By Mariam Barandia | Peoject Leader
The year is coming to an end so fast and it is hard to believe that our current volunteers are nearly at the end of their placements. We are all very excited with the historic news that a “Framework Agreement” has been signed between the Philippines Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, however there is still much work to been done to ‘win’ the peace.
Our current batch of volunteers are coming to the end of their placements and we took the opportunity to ask one of them about their work when they visited the KI office recently.
Nohman Khalil, 22, was the first KI volunteer to be placed at an International NGO. He is working with Forum ZFD (Civil Peace Service), a German NGO that works on the development of methods and tools for dealing with violent conflicts.
What has been your role as a KI volunteer?
My main role is to document all the activities and events of Forum ZFD. I am also tasked with monitoring and collating all the news reports and articles about the work of Forum ZFD, the conflict in Mindanao and the peace process. The role is very interesting as I have learned so much about what is going in development in Mindanao. Recently I have been more of a participant in workshops and I was stunned when I worked alongside International consultants who were asking for my opinion!
What has been your biggest challenge as a volunteer?
Apart from it being the first time that I have been away far from home, my biggest challenge is that I am the only Muslim in the office. There are lots of new situations for me to deal with, for example, my colleagues are all eating pork. However, they have made me feel very welcome, I do not feel like a volunteer but like a member of staff.
....And your most significant achievement so far in your placement?
I was able to assist in a project that is integrating peace education into teacher training courses. I was assigned to conduct research that was then used in formulating the manual used in the training.
What difference do you think you have made?
It was the first time for ZFD to have a KI volunteer. The staff had many questions about my culture and beliefs; I hope that I have enlightened them. They have shown that they trusted my abilities to make inputs into their work.
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