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Muslims and Christians Work Together for Community Development
Written by Robert Kittel, Director of Peace Education, UPF-Asia
Friday, December 5, 2008
You’ve heard of micro-financing. But, how about micro-development?
A powerful force for social change joins community development, building inter-religious harmony and volunteerism all at the micro level.
International Volunteers Day, December 5, was originally established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. And certainly, organizations such as the Red Cross and Caritas are doing extraordinary jobs.
Three hundred local volunteers were joined by 50 international guests in a day of “festivity, fun, education, community development, and interfaith cooperation,” according to Project Director, Robert Cataluña.
In addition to playing games and holding educational programs for the children, the volunteers are putting drain covers on sewer lines that run down the center of small lanes of this congested community.
As it stands, the drains cannot be cleaned and become clogged even during moderate rains, posing health risks for the entire community, especially the many children playing barefoot in the narrow alleyways.
Volunteers cleaned the narrow lanes and made the concrete brick covers for the drains. These cement blocks need several days to harden. On December 12, the day before the main Global Peace Festival at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, volunteers will return to this (district) to install the new covers.
Mrs. Digna Pascua, former secretary for the barangay (district), was excited about the project. “This is the first time I saw a Muslim imam and a Catholic priest working side by side to serve the community.”
For its part the community has opened its doors—literally. Volunteers are invited into various homes which provide home-cooked meals at lunch time. “We are so grateful that the festival organizers choose our barangay for this project,” said barangay councilor Freddie Espade, 50. “It has brought our communities (Muslim and Christian) closer together.”
Founded in 2007, Global Peace Festival has quickly spreading around the globe uniting people as “one family under God” (festival motto). This revolutionary way of approaching socially relevant issues in partnership with all sectors of society is quickly transforming traditional approaches to problems.
GPF promotes and celebrates people and programs that contribute to reconciliation, mutual respect, harmony, and cooperation among the members of the whole human family.
In partnership with faith-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and the private sector, GPF encourages programs that strengthen God-centered marriages and families, facilitate intercultural and interreligious cooperation, and foster a culture of peace and service.
An editorial in the Manila Bulletin yesterday deserves to be repeated. “With their gestures of goodwill and encouragement, volunteers belong to an extraordinary group of global citizens who make a difference in building a better world for all.”
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