Mely Lengkong, MPI Alumni Outreach Assistant and Beds Kali, MPI Intern visited the Young Reconciliation Council (YRC) at Matanog, Maguindanao. That community was initiated by Beds Kali and Muhajiren Macapuling, Co-Founder of YRC. Mely facilitated the whole program and asked several questions to get to know them, the reason behind their existence, the gift and potential inside them, and more. She lets the participants to be creative through drawing their own thoughts, writing on it and etc. About 20 local peace champions attended the focus group discussion conducted at the Municipal Session Hall. The session was consisted of the 12 in school youth, 5 out of school youth, and 3 young professionals who accepted Mely and Beds in the three-day community immersion. Things were getting interesting as Mely Lengkong introduced a new way of knowing the causes and effects of our actions in regards to the context in our community. She noted that it is always wise to see not only the effects of our movements but also the root causes of it. In peacebuilding, knowing the root causes of conflicts is an essential element to making sure that we deal properly with the context, people and all variables connected to the conflict.
On the second day, in line of the National Women’s Month Celebration, about 100 women were convened to celebrate this event. Mely Lengkong was given time to share her narratives on the Indonesian perspective of women empowerment before the Mayor and the Vice Mayor of Matanog and the participants.
