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Community Development in the Camps

Community Development in the Camps (67)

AUGUST 8, 2023/ COTABATO CITY-BARMM. A famous quote says “education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”.

With education in a form of community trainings, members of cooperatives and people’s organization (PO) who are composed of farmers, transitioning combatants, women, youth, indigenous people and others are learning together necessary knowledge and skills relevant for the organizing, operation and management of their groups.

Trainings conducted are in relevance to the project PROACTIVE: Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violent Prevention and Economic Empowerment.

These activities help in building the capacities of the project beneficiaries to become equipped to handle and manage their organizations and the sub-projects to be provided to them by the project.

  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Community-based Enterprise Planning Technique (CEPT)
  • Basic marketing strategy
  • Disaster risk and reduction management
  • Operation and maintenance
  • Organizational and Project Management
  • Basic financial management

Some similar trainings are also being conducted for the members of Local Social Formation (LSF) who are organized to respond into pressing concerns in the community related to peace and security.

“In participating training like this, we learn knowledge which cannot be taught or learned in school”, Lailanie M. Arsani of Panggao, Munai, Lanap del Norte- Camp Bilal, stated.  

Abdulnasser G. Akmad of Camp Badre said that he joined the training for new learning or knowledge.

“I myself believe that there is no evil knowledge. It just depends how you will use that knowledge. If you use it for good or bad. In other way learning is also a way to be aware of such things”, he told.

Asraf Gunda Batuaan from Camp Bushra learned that “a secretary is different from an auditor”.

Simple knowledge like this is already relevant to awaken and enlighten the participants about project process for them to understand that development assistance comes with a shared responsibility towards sustainable benefits for all.

With the PROACTIVE, there are 24 cooperatives being provided with capacity development support and livelihood assistance based on the potential enterprise identified through CEPT.

Twenty-five People’s organizations are formed with various capacity building activities and to receive infrastructure sub-projects.

There are 24 LSFs who are organized and will be granted with an assistance to be used for a project that shall be responsive to an identified peace and security concerns in the community.

Organizing community organizations twinned with education and trainings have been very relevant for the groups to become independent and self-reliant knowing the process of organizational management, project implementation, operation and maintenance, which are all vital towards project sustainability.

The Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) as the implementing agency, has been facilitating the said trainings for the cooperatives, POs and LSFs across the 16 barangays in the six major camps of the MILF namely Camp Abubakar, Maguindanao- Camp Badre, Camp Bilal, Camp Bushra, Camp Omar and Camp Rajamuda.

With the project’s approach, beneficiaries and other partners and stakeholders are united, discuss and work together the needed actions towards progress and peace. They feel the attention through the development assistance long been inadequate for the conflict-affected areas, like the PROACTIVE brings to them.

PROACTIVE as a project that supports to camps transformation and development is a collaborative programme of the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP – Philippines) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) under the European Union Framework for Assistance to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Mindanao Peace and Development Programme - Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM).

The signing is for the Bangsamoro Camps Transformation Project (BCTP) between the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) and the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) on July 28, 2023 in Cotabato City.

Relevant to camps transformation, the project aims to improve the access to socio-economic services and basic infrastructure of the communities within the Six (6) previously acknowledged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps.

Present in the signing were Mangontawar Macacuna, chairman of the BDA Inc. Board of Directors, Steven Muncy, executive director of CFSI, Rhadzni Taalim, executive director of BDA Inc., Noraida Abdullah Karim, CFSI Director for Mindanao Programme and Ali O. Salik, coordinator of Joint Task Forces on Camps Transformation (JTFCT) MILF. 

Chairman Mangontawar expressed his gratitude for the trust that was extended to BDA being the lead partner of the BCTP project.

He said that, “we are very committed, In shaa Allah, to strive hard as we are guided by one of our core values which is striving for excellence”.

BDA exec. dir. Taalim emphasized the importance of said agreement for the transformation of the target communities in the Bangsamoro.

“Let us remember that we are not just implementing a project, but we are contributing to the positive transformation of communities and lives of the Bangsamoro people”, Taalim said. 

An inception workshop was facilitated and concluded on the same date wherein roles and responsibilities of each party were discussed and clarified. 

BCTP helps in supporting the gains of the peace process and the legitimacy of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB).

It is funded under the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF) administered by the World Bank.

June 10, 2023. We present to you the compiled stories of decommissioned combatants we met in relevant to the implementation of the program in support to camps transformation and development. Here’s the link for the full narratives of our peace advocates highlighted below.

 

 HERE'S THE LINK

 

(FEBRUARY 28, 2023/ PAGALUNGAN, MAGUINDANAO-BARMM). “While there was armed conflict, I as a mother was also in battle to secure my kids from famine and war”, Babu Ina ni Gunda said as she recalls life during war years ago.

Babu (Maguindanaon term for elderly woman) Ina (mother) ni (of) Gunda with the complete name Mondingan Kagui Kabasalan is a 71-year-old widow from Brgy. Kilangan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao- a community within Camp Rajamuda (one of the MILF’s six major camps as identified in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro- CAB).

During the war in the past years, before this present peace in the land, Babu Ina ni Gunda has had three children. Her husband is among the ‘mujahiddeen/ warriors’ who were fighting those days. Hence, she had to take the lead for the survival of the children.

She recalls that “instead of taking care of the laundry, education and leisure time of my children, I was in a battle to secure my kids’ from famine and war.”

She said that in order to get food from their cornfield, they sneaked at night time travelling kilometers after kilometers of cold, dark and fearful land. They have to cross bodies of water to secretly harvest corns from the field and carried them back at the evacuation center where her children are waiting for her to bring foods.

“It was really hard for us mothers being an evacuee especially when you have children”, Babu Ina ni Gunda stated.

She said that they have been into the same situation due to protracted conflict in the past, since 1972, until peace and development has started reigning in the Bangsamoro.

Now, Babu Ina ni Gunda is 71 years old, with ten (10) children and twenty (20) grandchildren.

She is happily taking care of her backyard garden in their village in Camp Rajamuda.

“I really love gardening, that is why if you don’t mine, I will show to you my small garden so that maybe you give some vegetable seed” she uttered with a genuine smile on her face.

Babu Ina ni Gunda’s grandson is among the members of the Sustainable Farmers Agriculture Association in their village. She is always eager to listen and attend to community meetings and especially this day when she learned that the topic during that day was about livelihood.

“So then, I joined the association”, she happily said.

The association was selected as one of the recipients of the PROACTIVE: Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violence Prevention and Economic Empowerment.

PROACTIVE is a collaborative programme of the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP – Philippines) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) under the European Union Framework for Assistance to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Mindanao Peace and Development Programme - Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM).

Through the program, the association of Babu Ina ni Gunda along with other organizations across the six major camps of the MILF will get assistance to prosper, which will be relevant to help them become productive.

 

 

(February 27, 2023/ COTABATO CITY-BARMM). Members of cooperatives in the camp communities of the MILF planned together recently to determine potential livelihood that may be responsive to the priorities and needs in their villages.

This was through the Community-based Enterprise Planning Technique (CEPT) facilitated by the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) in relevance to the implementation of the PROACTIVE: Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violence Prevention and Economic Empowerment.

In Brgy. Kilangan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao- Camp Rajamuda, the organized group is the Sustainable Agriculture Farmers Association.

“I joined this kind of activity because I like to learn more knowledge especially about socio-economic” Mondingan Kabasalan, a participant from the Camp, stated.

In Brgy. Kakal, Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Yasir Managu of Ampatuan Kalilintad Agriculture Cooperative said that he joined the association hoping that if those farming machineries or tools will be given to them it will be a big help to them as farmers.

For Abubakar Akmad of Sitio Malabaw Agriculture Cooperative in Brgy. Sifaran, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, the establishment of the cooperative is inspired by their aspiration that this will give them more opportunities for assistance from both the government and non-government organizations.

There were twenty-four (24) participants per camp for the CEPT.

During the activity, members and officials of the said cooperatives or associations raised their concerns and recommended solutions through by identifying the appropriate enterprise for the group. This shall be based on the available raw materials in the community from which the product to be marketed for income shall be made from.

According to BDA Inc., the concept of CEPT is to assist the locals in each village by producing goods out of the raw materials available in the community, which can result to potential source of income helpful for their families, and eventually to the entire community.

The tool has been used during the previous projects of BDA that helped communities become more productive up to present days. It was also adopted for the on-going initiatives related to the Bangsamoro Transition; wherein significant results are achieved.

CEPT is also being prepared for community recipients in the other camps like Camp Abubakar, Bilal and Bushra to be conducted in the following days.

PROACTIVE is a collaborative programme of United Nation Development Programme (UNDP – Philippines) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) under the European Union Framework for Assistance to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Mindanao Peace and Development Programme - Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM).

This joint programme aims to contribute in enhancing local capacities to facilitate transition and transformation of the six (6) acknowledged camps of the MILF into peaceful and productive communities.

 

(Camp Badre/ 20 February 2023). Datukan K. Ebrahim, 58, is among the decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chosen to undergo various support activities towards transformation and progress.

He is a father of nine (9) children, some of which are married already from whom he has grandchildren.

His source of income is through farming of corn and native bananas. This farming may not give luxurious life for his family but it’s his way to survive their day-to-day needs.

Commonly known as Bapa Thoks in their community at Brgy. Datalpandan, Guindulungan, Maguindanao, he recalls the past where the battle to peace was elusive and life was indeed hard.

“At the young age, I was already among the evacuees due to violence and protracted conflict”, Bapa Thoks said.

There is no further elaboration of his difficulties in life during those days but his appearance and sense of understanding to his responsibility as a ‘mujahideen’ manifest his life experience of courage and dedication to the Bangsamoro cause.

Bapa Thoks is the caretaker of the farm machinery provided by the current project on camps transformation, the PROACTIVE: Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violent Prevention and Economic Empowerment.

“Like the previous projects given to us, these are really beneficial to the community specially the road project, warehouse, and solar drier. These have huge impact in our community”, he stated.

Growing old to this journey in the Bangsamoro, Bapa Thoks is a witness of how peace is gradually taking place in this land through various support from partners.

“This peacefulness in the community is priceless that even if they give me a million in exchange of peace, I would not accept the money. Because peace gives more significance to the community greater than the money”, he said.

Bapa Thoks is happy that more than five years since the previous projects were implemented, it is still operational and serving the needs of the community.

“In managing these projects, we are not paid and sometimes we used our own pocket. But that is because we wanted to ensure that what were given to us will prosper and be sustainable” he stated.

According to Bapa Thoks, the organization has a maintenance fund being used for any problem encountered e.g., farm machinery. The fund comes from the income of the operation of the farming machine collected whenever a member utilizes the unit.

The group of Bapa Thoks, named as Kalilintad People’s Organization is selected as one of the recipients of the PROACTIVE, a collaborative programme of the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP – Philippines) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) under the European Union Framework for Assistance to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Mindanao Peace and Development Programme - Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM).

Under the programme, the organization of Bapa Thoks is expected to undergo various assistance intended towards the goal on camps transformation and development such as support for agriculture-based enterprises and alternative/ vocational livelihood programs; market linkage support; livelihood capacity building support for groups and individuals and; micro-grants for scaling up or diversification of livelihoods.

With this PROACTIVE, Bapa Thoks is hopeful for better life ahead. Witness of war in the past, he is committed with his current task as caretaker of the project that will help keep peace in the community. (S.Zacaria/BDA Inc.)

(BARANGAY KINEBEKA, Datu Odin Sinsuat Maguindanao Del Norte/ February 15, 2023).  Officials from the World Bank took a mission to a camp community of the MILF particularly in this village under Camp Badre on February 15, 2023.  

Ndiame Diop, Country Director for Philippines of World Bank said, “At the World Bank we truly value this partnership with the BARMM….and we have been supporting communities like yours for many years and we have been very committed to continue this collaboration”.

He also said that the visit was a part of a two day visit to discuss with different stakeholders for this partnership. Diop elaborated the purpose of the visit which is to have insights on the needs of the community and what are the ways forward.

He even recalled the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF Phase 1-3) and how it developed many projects for the community and now they came with a new program through the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF) that will soon to start.

The visit encompassed a short community program that allowed the community members shared their needs, concerns and stories relevant to understand their life conditions in the camp.

“We are thankful, we are consulted as well as we participate in this and we are happy for it” Indigenous People (IP) Representative Agustin Apit said.

The open forum addressed issues on road accessibility issues which centered on ease access of the community to a farm to market road for their crops and other products. Alternative Learning System (ALS) in support to access to basic education for the community, packaged implementation instead of piece meal approach was pointed out as a more effective tool, lack of connectivity or signal which foster difficulty in communication and in schooling. Also, the pressing issue of climate change like deforestation, wherein this community was affected by the Typhoon Paeng last October 2022. 

During the community visit, Sokeyna Kane, Fragility, Conflict and Violence Director of World Bank said “We will try to fix the problem as much as we can…”.

She did mention the community driven development (CDD) and a long-term project implementation for the community as support and to promote the welfare of the community.

The said activity concluded with a fruitful community driven discussion. The visitors took home insights which will be paramount to the implementation of the upcoming program for the above-mentioned community related to Normalization in the Bangsamoro

February 15, 2023. The project team is recently working for the strengthening/organizing and validation of cooperatives and its members who are among the major beneficiaries of the project.

As the implementing agency, the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) has already mobilized its hired staff in meeting and courtesy with local government units and other stakeholders. Communities involved were also informed of the project during wide- orientations.

BDA Inc. likewise gained the continuing support and guidance of the Joint Task Force on Camps Transformation (JTFCT) through a meeting in January this year.

The agency has also witnessed handover and groundbreaking of some assistance.

As signed in the responsibility party agreement for the PROACTIVE between BDA Inc. and the UNDP Philippines, the program aims to contribute in enhancing local capacities to facilitate transition and transformation of the six (6) acknowledged camps of the MILF into peaceful and productive communities.

It is named as PROACTIVE: Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violence Prevention and Economic Empowerment. 

PROACTIVE is a collaborative programme of United Nation Development Programme (UNDP – Philippines) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) under the European Union Framework for Assistance to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Mindanao Peace and Development Programme - Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM).

The project will work on three components such as inclusive and sustainable livelihoods, initial peace dividends and strengthening social cohesion and community resilience.

It covers sixteen (16) villages across the six identified major camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) namely Camp Abubakar As- Siddique, Camp Badre, Camp Bilal Bin Rabbah Darul Shuhadah, Camp Bushra Somiorang, Camp Omar Ibn Al-Khattab and Camp Rajamuda.

March 20, 2022. Improved road access, the chance to meet together despite the distance and pandemic and more of these stories manifest the significant progress and transformation happening in the camp communities once marginalized from development.

During the recent gathering of community volunteers and the transitioning combatants from the different villages covered under the six major camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) on March 14-15, 2022 at Cotabato City, shared their narratives and experiences in relation to the on-going transformation in the camps.

“Before, the road going to Brgy. Tamparan in Munai, Lanao del Norte (Camp Bilal) was difficult and risky. Now, we are happy that there is a better road to reach the village, far from its condition, years ago”, Joint Task Force on Camps Transformation (JTFCT) Camp Bilal said.

Co-chairman of the JTFCT Camp Badre expressed that “Simple meeting like this activity is already significant for us. We are all comrades in this struggle, all worked as combatants but it was very rare that we meet because we are coming from different camps. But this project gathered us”.

This said gathering happened during the Project End Review and Reflection Session conducted in line with completion of the Camps of Learning Project (CLP)- a project that aims to promote inclusive peace through literacy in the Bangsamoro.

In the event, BDA together with partner and the participants reviewed the project implementation and drew lessons learned that shall be relevant to consider in the future. This was guided by the project development objectives, project steps, and was through a reflection session wherein the body identified what went well, and the areas that need be improved.

Took off in April 2021, CLP has touched the lives of many in the camps. The building of community learning centers equipped with complete facilities provided a permanent and convenient learning place for the learners who, before the project, have to run into any available facility in their village just to join the classes on Alternative Learning System (ALS).  

Attending and completing the ALS sessions helped promote peace with the beneficiaries feeling the empowerment and self- growth as they learn basic literacy such as writing their names by their own, counting numbers, reading and writing few basic words.

Learner from Camp Abubakar is confident that by the coming national and local election in the country, people can read their names from the voters’ list as they can now write to cast their votes.

From Camp Badre, the learner is grateful that even without a degree, the project brought them education and made them experienced studying and learning at school through the ALS.

As the project also carried skills training for the beneficiaries, people in Camp Bilal are thankful that aside from basic literacy, they also learned additional knowledge and skills that is helpful to augment their daily income.

For the people in Camp Rajamuda, the learning they acquired from the project will never be forgotten.

Camp Omar is likewise in gratitude for the project that served as bridge for the people to learn.

Learner in Camp Bushra is happy that the literacy sessions are completed.

CLP is formally closing this March 2022 leaving fully equipped learning centers across the six major camps of the MILF. The project hopes that the facility shall be used in the future in bringing literacy, empowerment and development in the lives of the people in the camps, long been deprived of such services due to the war in the past.

There were 480 learners who successfully completed the ALS and are now confident having the ability to read, write and count.

The implementation of ALS in camp communities was guided by the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed with the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE- BARMM) for areas under the Bangsamoro Region. Communities outside the region like Brgy. Inug-ug in Pikit is coordinated with the Department of Education- North Cotabato Division (Region XII) and Lanao del Norte Division (Region IX) for Brgy. Tamparan in Munai. 

Further, the project was in support to the Normalization Annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

CLP is funded by Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

February 2, 2022. In the remote communities in Mindanao, particularly Bangsamoro Region, access to basic services like education and health remains deprived, although with significant improvement considering the continuing development assistance from various donor organizations. This has become more apparent now with the Bangsamoro Government now established anticipated to be responsive to the needs of the people in the region, long been wedged by decades of armed conflict.

On education, (as per the results of its Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2019), that by region, Metro Manila posted the highest functional literacy rate of 96.5%, while the lowest was recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with 71.6%.

Of this number Sally Bandara, 30, a Teduray from Brgy. Datalpandan, Guindulungan in Maguindanao (within MILF Camp Badre) can be counted among the illiterate groups.

Teduray is among the tribes identified as indigenous people.

Sally says that because of distance and access, being in the mountains, they did not get education.

“Our ancestors were illiterate, because of that, our parents did not allow us to study”, Sally stated.

With the construction of community learning center in their village in Brgy. Datalpandan, Guindulungan in Maguindanao (within MILF Camp Badre), and the implementation of Alternative Learning System (ALS), Sally feels positive about getting education.

“Back then, we used to run from the school because of ignorance, but now, it is the school that comes to us. You have given us this CLC with teachers who are walking on different roads just to reach us for education”, she expressed.

Sally is very happy that she is now learning to write her own name, that she will no longer rely on thumbmark to affix her signature.

Education was also impossible for a combatant like Taha Gawang, 51, Maguindanaon, who is residing from the same village of Sally.

He said “it is due to poverty and war in the past that I did not get education”.

Now, through the ALS, Taha can write his own name and is happy that recently, he was able to write his name when he registered to receive money from a relative abroad, unlike before where he can only do thumbmark.

“Staff from the remittance center was also surprised when they saw me writing my name”, Taha happily shared.

Adullah H.Esmail, the instructional manager, said that Taha is among the transitioning combatants of the MILF, and does farming to sustain his family of eight.

This particular implementation of ALS in camp communities is under the Camps of Learning Project (CLP) that aims to promote peace and inclusion through basic literacy in the Bangsamoro. The project is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (#AECID).

Baidido Malignan, 45, a Maguindanaon is also an ALS learner registered under the project. She is enrolled at the CLC in Camp Omar, specifically in Brgy. Saniag, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Baidido narrated that she was not able to get education because she has to help her father in the farm, where they get a living for their family of five.

“I joined ALS to learn writing and reading”, she said.

According to Datufaizal Macacana, the instructional manager of Baidido, she can now write her name along with other few words. Also, albeit slowly, Baidido can now read.

Baidido is a widow and is selling a pastil (a rice with shredded chicken wrapped in banana leaf) to provide for her children. 

ALS in camp communities is also giving hope to the youth. In Brgy. Tamparan, Munai, Lanao del Norte (belong to MILF Camp Bilal), Abdani Deki and Diya U. Mamaki are both timid during ALS sessions but are appreciative when Aisah Acob, the IM teaches them one-on-one.

Now, they can write their own names and other few words. Aisah reported that the two have significant improvement on penmanship, even better than hers, but remains slow in reading activities. She hopes that by the end of the project, the learners will be able to read sentences.

Under the CLP, there are four hundred eight (480) number of ALS learners across the six major camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) where the project is being implemented. 

They are vulnerable sectors in the community like women, out-of-school youth, elderlies, indigenous people and others who were not able to get formal education due to poverty, difficult access and armed conflict in the past years.

It is noted that the implementation of ALS in camp communities is well- coordinated with the BARMM’s Education Ministry for the areas under the Bangsamoro Region. Communities outside the region like Brgy. Inug-ug in Pikit is coordinated with the Department of Education- North Cotabato Division (Region XII) and Lanao del Norte Division (Region IX) for Brgy. Tamparan in Munai. 

With the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) as the Project Implementing Unit (PIU), the project is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

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