A college dedicated to caring and sharing

Tucked in the heart of Central Mindanao is a small college that is demonstrating in real terms the Christian idea of caring and sharing. This is the Southern Christian College in Midsayap, Cotabato, whose vision is a "caring and sharing so-ciety that loves God and is proud of the Mindanao heritage: that is just, free, and peaceful; that provides opportunity for education grounded on faith, service, and character; that promotes sustainable agro-industrial development towards an ecologically balanced environment that enhances quality of life."

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The college began as a Protestant school shaped and reshaped into an organic collection of traditions and distinctive ways. Its beginnings were marked by the church women's active participation, raising as they did, cash and material donations to start the school's operation. In 1949, the school was registered as a non-stock, non-profit religious educational system as an educational arm of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. The original incorporators who composed the first board of trustees were Atty. Florentino L. Martinez, Claudio P. Fajardo, Rev. Elton Brown, Clemente Dimafeliz, Dr. Samuel Royola, Rev. Manuel J. Villanueva, Fernando dela Cerna, Bibiano Quinones, Juan Cruzado, and Emilio Abarido.

Since the college's foundation, church workers, either lay persons or ministers, administered Southern Christian College. These were Atty. Florentino L. Martinez, Rev. Angel J. Alvaro, Prof. Guillermo Magdamo, Bishop Proculo Rodriguez, Dr. Eliezer D. Mapanao, Dr. Filemon L. Lagon, and finally, Dr. Erlinda Senturias. Its present board of trustees is headed by Melchor S. Morales as chairman.

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Six years ago, Erlinda was program secretary for the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, her assignment primarily health care, and coordinating work on HIV/AIDS. She traveled a lot in this work, organizing conferences for HIV/AIDS victims, her eyes opening to the "realization that there are so many problems in society, but it is patients who break down these barriers."

Her "baptism of fire" at her WCC job occurred at her first international meeting held in Berlin, where she shared the same bed with a woman who had HIV-AIDS. Knowing that AIDS is not transmitted simply by sharing the same bed, Linda was deeply touched by the attitude of the patient. "She had learned to accept herself, and today, she is still alive, and living a meaningful life."

Linda says she meets a good number of conservative Christians who say, "If you're really a true Christian, you won't have AIDS. Meaning, you have AIDS because you're gay. So, we see that the churches can contribute to the formation of prejudice, they have a narrow understanding of human sexuality.

"Our goal is to make the church a safe place to tell your story. So we use the bottom-up approach, not the from the top-down approach. I also learned transparency and acceptability and giving a safe space for HIV-AIDS patients or who are HIV-positive."

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Linda's exposure to society's pains and realities began when she practiced medicine in her hometown in Occidental Mindoro. She had finished pre-med at Silliman University and the medical course at the University of Santo Tomas. While she was still an intern, she married Al Senturias Jr., an intense street parliamentarian who had been a most outstanding student at Silliman, majoring in political science and economics.

While Al was executive director of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace, Linda was school physician at Divine Word College in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. She then joined the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and took charge of its national ecumenical health concerns committee which promoted alternative medicine, and whose members included Jaime Samoco, Mamita de Tavera and the late Jose Diokno.

At the NCCP, she said, she was caught up in the vision of "transforming church and society. It was a golden year for us. We were involved, were taking our work seriously and giving training in churches and institutions. We took nurses to rural areas and enabled women in churches to see possibilities for engaging in healing ministries."

Linda also became president of the women's church group at the Citadel Church in Project 4. She was also secretary for the Greater Manila Annual Conference's Christian Women's Association. In 1984, she was moderator of the Christian Medical Commission; in 1989, WCC invited her to join its staff.

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Before her term at WCC was over, she was invited to become president of Southern Christian College. It was going to be a different type of work, but it was challenging. Now entering her second five-year term at SCC, Linda says she is "not the traditional school administrator."

To make SCC different from other educational institutions, special emphasis is placed on "service learning." Linda explains this as learning in school what the student can bring back to the community. "Education generally alienates one from his community. Here we teach students things that they can take back home to their communities." There is emphasis on "borderless education," as found in the curricular offerings of such degrees as bachelor of arts in business administration, agriculture, theology, and teacher education, and master of arts in education, business education, and public administration.

Aware of the Muslim-Christian conflict in Mindanao, Erlinda saw to the creation of the Institute for Peace and Development Studies, and holding of a Summer Institute for Muslim Studies. SCC has 10 Muslim scholars, and the degree courses integrate Islamic teachings, the Koran, and Muslim ethics, Mindanao-Sulu cultural heritage, and social development and leadership formation and personality development.

A breakthrough has been made in breaking down Muslim-Christian hostilities, says Linda. A "bridging" program Linda initiated called for putting up health centers in 16 Muslim barangays. The Muslims probably saw that the SCC staffers were serious about helping them. Now Christians can enter the barangays without mishap, unlike in the past. Also, they were able to patch up differences between two warring Muslim families.

Some of Linda's first jobs involved signing a collective bargaining agreement with the faculty union, renovating the toilets, improving the technical educational building; constructing the Global House, a residence for visitors; establishing an Institute for Peace and Development Studies which runs such activities as the Kapihan sa Kalinaw radio and TV programs for peace, and an Agong newsletter.

SCC receives international and local funding, but it depends on tuition fees, too, for survival. It could have more income from the 3,000 students (from the elementary to college levels) plus if it offers the nursing program. But Linda says if SCC opens a nursing degree, she will let the students work in the rural areas before they are allowed to graduate and work abroad.

SCC faculty and staff were utilized during the 2nd peace summit for the Tri-Peoples of Mindanao of the Mindanao People for Peace Movement which it held inside the campus. A staffer, Noning Rabara, was elected representative to the Council of People's Representatives. Chair of the MPPM is Al Senturias Jr., who is the better half of Erlinda. At the summit, the couple was visibly a working team – their relationship helping in the journey to a just and lasting peace among Muslims, Christians and Lumads in Mindanao, and the affirmation of a positive image for Southern Christian College.

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