COTABATO CITY — Thirty fellows of the Bangsamoro Youth Leaders Program – Leadership Communities Batch 2 (BYLP-LeadCom 2) convened on March 24–25, for a project showcase session dubbed “SINDAW: BYLP Project Showcase” at MB Hotel in Cotabato City.
The activity allowed the fellows to showcase and “flex” their community-based projects to their counterpart ministries and offices of the Bangsamoro Government to discuss rooms for improvement and explore possible areas of collaboration between them.
The two-day convergence activity followed after the fellows’ two-week Learning Circuit to several government offices, development partners and social enterprises in different key places in Mindanao, including Butuan City, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City and South Cotabato.
Blanz Benhur Zoilo of Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism (MTIT), Estihana Almerah Camarudin of Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), and Settie Ivy Ampatuan of Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) seated as the panelists of the first-day session where they shared relevant insights and recommendations for the enhancements of the projects.
Meanwhile, Dr. Christian Gomez of Ayala Foundation, Inc., Nabielah Dagandar-Buisan and Datu Raid Salik of BYC took the role during the second day of the activity.
In his message, BYC Chairperson Marjanie Mimbantas-Macasalong, PhD, emphasized the importance of work sustainability and the roles of the fellows as “ambassadors of the Bangsamoro Government” in their respective communities.
“We are appealing to you na sana ‘wag natin sayangin ‘yung training. Dahil kung hindi natin i-sustain after ng programa na ‘to [ay] a kind of sayang,” he added.
He also highlighted that the program is a manifestation of the Bangsamoro Government’s effort to mold young leaders who will continue what the Government of the Day has started.
“Pag nakikita namin kayo, talagang naiisip namin na any time the Angel of Death would come, masaya ho kami na may mga successor kami […] dahil kahit gaano ka-successful ang isang bagay kung walang successors ay a kind of failure pa rin,” Chairperson Macasalong said.
Also present in the activity were BYC Commissioner for Maguindanao, Cotabato City and Special Geographic Areas, Nasserudin Dunding, and BYC Commissioner for Tawi-Tawi, Pratima Sabal-Samsaraji.
Since receiving their seed fund, the fellows have been implementing community-based projects in different fields, such as health, education, livelihood, and peace development.
Abdulfatah Abdullah, a fellow from Maguindanao, said his project dubbed “Kanyogan” aims to economically empower the victims of rido in his community through teaching them systematic production and marketing of coconut oil, a common commodity in their locality.
After the sessions, the fellows paid a special courtesy visit to several ministries and offices of the Bangsamoro Government in the city to lobby their projects to the latter and further discuss areas of collaboration.
The BYLP-LeadCom is a dynamic year-long fellowship program of Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AYI), in partnership with Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC), Eisenhower Fellowships and Australian Aid, which aims to empower young leaders from the Bangsamoro Region with an on-site immersion for them to undertake relevant programs that transform their communities. (BYC PR Unit)
