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Education for Life (ELF) uses an accelerated learning system approach with grassroots educators and leaders to contribute to grassroots community empowerment throughout the Philippines.

The Philippines have a history of dictatorship and elite oppression. Because of this, it has traditionally been the case that a very small percentage of the population controls a majority of the country’s resources (financial, physical, educational, etc.). During the period of struggling towards participatory democracy, it became important to address the role of local government, as well as grassroots community empowerment.

ELF describes its core program as GLF-GCE: “Grassroots leadership formation for grassroots community empowerment.” They want grassroots communities to have more power to decide their development, including control of their resources. This empowerment includes the organization of people in the community and access to lifelong education. The key component is an organic grassroots leadership that can be a partner to outside institutions such as NGO’s and national government agencies.

One person who benefited from this program is Carlito. Orphaned at an early age, he learned how to read, count, and write in an adult literacy class. The leader of his community organization, he participated in ELF’s Leadership course. After a volcano erupted in June 1991, destroying many farms, homes, and schools in its path, Carlito undertook the resettlement of twelve tribes. According to ELF co-founder, Marianita Villariba, “when Carlito talks to you, he warms your heart and you are drawn to his ebullience. He eagerly awaits your response and keeps you focused on common concerns… Carlito, for all his height of four feet and ten inches, stands tall as an enlivened and enlightened native leader.”

In the grassroots leadership formation program, ELF begins with those members of the community who are already exercising leadership. They could be involved with such formal or informal groups as a cooperative or a microfinance group, a religious organization, or a community service function.

The second stage of the program is the life history workshop. This is a source of learning and empowerment because it helps the leaders to become aware of their fields of engagement and responsibility, of their strengths and weaknesses, of their achievements and shortcomings, and of their aspirations for themselves as well as the community or organization that they lead.

The leadership curriculum is based on several different tenets: the guiding psychology is Sikolohiyang Pilipino, for self awareness and identity; non-violent resolution or management of conflicts; organizational leadership and management. Through these guiding principles, ELF helps the participants to develop communication and negotiation skills, advocacy skills, and experience with networking and partnering with other organizations.

ELF emphasizes the necessity of taking advantage of different learning processes. In the program they implement face to face learning outside the participants’ communities, home-based individual learning, and community-based group learning. The ability to learn through different methods is essential for continuing the lifelong learning process.

ELF then helps the participants to communicate their learning and experiences in various ways- through conferences, exchange visits, and through publications such as Komunidad and Salinbuhay.

To ensure the continuing education of grassroots community leaders, it is important to have participants who are themselves leaders and who also have the aptitude and commitment to educate others. These people are the key factor in setting up alternative and appropriate learning systems (ALS) in their communities. These ALS can comprehensively cover the whole range of learning: early childhood care education, basic education, technical education, higher education, and lifelong learning.

Starting with their international partnership with the Danish folkehojskole association and with the Association for World Education (AWE), ELF is developing links with other initiatives on grassroots leadership and education in south-eastern Asia and with the Nordic Association of folk schools.

This paper was completed on June 10, 2005.