A week ago I was lucky to have been invited to the 6th RAFI Triennal Awards. An award giving body that recognizes individuals and institutions from Visayas and Mindanao for their respective efforts in improving the lives of the marginalized and in community building. I've attended several award giving ceremonies in the past and after those events I could only come up with words like prestigious and colorful to my pocket and all my articles are facts laid out with a straight face.
However, the RAFI Triennal Awards more than meets the eye. It is by far the sincerest and the most empowering of all the awards I've attended. It brings faith in humanity. In a world full of bad things, it's wonderful to have someone or something recognize the good things done by people. It reminds us of the innate goodness of people. That despite all of the things we hear of or read about in the internet, there is someone out there making the world a little bit brighter. Giving wisdom, information and hope to everyone.
Inspiring Mindanaoans Wins Big at the 6th RAFI Triennal Awards
This year two inspiring Mindanaoans donning their traditional Mindanaoan costumes. Nanay Anit or Anita Castillon, 62 years old, is a retired teacher from Lake Sebu in South Cotabato who won the Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual. She is an advocate for education and has since developed three learning schools in her hometown. She also developed a system to sustain the feeding program withing the schools which in effect resulted to the decrease of children's malnutrition in their community.
As for the winner of the Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Insitution, the emerging winner is the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace and Development Advocates Inc. They are an organization in Maguindanao who are simply the Peace Heroes of Mindanao. They advocate for peace and work with the communities and local government units of the war-torn areas in Mindanao. And that makes it a double win for Mindanao.
From a Mindanaoan, I would just like to thank RAFI for making this happen. I mean, all the other nominees are deserving of the award but I consider your verdict as a great opportunity, a great move towards discussing and featuring Mindanao in a different light.
You see this is actually one of the reasons why I blog. To inform people that it's peaceful where I live and that we are all doing something, in our own little ways to keep the peace. And that we get by with what we have and what we can offer to others. That we breath fresh air and not gunpowder.
I believe this will put us in the map as a place where there's progress and where people have big hearts. So thank you RAFI! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
A photo posted by Davao Bloggers (@davaobloggers) on
However, the RAFI Triennal Awards more than meets the eye. It is by far the sincerest and the most empowering of all the awards I've attended. It brings faith in humanity. In a world full of bad things, it's wonderful to have someone or something recognize the good things done by people. It reminds us of the innate goodness of people. That despite all of the things we hear of or read about in the internet, there is someone out there making the world a little bit brighter. Giving wisdom, information and hope to everyone.
Inspiring Mindanaoans Wins Big at the 6th RAFI Triennal Awards
A photo posted by Davao Bloggers (@davaobloggers) on
This year two inspiring Mindanaoans donning their traditional Mindanaoan costumes. Nanay Anit or Anita Castillon, 62 years old, is a retired teacher from Lake Sebu in South Cotabato who won the Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual. She is an advocate for education and has since developed three learning schools in her hometown. She also developed a system to sustain the feeding program withing the schools which in effect resulted to the decrease of children's malnutrition in their community.
As for the winner of the Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Insitution, the emerging winner is the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace and Development Advocates Inc. They are an organization in Maguindanao who are simply the Peace Heroes of Mindanao. They advocate for peace and work with the communities and local government units of the war-torn areas in Mindanao. And that makes it a double win for Mindanao.
From a Mindanaoan, I would just like to thank RAFI for making this happen. I mean, all the other nominees are deserving of the award but I consider your verdict as a great opportunity, a great move towards discussing and featuring Mindanao in a different light.
You see this is actually one of the reasons why I blog. To inform people that it's peaceful where I live and that we are all doing something, in our own little ways to keep the peace. And that we get by with what we have and what we can offer to others. That we breath fresh air and not gunpowder.
I believe this will put us in the map as a place where there's progress and where people have big hearts. So thank you RAFI! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
