St. Therese of the Child Jesus was established by Jesuit missionaries thirty (30) years ago. It subsists largely due to the generosity of the foreign and local benefactors, mostly friends and relatives of missionaries assigned in Miarayon, who see the wisdom in educating the youth of the mission area alongside delivering spiritual nourishment of the people.
When the pioneer missionaries get transferred to other assignments, benefactors and donors of the school stop supporting the school or transfer their support to other projects of the previous missionaries. Often, the school is left operating on a shoe-string budget and on many occasions, borrows funds from the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus for the needed upgrade and upkeep of its facilities.
The passage of The Enhanced Basic Education Act (R.A. 10533) in 2013, which seeks to increase and improve compulsory education from 11 to 12 years, adds to the burden because of the need to accommodate a greater number of students.
Miarayon is a barangay of the fourth class municipality of Talakag, Bukidnon. It is a community of tribal minorities: Talaandigs (80%), Dumagats (15%), Maranaw Moslems (4%) and Igorots (1%) comprising about 5,000 families. The local dialect is Binukid but most could speak the Visayan language. The area has limited access to water and electricity and the roads may be accessed mainly by motorcycle (habal-habal), horse-riding or walking. There is no reliable signal for telecommunication yet.
THE TALAANDIGS
The Talaandigs are friendly people. They are deeply religious and value family and social kinship. They are reliable and industrious. Despite these traits, many remain poor because of the lack of opportunity to get proper education. To know more about the Talaandigs, view the full video made by Symantec Tooth and Gum Care here.
ST. THERESE SCHOOL OF MIARAYON
St. Therese School of Miarayon is the only High School operating in the area covering about five (5) barangays or villages with about seven (7) or so public elementary schools. The next available High Schools are some sixty (60) or so kilometers away from the centro. In 2015, there are approximately 320 students. However, this figure dips radically due to students who drop out within the first quarter of the school year. Of the students who continued, approximately 500 students have graduated and a good number have gone on to college and earned their degrees.
