Philippines-Filipinas-Pilipinas : who are the first inhabitants?

I just arrived from a long trip, doing informal education projects with the people in the mountain, and I was staring blankly with the TV, then National Geographic just said, they will be showing a documentary that shows all human beings came from AFRICA. I got so freakin excited. Finally, instead of me pouring time and again with books, all I have to do is watched TV and I will find out if our own Aeta group are from Africa, crossing the land bridges that have long been part of my fantasy. Especially when I am day dreaming of faraway travels and the earliest civilization. I know I read similar story about that the first human gnome have originated in Africa. (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/7/modern-humans-came-out-of-africa-definitive-study-says/)

Historically, my curiosity is beyond piqued. I started getting personally involve with informal education since 1991 right after the Mount Pinatubo eruption. I saw the impact of drawing materials to the Aeta children and other games that we hosted. From then on I decided to take active participation in educating the Aeta’s.

My program is so intermittent because I have to go to school myself. But I think now that I am earning enough to sustain my passion, I have to properly plan how to elevate my education program. I have to :

1.       Create my own learning kits that the children will understand.

2.       Create a budget plan that is within my means.

3.       Create a reasonable timeframe how best to implement the project.

4.       Where and which area will I be able to create an impact?

5.       Who do I involve?

There are so many information about Aeta’s but which one is the most accurate?

Ethnonyms: Ayta, (Tagalog) Agta, Atta, Ata ( Isabela and far North Luzon), Ati (Panay Island and other Visayan part of the Philippines), Ita (Tagalog or south Luzon)

Language family: Austronesian (find the ethnolinguistic data about this)

Language branch: Malayo-Polynesian

The aim starting today is to find ways to conserve the story and history of the first inhabitants of the Philippines.