Malungon Retreat and Training Center to Open Soon

The newest retreat and training center in Mindanao is set to open March 29, 2014.  The Malungon Retreat and Training Center will be a 24-bedroom facility when complete.  It currently has two six-bedroom dormitory buildings and a two-story bamboo multi-purpose structure.  Work on a kitchen/dining room is ongoing, and outdoor facilities still to be built include a basketball court and an obstacle course.  

The retreat facilities are built on a 72-hectare property in Sitio Lao, Malungon, Sarangani where the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries ministers  to B’laan and Tagakaolo people through micro finance, savings, and spiritual development programs, and through a boarding school for children.    

Angelito Gabriel, executive officer of CCT Inc., said the retreat center is a conducive, peaceful venue for activities such as conference, couples' retreats, workshops and will be a blessing to churches, schools, and Christian organizations in Mindanao. 

Even before its official opening, the retreat center was the venue for a six-day refresher course for team servants (branch managers) of the CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative. Edna Panuncio, peer servant for administration and procurement said the center can currently comfortably house 72 persons, six to a room.  

The facilities were built by B'laan and Tagakaolo men and by former street dwellers that CCT also ministers to. 

This multi-purpose building has a worship hall on the second floor with a  seating capacity of 160. 

Team servants (branch managers) in CCT's microfinance
program were among the first to use the new
dormitory buildings. Each of the dorms has a function
room at ground level.

B'laan men were among the retreat center builders.

Former street dwellers as well as alumni of the
CCT Training and Development Institute's
building maintenance and construction course
formed a major part of the construction team.

Photos: Philip Agot

Newest Retreat Center in Mindanao is Training Workshop Venue

The CCT Malungon Retreat and Training Center hosted a major event even before its official opening.   

It was the venue for a six-day  refresher course for  team servants from Mindanao in the micro finance program of the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries in March. (A team servant is the equivalent of a branch manager in other organizations that offer micro finance.)  It will also be the training venue for another group of  25 team servants from the Visayas and Mindanao in April. 

The retreat center facilities are built on a 72-piece of property in Malungon, Sarangani where CCT has been ministering to B'laan families for more than a decade. Services offered are in children's education, skills training, micro finance, savings, and spiritual development.  

The retreat center, which will officially open on March 29, 2014, will be able to comfortably house 144 guests when finished.  So far, two of its planned four dormitory buildings are complete.  

 CCT also owns the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center (ccttagaytay.blogspot.com) in Tagaytay, Cavite.  

Photos: Philip Agot

New Conference Site to Rise Soon in Malungon

Malungon Mayor Reynaldo Constantino lowers into the ground a time capsule containing
  copies of the Malungon development plan and of the CCT Mission and Vision.  
Also in photo are Michael Chiongbian, Jan Ced, Emerson Tan, Arch. Chris Celeste (members of the 
General Santos / Sarangani CCT local advisory board),  and CCT Regional Peer Servants 
Romelie Nicolas and Jun Castillo.

A new venue for conferences, spiritual retreats, and similar activities for a  large number of participants will soon rise in Malungon, Sarangani province.  The conference site is being developed by the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries on a 72-hectare piece of land it owns in Sitio Lao, Barangay Nagpan.

A groundbreaking ceremony held on April 6, 2013 was attended by municipal and barangay officials, Christian businessmen from General Santos City who do volunteer work with CCT, and CCT staff  in General Santos City and Sarangani province.

In his message, Mayor Constantino said, “I am glad that CCT is my partner in making the lives of Nagpan people rise from less to better. CCT’s name speaks for itself -- transformation from less fortunate to better lives.” He also advised the people of Nagpan not to take for granted the help given by CCT, and that they should also help CCT as a manifestation of their transformed lives.

CCT’s community center on the Sitio Lao property ministers to B’laan and Tagakaolo people through micro finance, savings, and spiritual development programs, and through a boarding school for children.    

Malungon is one of seven towns of Sarangani province.  It shares boundaries with Davao del Sur in the northeast and with General Santos City in the south.

Lalaine Naquita, CCT's national coordinator for its Savings and Credit Association, 
 gives the welcome remarks on behalf of Ruth Callanta, CCT president and founder. She
 expressed thanks to the Lord for His work among the B'laan and Tagakaolo people since
 CCT began operations in Malungon.  

Arch. Christopher Celeste discusses plans for the site which includes five two-story buildings, an amphitheatre,
a swimming pool, basketball court, soccer field, prayer cottages, and an aviary. 

Pastor Berdin Allado shares God's message based on Deuteronomy 7 and 8.  

Malungon Mayor Reynaldo Constantino, Brgy. Captain Mario Legania, Mike Chiongbian, and Lalaine Naquita.

Arch. Chris Celeste and GenSan businessman Jan Ced.

Off-grid B'laan Families Receive Solar Lamps

Boyax Enriquez of Hybrid Social
Solutions (HSS)
shows Malungon community center 
staff how to maintain
a solar lamp. HSS educates users of
 solar energy systems on how 
to use these for development. 

The homes of twelve B'laan families living off-grid are now better lit at night with solar lamps from Stiftung Solarenergie (StS) Solar Energy Foundation-Philippines.

Recipients of the lamps are involved with the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) as micro finance partners, as members of savings circles, as preschool students, or as members of the CCT Community Church in Malungon, Saranggani.

The lamps were brought to the CCT community center in Malungon, Sarangani in May 2011 by motorcycle enthusiasts  involved in the foundation's  Ride for Light  campaign, an effort to bring solar-powered energy systems to rural communities that still do not enjoy the convenience of electricity.

According to the StS website, one out of four Filipinos lives without electricity, mostly using kerosene lamps at night.  Aside from posing a fire hazard, kerosene lamps shed dim light and give off toxic fumes that harm the lungs.

In comparison, solar lamps are smoke-free. School children can use them for reading and studying at night. They can be hung like lanterns to light family meals, community meetings or social events. They may be used as flashlights and as cell phone chargers.  They are waterproof and can be used in rainy weather and on boats.

Solar panels charge the lamps during the day.  When fully charged, a lamp on a low setting can light a hut or a small room for 100 hours.

This solar lamp gives light for 100 hours
 on a low setting,  21 hours on medium,
and nine hours on high. It comes with eight
plugs for charging common types of
mobile phones. Photo courtesy of 
Boyax Enriquez.

The lamps were distributed by CCT staff to the B'laan families during a Father's Day activity in June 2012.  

The Malungon community is the second of two CCT communities to receive solar lamps from StS.  The first community visited by the 'Light Riders' was the Kaibigan Village  for former street dwellers in Nueva Ecija.  The 'Light Riders' visited 39 other communities nationwide in their 19-day trip in April and May 2011.

Other solar lamp distribution activities of the StS include Hike for Light where mountain climbers brought solar lamps to families living on Mt. Apo and five other mountains, and  Sail for Light in which sailors brought solar lamps to fishing communities in Coron, El Nido, and  Culion in Palawan.  Run for Light  at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig which raised funds for more solar lamps.

B'laan Boy Saves Up for Shoes

Alexander Kingkong is just three but he already knows what it's like to buy 'something big'  using money  saved. In his case, 'something big' is a pair of shoes he kept reminding his parents to save up for.

Alexander belongs to a B'laan family.  He and his young parents are members of a savings group or savings circle composed of  B'laan families who attend the CCT Community Church in Malungon, Sarangani on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

The savings circle program is one of several services run by the Center for Community Transformation  to provide marginalized people with pathways out of poverty.  Aside from giving people in the hinterlands  the means and motivation to save up for such basic needs as a pair of shoes,  for a life event such as a wedding,  or to have a safety net for hard times,  CCT hopes the circles will pool their savings to start a micro enterprise. As of this writing there are 19 savings circle in Malungon with a total of 457 members.

CCT's programs, including micro finance, preschool education, and feeding and nutrition, are aimed at meeting both physical and spiritual needs. Weekly meetings of all beneficiaries include prayer and study of the Bible.

In a year Alexander will be old enough to enroll in the preschool also run by CCT. Will his shoes still fit him then?  Probably.  But if not,  he'll know exactly what to do: keep reminding his parents to save up for another pair.

Ongoing Work at Community Center in Malungon

Bamboo Building. The rafters are up, walls are being built, and the concrete ground-level  floor has been poured and  smoothed over at the CCT's  Kerith Ravine Retreat and Community Resource Center in  Malungon, Sarangani Province.  The building , to be made mostly of bamboo, was designed by Arch. Rosario “Ning” Encarnacion-Tan, an internationally renowned Filipino architect and a pioneer in applying the principles of traditional Filipino architecture to contemporary design, mainly through the use of bamboo and other local material.

Like the traditional Filipino bahay kubo, the community center will be raised from the ground.  It will have bamboo walls and a cogon grass roof.  Most of the silong or ground floor will be left open.

But why bamboo? In  an interview with Marge Enriquez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Arch. Tan explained that bamboo is as sturdy as steel in tensile strength and strong as concrete in compressive strength.  She explained  that unlike some materials from the earth such as marble ,bamboo can be replenished, and compared with trees that take ten years or more to reach maturity, bamboo is ready to use for construction purposes in five years.  She also said that bamboo can thrive in subsoil. As for organizations like CCT that are involved in community work and job generation, bamboo is a wise choice as  building material because  during processing, the money goes mostly to labor rather than the material.

CCT Services. Kerith Ravine is one of 19 CCT branch offices that have been converted into community centers this year.  Each community center houses facilities for CCT services such as micro finance, pre-school education, basic medical check-ups, and skills training. When complete, Kerith Ravine will have a clinic,a pharmacy, a water station, and restrooms on the ground floor. A worship hall with a 160-seating capacity, a library, an office, and a classroom will be on the second floor. 

Although the architecture of the Malungon community center is Filipino, its name is Hebrew. The center was named after  Kerith Ravine in I Kings 17 in the Bible, the place where the prophet Elijah stayed for a few years while Israel underwent a drought. 

When complete, the Kerith Ravine Community Resource Center will look like this. 

First CCT B'laan tribal mass wedding

Couples perform a traditional B'laan dance portraying courtship as part of their wedding ceremony. 

Five B’laan couples were married in the first B’laan tribe mass wedding held at the CCT community center in Malungon, Sarangani.  The ceremony, which incorporated B’laan wedding traditions, was witnessed by about 150 guests.

Sarah Sobrino, Malungon community center coordinator, organized the wedding right after the couples responded to the call for marriage in application of a discipleship lesson. "They realized that living together without the blessing of marriage is not pleasing to the Lord, and so took the step to make things right before God," Sarah said.

The couples were :

     Sammy and Leni Osano

     Antonio and Gina Pandayan

    Christopher and Marlyn Gay

    Bobby and Julieta Bilala

    Renaldo and Jenelyn Artiaga

The wedding officiant  was Datu Edmund Pangilan, Sarangani provincial tribal chieftain. Everyone in the entourage wore the traditional B'laan attire. Music was played on an agong (gong) and the faglong (a two-stringed guitar).

 One B'laan tradition observed in the wedding had each couple eating from a single plate with their arms linked and drinking from a single bamboo cup. This symbolized their oneness. In another tradition a strand of hair on the groom's head was knotted together with a strand of hair on the bride's hair while both were on their knees. A male friend and a female friend then stepped between the two, over the knotted hair. This symbolizes faithfulness and fidelity. 


In a third tradition,  the bride knelt on a pillow  and the husband applied pressure to her shoulder with his knee, symbolizing her submission to him.  After this, each groom brought his bride before the altar, and they were officially declared husband and wife. The grooms then hugged their brides. Kissing the bride is not part of the B'laan wedding custom, Sarah explained. Sarah is herself a B'laan.

Visions of Hope children served as ushers and usherettes during the event. 

"This event is a CCT milestone. This is the first time that we have engaged our B'laan partners to follow God's verdict on marriage in line with their tribe's culture. This event serves as a celebration of our partners' freedom from the bondage of sin and an acknowledgment of a renewed relationship between husband and wife," Sarah said.

The newlyweds with Datu Edmund Pangilan (center),
officiating minister.

The grooms hug their brides after the
declaration of marriage. Kissing the bride
in public is not a B'laan practice.

In a special addition to the wedding ceremony, B'laan
children perform a traditional dance portraying the rivalry
of two male warriors for the attention of a young lady
that both of them wish to court. 

In a continuation of the love story, after one warrior wins
the young lady's heart, the whole community
celebrates their union.

At the reception one of the newlyweds
expresses her gratitude to all who made the
mass wedding a success. 

                                                                         Reportage: Keren Grace Tandico