Visiting Datu Salvan Elementary School is an oppurtunity to meet innovative and dedicated teachers for the IPs.... they harness wind and sun to electrify their schools - computers, classrooms. They give potable water to the community through their simple hydro technology. Much have to be done....used tarpaulins covered Grade 7 make shift classrooms.... dedicated teachers reserved a space in their classroom - making it their "class homes"... children look chubby but were malnourished (they ate cassava, camote and other root crops which have toxic contents)... Teachers go down for their families once a week - every friday for a P150 habal habal ride.
SOCSARGEN Peace Network invited CEMCDO through LGU of
General Santos City to orient vendors/small and informal businesses in the city
at SOCSARGEN Peace Network Office on February 11, 2013 Here’s the highlight of the orientation:
FUNDING
A.Individual
Application
1.Qualifications
a.No
existing loan from FRAME or other LGU-led agency
b.With
existing business
c.With
Business Permit or Barangay Business Clearance
d.Permanent
Residence of General Santos City
e.No
pending criminal case
f.Attendance to Orientation
2.Allowable
Loan
a.Less
than P10k- payable in 6 months
b.P10k
to P50k – payable in 12 months
3.Interest
Rate
a.5%
per annum
4.Business
Plan
5.Payment
scheme depends on the business cycle—weekly, bimonthly, monthly
6.Co-maker
B.Priority
Development Assistance Fund
1.By
group of not less than 10 (informal)
2.Endorsement
by the Congressional office
3.Maximum
of P 50,000 per group
4.Starting
Business or expansion
5.Business
Plan
Kag.
Beth Bagonoc of LGU Gensan also assisted the orientation with Fr. Angelo Buenavides
of SOCSARGEN Peace Network.
The 2nd day of the celebration of Mindanao
Week of Peace (MWOP), November 30, highlighted Culture of Peace through Sports
at Rajah Buayan Air Station.
“We honor RESPECT, DISCIPLINE and TEAMWORK” is the main
mantra of all kids participating in creating culture of peace through
football.
Almost 300 boys and girls consisting of 15 teams aged 8
to 15 years old participated in the games.
The program started with a tri-people (Muslim, Christian,
Lumad) prayer. Col. Jonathan of Rajah Buayan
Air Station welcomed the participants
while Fr. Angelo Buenavides gave the rationale of the program. Founder of
GenSan Sarangani Football Club, Retired Col. Diego Laguna gave the mechanics of
the game.
Every registration of the participants gave way to
donation of various sports equipment such as balls and metal frame for the
goals to selected “poor school” in the area. Schools beneficiaries were given
free football clinic and/or soccer balls and goal posts.
Generous sponsors supported the advocacy:
Pediatrica, Inc. donated bottles of “Growee” vitamins to
all the kids. They also selected “poor”
players by donating soccer socks and “shields”.
The Air Force hosted the
event.
JTF Gensan and 1002nd
IB provide transportation and security of the players.
GenSan Sarangani Football Club
facilitated the training and acted as referees.
SOCSARGEN Peace Network Youth
volunteers prepared the program and gave logistical support.
The team participated were from Fatima,
Alabel High School, Alabel Elementary, IBED – Lagao, ND Siena, GSC School for
the Arts, J. Catolico, SPED, West Elementary Teams A, B, C, Conel Elementary,
Conel High School, SKC and Buayan Elementary.
GSC School for the Arts hosted the Mindanao Week of Peace
(MWOP) 2012 on November 29, 2012. It opened with an authentic Lumad prayer
followed by a Muslim and Christian prayers by the pupils in the host school.
Indigenous dances were presented
by the pupils – B’laan “courting” dance and a folk dance.
Various peace partners gave
messages of peace, partnership and collaboration to the community. Peace Partners present were SOCSARGEN Peace
Network, JTF Gensan, 73rd IB, NDDU Peace Partners, MSU, YCSC, Kabpapagariya
Ensemble, BLGU of Dadianags North, City LGU, Medical Group of Dr. Torre, and RMMC.
MSU Kabpapagariya Ensemble
filled the air with peace songs… its rhythm made the community dance and sing
together with the group.
Students were given materials to make a kite while peace
songs were being played. Peace partners
coached the pupils how to make a kite.
They made to fly the kites as their personal wishes and our common wish
for PEACE were send to the ‘sky’.
Simple lunch wrapped in banana leaves were served after
the flying.
Mindanao Week of Peace is annually celebrated every 4th
Thursday of November until the 1st Wednesday of December. Various activities set by the peace partners
were set starting November 29 to December 3, 2012.
In one time, they ceases to LOVE... they ceases to embrace their FAITH... and PEACE is no where to find. Poverty tempted them to accept "offers" from armed groups. Their lives were always on hiding and threatened. Our session gave them HOPE... and that they don't want it to lose...
May the society help rekindle their candle of HOPE so the candles of LOVE, FAITH and PEACE will be lit again.
More than 600 volunteers coming from various sectors
converged near the Silway riverbanks of Brgy. Dadiangas North on September 29, 2012 to
plant additional trees, cultivate the existing trees previously planted and
clean the riverbanks.
Mostly bamboos, narra, acacia and banana were planted in
the area.
The riverbank stretches about 17 hectares and through
convergence and volunteerism, this area is targeted to be transformed into a
mini forest within the city. This will
also prevent the soil erosion and possible flooding during rainy seasons.
Schools participated were Shalom Crest Wizard Academy,
Dadiangas North Elementary/High School, Dadiangas East Elementary School, and Girls
Scouts of the Philippines – Paopao Elementary School, Holy Trinity College/High
School.
Private organizations also participated - The Kiwanis
Club - Synergy Gensan and Metro Bank (in the celebration of their 50th
Anniversary),
The military group secured the place and shuttle the
volunteers to the venue. JTF-Gensan,
PNP, and the Philippines Army participated in the activities. JTF-Gensan donated more than 500 seedlings.
In partnership with the barangay, the trees will be
monitored and will be taking care of.
SOCSARGEN Peace Network, a network of various
organizations for peace and development, will continue to sustain the activity
by inviting groups or individual to participate in the tree planting and
cleaning every month as a simple contribution of being the stewards of the
environment.
SOCSARGEN Peace Network invited 70 youth volunteers from
various schools, organizations and tribes mostly in General Santos City to
attend the Culture of Peace (COP) and Teambuilding seminar workshop on June 7,
2012 at a military camp transformed to a peace camp of the 73rd IB named
Fort Santiago.
LEARNING TEAMBUILDING
THROUGH PLAY
Fr. Angelo Buenavides facilitated teambuilding through
play like “breaking records” and “theory of evolution”. The learnings after the plays were shared by participants
who were further processed by the facilitator. The concepts and values learned
include the value of having good strategies before going to an activity, unity,
and excellence.
APPRECIATING PEACE THROUGH SONGS
MSU-Kabpapagariya
Ensemble, the official performing arts group of the Mindanao State University –
General Santos City, perform acoustics and entertained the participants peace and
environment songs like “Kapayapaan” and “Bathala”.
DEFINING PEACE
Participants
were asked to find an object that will symbolize peace. Some get balls, stones, slippers, broom stick
and some plants and construct a peace symbols.
Some themes that surfaced include playing football introduces peace to
the children, peace is unity.
Facilitators
Nova Masoco and Gina Misoles gave an input on peace. They shared that “PEACE means stillness and
calm, a sense of well being. Harmony and cooperation. A reality when societies are just and fair to
all. It exists in the society when
conflict are resolved non-violently and when there are practical efforts to satisfy
the basic needs of people in a fair and reasonable manner”.
TECHNOLOGY AND
PEACE BUILDING – SOCIAL MEDIA
Danny Sabino of SOCSARGEN Peace Network, shared how
technology and social media contribute to peace building like introducing and
re-enforcing various peace advocacies.
Social media was defined -“Social media includes web-based and mobile based technologies
which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among
organizations, communities, and individuals.”
Social media offers a good platform for the youth to
converge… knowing that majority of the populace is youth. The platform offers a good venue to share
good practices of volunteerism, generate informed decisions and get immediate
feedback.
“But at the end, it is also good to shut down the
computer and meet people personally.” says
the speaker.
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE: RESOLVING
PREJUDICES.
Youth
Volunteers were grouped by Tribes. The
composition resulted to groups of Illonggo, Cebuano, Ilokano, Tagalog and
Maguindanaon. Each tribe will be asked to put positive and negative traits
which they observed to other tribes.
Participants were then asked to explain why they write those traits and
asked each tribe to comments on the traits that were given to them. After the activities, the tribe somewhat lay
down their prejudices.
Nova
shared that “Culture is the way people think and behave. This includes the way they dress, the type of
food that they eat and the language they speak.
Example, Muslim eat halal meat, women cover all parts of their body.”
Furthermore,
the facilitator shared “Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude
toward members of the group. Common
features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a
tendency to discriminate against members of the group.
RESOLVING CONFLICTS
Seven
volunteers were asked to hold each other with arms crossed. Everybody thought of a spot without talking
to each other. The workshop resulted to
a tug-of-war scenario where everybody wanted to go somewhere else and movements
were chaotic.
For the second
round, the volunteers were allowed to talk to each other and plan where they
want to go. The result were happy and harmonious movement where they plan to
go.
The facilitator
then gave an input, “That, conflict is natural.
An on-going and dynamic process.
That conflict can result to a positive change and that conflict is
embedded in all types of relationships”.
COMMUNICATION.
A message
relay was conducted. Participants formed
4 lines with equal members each. The
workshop were processed and consolidated with an input that “There is a good communication if one’s
thoughts, feelings, and needs to others are clearly understood. Communication is sending and receiving of
messages. A dialogue is knowing where
you stand and meeting each other and seeing what we can do together. “
“Negotiation
was introduced as a problem solving tool and MEDIATION is a satisfactory solutions
through facilitation of third party”.
CULTURE OF PEACE.
The whole
day activity was highlighted with an input on Culture of Peace (COP). “Culture
of Peace is the wholeness of life where every persons can live with dignity…
where there is an appreciation and respect for the integrity of all
person. A way of life that promotes the
well-being of all human beings, regardless of different cultural backgrounds
and historicity… where the group of people grow in dignity, self determination,
service and solidarity with their fellow human beings.
After the
seminar workshop, Lt. Sumbong of 73rd IB Community Extension
Officer, allowed the participants to move around the camp where peace messages
abound the landscape of the camp, bonsai can be seen all over the place, and at
an elevation and good angle, you can see the panoramic view of Sarangani Bay
and the mountains of Maasim.
Football
players from the participants played with the soldiers while waiting for the
transportation.
The venue
of the seminar was offered free by 73rd IB. LGU of General Santos City through the office of the city mayor, shuttled the participants from General Santos
City to Maasim and vice versa.
