Save the Children Philippines in BARM/Mindanao conducted a Visioning and Planning Workshop on March 21-22, 2022 in Marantao, Lanao del Sur for the upcoming Life Changer Project: A Community Sponsorship Program in BARMM. The two-day workshop was attended and participated by the identified representatives and individuals from the community who are from different sectors namely, schools, local government units (LGUs), women's group/cooperative, children and youth groups, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), parents, and religious groups. The visioning and planning workshop is part of the project's co-creation process where participants reflect and share their experiences and realities and their different perspectives, ideals, and aspirations for their community. This is important for the prioritization of the identified needs, gaps, and challenges, in the community.
One of the highlights of the co-creation workshop is their agreed working vision statement, "We envision Marantao as a peaceful, inclusive, and progressive community in which active citizens including children and youth enjoy and claim their rights to access comprehensive socio-economic services and quality and inclusive education towards a safe and healthy environment for all anchored on Islamic values and moral governance." The participants expressed their full commitment and support for the pilot run of this meaningful community-based initiative.
This program is being supported by UNLAD, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide Filipino youth with access to educational opportunities that would otherwise not be within their reach, through its founders Terry and Allen de Guzman who provided an initial investment in Marantao to build the community sponsorship model in BARMM.