When ELF decided on a strategic partnership with PBAZ, Paaralang Bayan ng mga Ayta sa Zambales, I proposed that we name our program “Developing Aeta LEADERS.”
I explained that LEADERS is an acronym for Leaders, Educators, Advocates, for Development, Empowerment, Resilience, and Sustainability.
All the key words are part of the standard development NGO vocabulary. The only word that is relatively different is “resilience.” And yet, it may be one of the most central concept for the Aetas.