Nori comes from the indigenous Dibabawon tribe in the municipality of Montevista in Compostela Valley province. She became a mother in her teenage years. Now 25, she can still remember those difficult years of pregnancy and motherhood at a very young age.

That was an experience she doesn’t want other teenage girls to go through and it will be her mission once she finishes the midwifery course that she is embarking on through a scholarship program supported by UNFPA, the United Nations Population.

If she had a choice, Nori says, she would have delayed childbearing at a later age. Sadly, teen pregnancy is one concern that needs to be addressed in her community.

“I was a teenage mother. In our community, many young girls become pregnant at a very young age. It was a difficult period for me. Now, I am just glad to be able to have the opportunity to become a midwife and have a better future through the scholarship,” she narrates.

More than just gaining something for herself, Nori says becoming a midwife will allow her to help women and girls in her community be aware of and better understand the risks of getting pregnant at a young age. She will also be able to provide much-needed maternal care to indigenous women.

Nori is one of the 12 midwifery scholars from Compostela Valley’s indigenous community. The project, a partnership between UNFPA and the provincial government, is part of a program that aims to improve the lives of indigenous women and young people in the province.

There were 500 students who applied for the program but only 12 twelve passed the process which involved written examinations and a panel interview. The scholarship grantees belong to low income families but have demonstrated strong commitment to undertake community service once they finished the midwifery course.

While health condition across the country is improving, there are still major disparities between regions and population groups. Lack of access to health services remains common in rural areas, among the poor and uneducated, and marginalized population such as indigenous people.

Indigenous women bear the burden of poor access to services, lack of information and formal education, compounded by the endemic poverty and issues associated with traditional practices of teenage marriage – all of which put them at higher risk for maternal morbidity and mortality.

Nineteen-year-old Romy is the only male scholar. He is a self-supporting student so he couldn’t be more thankful when he was granted the scholarship.

Romy is still struggling to break gender stereotypes in the midwifery course as it is a field more known to be for women. He is, however, encouraged by the support of fellow scholars and he now welcomes the challenge.

Despite the difficulties, the scholars are focusing their efforts to their studies. The scholarship, after all, is a rare opportunity to change their lives and their community for the better.

They acknowledge that in indigenous communities, having a college education is a privilege that only a handful could afford. They now have the opportunity to prove that even indigenous peoples (IP) can be skilled professionals. They are out to prove that IP can also mean “Intelligent People.”

(Text by Dr. Angelito Umali, UNFPA Maternal Health Officer)

For more information, contact:

Arlene Calaguian Alano, UNFPA Communication Officer

+63 2 901-0306 / officemail@unfpa.org.ph