Invest in Muslim youth volunteering for peace

Dear supporters,

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has recently donated to our project.

This is a difficult time in the Philippines and in other parts of the world. The images and portrayal of Muslims, especially the youth, is often negative and biased. Our project has always aimed to show our young people in a more positive light and that they can affect change through peace and dialogue.

For this report, I would like to tell you about one of our current volunteers, Ms. Naslia "Babylove" Sanggoyod from Malabang, Lanao del Sur. Babylove grew up in a very protective family which meant that her experience of the world around her was limited, however she managed to persuade her parents for permission to apply to KI. She was a successful candidate in the assessment process and with assurances given by KI management, she was able to become a KI volunteer.

Babylove has grasped her opportunity well. She has showed a lot of maturity and dedication to her work, so much so that KI gave her the role of project assistant here in the office.

In the latter part of 2014, Babylove with other KI staff visited rural communities in Lanao del Norte to hold consultations and orientate them with accurate and up to date information of the current situation in the Peace Process. Due to the lack of information and/or misinformation it is imperative that communities are able to fully understand the implications of the new laws currently being discussed by the Government. Babylove was able to discuss matters with the communities in their local language and in terms that they comprehend so that they were able to fully understand the situation.

Since this January, Babylove has been working with women and youth from Lumbatan in a remote area of Lanao del Sur which is the poorest province in the Philippines. In turn, Lumbatan is one of the poorest municipalities in Lanao del Sur. It has suffered greatly due to conflict As part of the normalization process, she is helping them to get organized so that they can work on their own projects to assist their community in terms of livelihood, education and health.

Your donations are not only providing young people like Babylove with an opportunity to show what good can be done you are also helping poor communities to help themselves.

Thank you

Mariam