Lessons Learned from a Peace Champion-Polding

  I want to share the e-mail of an MNLF Commander whom I appreciated much in many ways that are very unique to him only. KUYA POLDING. below is exactly his original text send to me, which I find myself posting it here, to share with his very great message...a concrete manifestation of a word from a PEACE CHAMPION

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 LESSONS LEARNED

 

From: polding lalang <poldingofpdal@yahoo.com>

To: misuariabdullah@ymail.com

Date: Tuesday January 18, 2011, 7:30am

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Re Jake:

Greetings of Peace and Development!

We would like first to take the opportunity to thank you once again for your never ending support you have given us through the ACT for Peace Programme. We treasured every effort you shared in gaining our organization and our individual members have grown and transformed to what we are now largely. It is the reason that we would now like to widen our participation in the peace-building effort in Mindanaw using the skills that we have learned.

 I would like to insights some lesson learned that we have: Dealing with this type of sector in the society, a lot of challenges met while implementing this peace and development programme. However, dedicated and committed extension workers welcome this opportunity as an instrument towards his/her fulfilling meaningful life.

For almost five (5) years joining the programme. It gave me an avenue and develops my feels to work with different head of various local and national government units/agencies. It included the head of the programme components. It taught me to be more flexible and cultural sensitivity, patience and understanding in handling the situation. It helped me to enhance my ability and capacity to effectively and efficiently deliver the basic services and economic development program for the beneficiaries, strengthening also my feels to promote cooperative movement in this area of intervention. It provides me an opportunity to study the life and attitudes of my old comrades MNLF former combatants in different state. Having also a change to see their camps and visited their PDC.

Living in the MNLF community is again part of my insights to share with the incoming gallant people who shall have planned to join the programme. While staying and mingling with the former combatants in their community, cultures of values of their traditional practices were the first thing that you can have to consider. And this is a very interesting subject matter where we can learn and possibly work with it. Like moving from area to another area sometimes via sea transportation is a great learning experience in life because it trained you to more confident and courage to face the unexpected eventualities in your life, enjoyed also working with them due to their hospitality and God-fearing people. They are also people like any other sectors in the society aiming for lasting peace, progress and development.

As Peace and Development Advocate-Community Development Facilitator (PDA-CDF) for that matter, it has a great feeling and life is interesting when you have made a difference. Looking back of my work, I felt me just only conducting an experiment when I was pushing Peace and Development in Bangsamoro people in Southern Mindanaw in particular. A night meeting with MNLF brothers and sisters is really impressed me in joining for hope and pray that the programme will continue its intervention and finished it with a victory.    

Again thanks for the support and the opportunities that you have provided me during the last several years. I have enjoyed and learned many things from all of you and I will treasure that. I will never forget that I was once part of the peace-building efforts of the UNs in Mindanaw.

Wassalamu Alaykum Warakmatullahi Wabarakatuho and Wabillahi Tawfik Wal Hidayah!

 

Ka’ polds

The Transformer