Invest in Muslim youth volunteering for peace

Dear Friends and Supporters,

 It is with the help of your invaluable contributions that we were able to recruit and train more young people willing to dedicate themselves to work for Peace and Development in the Philippines.The current 12^th batch of volunteers known as batch Latif are now in their third month of their yearlong placements.

Our organizational name, Kapamagogopa, means 'sharing and helping each other' in our language. I want to highlight to you how our volunteers are helping people in nearby communities.

Shahani, Ana-Farina and Rohaima have been assigned to work in the conflict affected province of Lanao del Sur. They are working with disadvantaged women in five areas that have affected by conflict and are some of the poorest in the Philippines. The 5 women’s groups have recently received training in gender sensitivity and in international and national human rights awareness. The volunteers have been co facilitating the training and have been explaining the concepts to the women in their own language.

Rohaima reflected that “During the workshop, I and other staff members became emotional when the women told us of their difficulties and the barriers they faced in participating in activities and community events. I felt very grateful to be given the chance to help them overcome these challenges.”

The volunteers are also assisting in a project backed by United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) that is helping Internally Displaced persons due to the Marawi siege of May 2017. (There are still more that 200,000 people displaced by the fierce fighting that raged for more than 5 months and destroyed much of the city.) They are facilitating discussions and processes to reduce problems and tensions between the IDPs and the host communites they are living in.

Your support is invaluable in helping us to empower young women and men to become inspirational leaders in our communities.

Thank you

Mariam