A Colorful Journey to the Community of Aeta in Pampanga

On October 23, 2017, Color Your Life prepared artistic activities for young members of an Aeta community in Sitio Camachile, Brgy. Nabuklod, Floridablanca, Pamanga.

The Aetas in the Philippines, one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in the country, are found in various mountainous areas. In the province of Pampanga, the Aetas live in the municipalities of Floridablanca, Porac, Guagua, and Angeles.

This Color Your Life project, named Project Floridablanca, was attended by fifty (50) children aged four to twelve. It was developed and implemented so that children have basic knowledge of primary colors. Because the group believes that it is necessary to emphasize teaching coloring to children and making them aware of the art field that can help a child grow, the group chose Sitio Camachile because the community that exists here, based on a geographically unique area, is far from the town which inhibits learning factors in school. There are also very few providers of alternative education in this community. Furthermore, national minorities continue to fight against poverty:

“As a special sector in society, the national minority also faces feudal inequality, corrupt and repressive government, and foreign domination – but there is something unique about their suffering that they experience as native races. The national minority are economically, politically, and socially marginalized people in the Philippines. With a long history of living in their ancestral land, they make up 15 to 20 percent of the country’s population.”[1]

Activities featured in Project Floridablanca are coloring with the Color By Number sheet (individual work) prepared by the team and free drawing on a blank card (group work). There were also teaching action songs (Ako ay May Lobo, Takure, and Baby Shark) to get the kids excited before the coloring started. This project also includes telling the children a story titled “Nang Magkakakulay ang Nayon” so that children who have not yet started school can have knowledge of the basic colors taught in schools.

Color Your Life aims to encourage children, at a young age, to continue doing creative activities that can help develop and cultivate their skills. In order for the children to have more motivation in art, Color Your Life gave out start-up art kits that they can use to create art.

Color Your Life is made up of members from the city of Quezon who want to help children, from the different communities they visit, so that they have an interest in art. Our team members are Agnes Asido, Raymart de Aza, Kevin del Prado, Julie Estabillo, Samantha Luz and Lourdes Navalta. In order to carry out Project Floridablanca, Color Your Life has volunteers, whom the group deeply appreciates, who help to teach the children. The following are: Joemar Brigado, Diazabel Reyes, Carlo Ting, Antonio A. Navalta II, Ann Lemeira Go and Ruel Carlos.

Aeta children are creative, intelligent, clever, and prudent. Color Your Life wants to support the Aetas, with the help of art, for the betterment of their community. The group dreams of returning to Sitio Camachile to develop more projects that will help cultivate their artistic prowess.

If you wish to help, donate, or volunteer in the next Color Your Life projects, you can call Lourdes Navalta (0917-150-6002) and Samantha Luz (0917-304-7551) or Please send a message to coloryourlifeproject@gmail.com.

[1] Reference: “Lakbayan Mula sa Pambansang Minorya,” Pinoy Weekly,  n.d.