Invest in Muslim youth volunteering for peace

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Project Update

In the last few months, with your help, we have been able to train another group of young women and men to become advocates for peace. The ten volunteers, made up of 7 Women and 3 Men, were selected from over 130 applicants last May. They were then given 5 weeks of intensive training in basic peace building and development during June and July. They will begin their placements on 1^st August 2019 as our 13th Batch of volunteers. We will bring you their stories over the coming year.

Meanwhile the current 12th Batch of volunteers will finish their placements at the end of this month. The 9 women and 1 man have contributed more than 17,000 hours of work in helping conflict affected and poor communities in the Southern Philippines. They have touched the lives of more than 20,000 people.

Ana's Story

One of these volunteers is Ana. She has been working with families displaced by the Marawi Siege who have been living in refugee camps for more than 2 years. KI has a partnership with United Nations High Commission for Refugees providing protection programs and Quick Impact Projects to these vulnerable families. Ana's role is to work directly with these families, listening to their needs and concerns, facilitating workshops etc. Ana commented " These are my people who are facing great difficulties and alone how would I be able to help them? But as a KI volunteer, I am able to give them support and be the one who is listening to their problem. Their stories sadden me but I am happy that I am able to help".

Ana will soon become part of our 125 Alumni volunteers who will continue to work for peace and development in their communities. If you are interested in helping other young people like Ana, then consider making a donation or please contact us for more information.

Dear friends and supporters,

Project update:

Our young peacebuilder program continues to grow from strength to strength. Our current 12^th batch of 10 volunteers are more than halfway through their yearlong placements. We have also began recruiting for the next batch of young peacebuilders. We have had more than 120 applicants which means there is stiff competition for the 10 places on our training program. The selection of the next batch will begin in May.

Rohaima: Promoting Peaceful Co-existence

One of our current young peace builders is Rohaima known as Pre. Her background is in Education and she believes that learning shouldn’t always be thought to the four corners of rooms but reaching out to the community as well, one of the reasons why she became a volunteer of KI.
She is working to empower communities in conflict affected areas in Lanao del Sur with communities affected by the Marawi siege. These communities already faced a lack of resources and so when the population swelled due to the influx of displaced people this led to a rise in tension of these resources. Pre’s role is as a field worker in a community-based protection project established to provide and promote Peaceful co-existence between these local communities and displaced persons. Overall, the project benefitted 2,506 individuals and 189 IDP families. Pre always believes that doing a sustainable project can be an impact to a more peaceful and sustainable community.

Your support is invaluable in helping young people such as Pre to become peacebuilders and development workers in their own communities.

Thank you

Mariam