AETAS of Zambales are the indigenous settlers around Mt. Pinatubo area in Zambales province. The FMM Sisters share the Good News with the people through helping in the formation of leaders, community organization, health program, literacy program, livelihood projects, enhancement of Aeta culture, research and educational possibilities attuned to the needs of their culture and community. Back

BADJAOS of Sulu: Siasi Island which lies near the tip of Sulu archipelago in Mindanao is home to countless Badjao people who have been largely living on the seas because they have become displaced as a people. Their rich territories – the islands of Sulu – have been taken over by other tribes or traders who have muscled their way through cultural dominance, money and other forms of power. Little by little though, the FMM Sisters have tried to be peacemakers in bridging the gap, reaching out to our Badjao brothers and sisters and helping them integrate to the main fiber of society through education, literacy programs, peace initiatives, leadership formation, livelihood programs and other parish based concerns. Back

MANGYANS of Mindoro are made up of different Mangyan tribes, the largest of which are the Mangyan Hanuno-o. Our dialogue of life with the Mangyan Hanuno-o began as sharing life with them in their settlement at Lagnas, a far barrio up the mountains of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. The concerns include justice, peace and integrity of creation (JPIC), agriculture, education, livelihood program and health. At present, the sisters are mainly involved with a very effective and succesful inter-tribe Mangyan alternative education-- PAMANA-KA school in Sitio Danlug and Balingaso in San Jose which is culture-based education for Mangyan students in Mindoro. Back

SUBANENS are based in Zamboanga peninsula. They are supposedly the largest group of indigenous people in the country. However, through many years of intermingling with settlers, they seemed to have lost touch with their culture and have developed an aversion to their identity as a people due to the loss of their ancestral lands as well as cultural dominance by other faiths or groups of people. Along the slopes of Mt. Malindang, the Subanen sacred mountain, the FMM sisters share life with them as they seek to recapture and enhance their culture, delineate and protect their ancestral lands, have livelihood projects for their families, education for their children, literacy for the adults and recognition and formation of genuine community leaders. Back