"Educating communities at war"

My writer-friend Nono Montalvan wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer of September 3 "Educating communities at war"

"MANILA, Philippines - They narrated their stories to me as passionately as they felt about their work. If in war there are combatants, the men facing me were combatants too, but of the more profound variety, for they were certainly waging a battle for the hearts and minds of young school children. They were principals and school superintendents coming from the new province of Sharif Kabungsuwan. There were both Muslims and Christians in the group but as they told me, religious affiliations didn’t matter to them at all for they were all focused on their role in the communities they serve. That had become an understatement by the time they had told me their story..."

We and many others are fortunate not to come face to face with war. Although I was very close to a firefight only twice, I have seen the ravages of war as I grew up in southern and central Mindanao. The memories are not so easily shooed away, like flies pestering a sweaty horse.

Read the rest here and see how you can, in your own little way, make life easier for them.