MESSAGE FROM MY ‘OTHER CHILDREN’

Yesterday, I had a pleasant surprise of receiving a message from a young man who called me “Daddy.”

His name is Norhan B. Amil, a Maguindanao youth from Kabacan town, and I am posting here his message sent to me yesterday.

“Good day Daddy. I’m one of your children because I’m a member of your program “The Children of Peace” Batch 5.

“I hope mananalo po kayo this coming electi0n para maipagpatuloy mo pa ang iyong mga programa’t serbisyo para sa amin, especially the Children of Peace program.”

Norhan’s message brought back memories of the days when, as Governor of a deeply divided province, I thought of measures and innovations of bringing my people, especially the Bangsamoro and the Christians, together.

I realized that the prejudices and biases among people of my age and generation were so deep that there was really a need to prepare the next generation to bring about a more tolerant and culturally-sensitive society.

With the help of a young and idealistic Maguindanao professor from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), Sam Molao, and my staff, Joey Recimilla and Joemar Campo, I implemented a program called The Children of Peace.

The Children of Peace aimed to bring together young and bright high school students belonging to the Bangsamoro, Christian and the Tribal groups and make them understand each other’s religious beliefs and culture.

They were brought on an exposure trip to big cities where people enjoy the blessings of peace and prosperity. They were made to understand that where there is peace and understanding, there is progress.

After they graduated from high school, they were given a full college scholarship with the hope that when they graduate and become professionals, they will go back to their communities as leaders who are more tolerant and culturally-sensitive.

In the many years that the Children of Peace program was implemented, many young Bangsamoro, Christian and Tribal children graduated from college.

Over the years, however, I lost track of the Children of Peace program.

While Sam Molao rose to become president of the Cotabato Foundation College for Science and Technology (CFCST), the Children of Peace program took a nose dive after it was abandoned by the current administration.

It was replaced with another program called “Children’s Summer Peace Camp” whose actual motives and goals are not very clear.

While this is a sad development, I am still very happy that young people like Norhan B. Amil look up to me as a Father who cares about them and their future.

(photo caption: this photo lifted from Norhan B. Amil’s facebook.com page shows him in a happy pose with his friends. Information gathered from his facebook.com page shows that he is now studying in Marbel, South Cotabato.)