Community Updates

Where learning begins: A new chapter for the Bendum Crèche

Before a child enters kindergarten, learning has already begun. This belief continues to shape the Bendum Crèche, a community-based early childhood care center that has grown from providing a safe space for young children into a prepared environment where curiosity,…
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Asset based community development: Focusing on what we have, not what we lack

Community water tub that the youth constructed in Bendum village in Upper Pulangi, Bukidnon, Philippines Jason Menaling As one of the participants from the Philippines who joined the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) workshop that Jesuit Mission Australia facilitated in…
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Bendum Kaamulan 2024: Strengthening cultural identity and integrity

The Bendum Kaamulan is celebrated in December at APC in Bendum. This event reaffirms the Pulangiyēn cultural identity, lands, and their way of life, highlighting the strength of a living culture that continues to evolve while staying rooted in indigenous…
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Rebuilding community and cultural connections: A post-pandemic Kaamulan celebration

Datu Nestor (seated in the center) spoke to the community as they gathered and prepared for the pamuhat. He was joined by elders from other communities. The Kaamulan is a time when clans and their extended families talk about the…
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