Hanifa Nanding, 18 years old has lived all her life in the lowlands. The community she lives in is situated in Liguasan Marsh, Maguindanao Province, South Central Mindanao.

Hanifa, a Maguindanawon, was part of a group of 23 young individuals who went on a Bentela daw Sayuda in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. Bentela daw Sayuda is a project component of ESSC's Bridging Leadership in Mindanao. It aims to provide its participants learning through an experience of visiting and sharing with a community not that of their own.

Bukidnon is a total of 11 hours travel by road, aboard three different modes of transportation, from Hanifa's small town. The province is also home to two known mountain ranges in Mindanao: the Kitanglad and Pantaden mountain ranges. Kitanglad and Pantaden are home to a number of Indigenous People in Mindanao, Philippines.

"So this is what a mountain is really like? Wow, the wind is so cold even if the sun is high. And it's so green! Are we nearing heaven already?" Hanifa could not stop herself from making comments during the entire time she went around Bukidnon.

Since it was her first time to see a mountain, "forestry and lumad" and anything related to the two were alien terms for Hanifa. The Bentela daw Sayuda then became a crash course on environment and Indigenous People.

She went around an agro-forestry farm in Lantapan, Bukidnon where she experienced going through a semi-forest. She saw what cabbages and lettuces look like, planted and outside a marketplace. She saw a mini-orchard of flowers that she did not know existed. The trip was a feast for the eyes and mind.

Hanifa knows she's a Maguindanawon, but she knew it more in the context of her religion-Islam. She heard of the term: Indigenous Peoples or Lumad but did not have a grasp of who they are and how they live. She has never heard of Indigenous Peoples' relationship with the land, with the mountains and with the environment we all live in.

"Indigenous Peoples know culture and they practice it through their arts and dances. And they know their trees and the mountains even if there are no signs on the trails."

The Talaandig community in Sungco, Lantapan was Hanifa's first engagement with an Indigenous Peoples tribe. Known for their strong leadership in Datu Vic "Migketay" Saway, and for their arts of soil painting and music, the Talaandig has definitely etched its mark and tribal identity. They left a strong impression on Hanifa. Datu Migketay's words of wisdom about being proud of who they are - their history and traditions made Hanifa think about her own culture as a Maguindanawon. She was in awe experiencing the confidence of the Talaandig youth in dancing and in signing traditional dances and songs. Such pride was not so common in her culture given that her religion is strict about dances and songs.

In the Pulangiyen community in Sitio Bendum, Bukidnon, which was her second engagement with Indigenous Peoples, Hanifa deeply appreciated Indigenous Peoples' relationship to the environment. She had to hike up a proper hill to see an actual water source. She engaged with the youth who knew the mountain so easily and knew most of the plants that surround them. She heard of watershed management from youth of her age and allowed herself to realize how important the environment was for them. In a similar way with the Talaandig youth, she experienced how the Pulangiyen youth were at ease at traditional dancing and singing.

After three full days, like all good things, the Bentela had to end. On the way down from Bindum, it became clearer to Hanifa that the mountain and the forest were no longer just words, imagination or pictures from a book. They were made real for her. The reality of the mountains, forest and Indigenous Peoples were not simply about its view and cool air. It was not just about the mountain's nearness to the sun and the sky. The mountain became tangible to Hanifa because of the people she met who live and take care of the environment that exists in it. The mountains and the forest are the homes of the Talaandig and the Pulangiyens. The mountain is sacred: the main source of life for many people, including the two tribes she had the chance to engage with.

It took Hanifa 18 years to be able to actually see and experience what a "mountain" is like. But it was worth the wait for she did not only see mountains up close; she experienced living in them and engaging with people whose identities are greatly linked to that of the mountains.

The 23 other participants of the Bentela daw Sayuda came from various tribes and places. Participants included youth members from the Agusan-Manobo tribe and Mamanwa tribe who reside in the CARAGA region of Mindanao, Philippines. A couple of participants were Subanen youth from Ipil, Zamboanga. A young leader from Carmen, Agusan was also part of the group. Hanifa also had another Maguindanawon with her during the Bentela.