Pinabacdao in Samar holds "Kamurayaw" peace festival

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
May 8, 2008

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  A two-day peace festival dubbed as "Kamurayaw" will be conducted at the municipality of Pinabacdao, Samar on May 7 and 8.

The Social Inclusion Project will start with a peace concert and SIP Advocacy Grand Ball hosted by the Pinabacdao Community Advocacy Teams on the evening of May 7, Mr. Neil Moraleta, Social Marketing Officer of the KALAHI-CIDSS informed.

On the second day, May 8, an exhibit of Pinabacdao’s best agri-products will be featured. In addition, the traditional Mayaw-Mayaw cultural presentations will also be staged together with the awarding of winners in the Siday and Song writing contests.

Mr. Moraleta informed that "Kamurayaw" is a peace-building and social inclusion project being implemented in eleven barangays of Pinabacdao, by the Kalahi-CIDSS Project under the Japan Social Development Fund - Social Inclusion Project (JSDF-SIP). The World Bank assisted project aims to capacitate and help conflict-affected residents get more involved in the development activities of their respective communities and local government units.

The Japan Social Development Fund - Social Inclusion Project (JSDF-SIP) was launched as a complementary project to ensure the inclusion of indigenous peoples, people in conflict-affected areas and women in mainstream KALAHI-CIDSS activities in the community level.

A total of 37 KALAHI CIDSS municipalities across 11 regions of the country have been selected as JSDF-SIP sites through a Social Exclusion mapping study.

The core strategy of the SIP is to create innovative approaches towards providing much-needed lessons for maximum and genuine people participation, particularly the vulnerable groups. This is to make them productive members of the community towards sustainable community development, a principle which forms the essence of KALAHI-CIDSS and the National Anti Poverty Program of the Arroyo government.