The winners of the 6th RAFI Triennial Awards
For our special presentation on our talkshow on Straight from the Sky, we help observe the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco or Don Bosco, as we know him here in Cebu. Don Bosco was an Italian Catholic priest who dedicated his life to uplift the condition of the poor children in Turin, Italy where many of them were street urchins living on the streets and gave them the education they need. He developed a teaching method based on love, not punishment, which was imposed on many young children in the 1800s.
Don Bosco founded the Salesian Order and the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. In Cebu City this was once known as the Boy’s Town where unruly children were sent to study and thanks to the Salesian’s preventive system, they are not punished for bad behavior but taught all about the Love of God. Actually Don Bosco’s 200th anniversary was yesterday.
With us to talk more about Don Bosco’s life and times and the facilities of Don Bosco here in Cebu is Fr. Randy Figuracion, Social communications head of the Salesian Order and Fr. Joriz Calsa, head of the Commission on Youth Ministry. I have never studied in Don Bosco, but I have heard so many wonderful stories about this school from friends.
So please watch this interesting story of Don Bosco in SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00PM tonight with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9:00PM tonight and at 7:00AM and 9:00PM respectively on Wednesday and Fridays.
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Last Friday, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) announced the winners in the individual and institution categories for the 6th RAFI Triennial Awards, the premier social development award in the Visayas and Mindanao. The two winners were chosen by a search committee headed by Gina Atienza from 295 nominations from all over the Visayas and Mindanao, then they picked three individuals and five institutions to vie for the top honors in their respective categories.
In the Exemplary Individual Category, the finalists are good governance advocate Fr. Carmelo Diola (Cebu City), Anita Castillon (Lake Sebu, South Cotabato), and Rep. Lawrence Lemuel Fortun (Butuan City). The finalists in the Outstanding Institution Category include cooperatives and foundations working for peace in Mindanao (particularly, Maguindanao province), those advancing the welfare of women and children, and those that are supporting indigenous people’s communities.
These are Balay Mindanaw from Cagayan de Oro City, Cantaan Centennial Multi-purpose Cooperative from Guinsilaban, Camuiguin, Western Samar Development Foundation, Inc., Sibog Katawhan Alang sa Paglambo from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, and the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace Advocates, Inc. from Curbada Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. All these finalists have their own stories to tell and if you heard them all, you would be amazed at the number of Filipinos who work hard to help uplift the lives of our downtrodden brethren.
For the winner of the Exemplary Individual Category, the 6th Triennial Award goes to Mrs. Anita Castillon a.k.a. Nanay Anit from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. Her story is a remarkable one, that of a teacher who built three schools in Lake Sebu dedicated to educate the T’boli Indigenous children. These are areas where government could not be found.
Nanay Anit was widowed at a very young age of 22 and she only had one daughter who now lives in the United States. Jon Ramon Aboitiz told me that the dream of the majority of Filipinos is to get a US green card and live in the US. But despite the approved petition by her daughter for Nanay Anit to live with her in the US, she refused because someone had to take care of the T’boli children. When she received her Triennial Award, she was dressed in T’boli costume, as did many of the staff of RAFI.
The winner for the Outstanding Institution category goes to the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace Advocates, Inc. (KFPDAI) from Curbada Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The award was accepted by its Executive Director Hadja Giobay Diacolano. This 15-year old foundation literally turned 57 former Moro National Liberation Front rebels into peace and development advocates.
As Hadja Diacolano said, “It is about shifting paradigms of the combatants. It is also about changing the perspectives of the communities that peace can be attained through helping each other.” Here we have a Philippine government insisting on the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law but somewhere in strife-torn Maguindanao, they are already working their own peace by helping each other. This is why Hadja Diacolano and Nanay Anit where given the prestigious 6th Triennial Awards by RAFI for their exemplary work in troubled, often forgotten Mindanao.
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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