.
Even when Filipino friends in his home country warned him that Mindanao was “dangerous,” Jack and his wife, also an international volunteer, felt compelled to come.
“We could have stayed there, but there were already many groups helping students there. Here in Mindanao, there were young people with no resources, no one reaching out to them. That’s why we came,” he explained.
Before moving to Mindanao, Jack and his family spent a year in Manila to study Filipino. But when they finally arrived in General Santos City, he quickly realized that language remained a daily challenge.
Still, he described life in the south as marked by generosity and a strong sense of community.
“Living here, we’ve found a safe, supportive, and welcoming community. The people are incredibly generous and ready to help,” he said.
He recalled one moment that stayed with him: when his motorcycle chain broke on the road, a tricycle driver stopped to help.
“He saw the issue with my motor, came back with all his tools, and fixed it. We didn’t even know each other, but he spent almost fifteen minutes just helping me out,” he laughed, saying that in his home country, nobody would have stopped.
For him, the story reflects more than simple hospitality – it is similar to the bridge that international volunteers provide between Sigay’s mission and the wider world.
“You know, before a farmer plants seeds in the field, they put them in a seedling tray. They water them, care for them, and nurture them until they’re ready. That’s exactly how we see our role at Sigay,” he explained.
He added that they aim to nurture students, guide their growth, and work alongside them so they can become stronger and more resilient.
The goal, he added, is to prepare students not just for college, but for life beyond it.
“One day, when they graduate and return to their communities – like seeds going back to the field – they can survive, thrive, and reach their goals,” he said.
At times, Jack admitted, he wondered if all their efforts as international volunteers would truly make a lasting difference.
“We (other volunteers) may not be here (in the Philippines) for ten or thirty years. We might not see the end of the story. But the impact we make will last in these young lives forever. And that’s enough,” he reflected.
Filling an institutional gap
Even faculty members at MSU General Santos City acknowledge that Sigay Kauyagan is filling a critical gap in the system.
Professor Fernan B. Lehao, chair of the Department of English, credited the organization for providing support that the university often cannot.
“I have been telling them this many times already… They are doing our job for us,” he told MindaNews.
When IP students arrive on campus, he explained, the challenges are immense.
“They really need a lot of adjustments – the language, the culture, everything. And especially college education – everything is in English, every subject in English,” he pointed out.
The English department, he admitted, is limited largely to classroom instruction. Sigay, by contrast, offers the kind of “extension services” that prepare students to survive – and thrive – in the demanding university environment.
“It’s a very good thing that Sigay, a third-party, non-government organization, is here. And imagine – they’re doing it for free,” he remarked.
More than academics
Beyond academics, Ronilyn said that Sigay created a community.
“In that small circle of learners, I found encouragement and understanding,” she said, describing how she met fellow students who shared the same struggles of IPs in the academic world.
Together with other foreign and local volunteers, Jack organizes social events, activities, and, most crucially, a monthly one-on-one “coach” session for the IP students.
These two-hour sessions, he said, intentionally go beyond academics.
“The goal is to figure out if a student is struggling with something, whether family-related or otherwise, and help them overcome it,” he shared.
Jack said he has also learned that many students simply need someone who will listen. Even in informal moments – like car rides to buy groceries or running errands – students open up to him about their personal lives.
“They tell me things they’ve never shared with their parents, teachers, or even classmates. They know I won’t tell anyone else. That’s why they feel safe,” he said.
He added that these small, private conversations often become a bridge to trust.
“Being a student worker for fifteen years, I’ve heard so many stories – funny stories, sad stories, even very personal ones. But here, I really appreciate that they trust me with their personal struggles,” he said.
Raising Community Leaders
For Sigay, the work does not end when students graduate. The real measure of success, said Jack, comes years later, when scholars return to their hometowns as professionals who carry their communities forward.
He recalled meeting a former student who had been part of the program two decades earlier and is now a professor at one of the colleges in MSU.
“She told us, ‘What you did helped me so much. Now I want to do the same for others.’ That shows the real impact we leave – one life carrying the legacy forward,” Jack said.
That ripple effect is also seen in the journey of a former Sigay scholar, Bai Sahara Rothem, from the Iranun tribe – one of the 13 Moro ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao.
Before joining the scholarship program, she helped her mother manage the family business. When the pandemic struck, their small income slowed to a halt, and online classes made the future uncertain.
“Everything was uncertain. When I realized how difficult our situation was, I started looking for scholarships I could apply for way back in 2020,” she told MindaNews.
Becoming a scholar lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. Aside from enrolment fees, her scholarship provided her a monthly allowance, groceries and medical assistance. She said the financial support Sigay offered allowed her to focus on studies, while seminars and mentoring helped her grow in confidence.
“Before, I was afraid to socialize. I didn’t have the courage to speak in front of people. But through Sigay’s initiatives, my communication skills and confidence improved,” she said.
In July 2023, Sahara graduated with a degree in elementary education, passed the licensure exams, and became a Licensed Professional Teacher.
Today, she teaches and helps run the family business. More than skills, she said, the programs under Sigay gave her an anchor.
“Your culture is not just your roots. It is your strength. You don’t need to change who you are to fit in. Instead, let others see the richness of your identity,” she said, looking back at her own journey.
A new chapter
The lasting challenge for the Philippines is to ensure the educational rights of its indigenous communities are real, not just stated. For more than twenty years, Sigay Kauyagan has offered programs and services that help fill gaps in government support for Indigenous students.
What Sigay offers is more significant than a good grade. It provides a foundation of confidence and a strong sense of belonging, Ronilyn said.
“For Indigenous students like me, who often face systemic barriers and lack of equal opportunities, this kind of support makes all the difference. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this journey,” she said.
The group acts as a strong defense against the forces that might otherwise make their culture disappear.
For Ronilyn, now a sophomore taking up a Bachelor of Science in Education major in Mathematics, Sigay’s help has transformed her doubts into a clear mission.
Her goal is not just to get a degree but to return home as a teacher, inspiring the next generation of Tagakaulo youth and ensuring their culture remains strong.
“I want them to see that education is possible, even for us who have been marginalized for so long,” she said.
The story of Sigay Kauyagan shows that fairness in education requires empathy, understanding, and sustained support – it requires building a true bridge, one student at a time.
As Ronilyn said, “Sigay is not just helping me finish college – it is helping me rewrite what it means to be Indigenous in education.” (Guia Rebollido / MindaNews)
