In the span of only one month, the Philippines has been hit by four severe storms, including Typhoon Ketsana, which news sources report dropped the largest rainfall on record in 40 years.
CFCA staff and sponsored families in the Philippines have been affected by the flooding, causing loss of homes, possessions and lives.
CFCA loss includes the death of subproject coordinator Ronaldo “Bong” Alcordo after he contracted leptospirosis from typhoon floodwater.
Please find the following stories from the CFCA blog and Web site:
First-person accounts from CFCA staff in the Philippines
Remembering Ronaldo “Bong” Alcordo
My experience with Typhoon Ondoy
News stories
Typhoon aftermath claims life of CFCA staff member
Fourth typhoon in a month strikes Philippines
Please keep all people affected by the storms in your thoughts and prayers.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: zamboanga, philippines, CFCA, documentary, barclay martin, barclay martin ensemble, Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City, CD release, Yardley Hall, Johnson County Community College, dance, kansas city documentary, music documentary kansas city
The gift of a song: It’s essential. It’s fleeting. And you’re invited.
The CFCA documentary film, “Zamboanga: Poverty, War, Music” is in the last phase of post production, and the companion CD is ready to launch!
As a gift to our sponsors and the Kansas City area, CFCA is presenting a CD release concert at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at Yardley Hall, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kan.
Find driving directions to the Carlsen Center here.
The music was written by Kansas City musician Barclay Martin during his travels in the Philippines for the documentary, and some of the songs are featured in the film. Barclay Martin Ensemble will perform the songs at the concert, joined by special guests.
Guest performances include the Sampaguita Choir and Sinag-Tala Dance Group from the Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City.
Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please contact Yardley Hall to make reservations: (913) 469-4445.
Listen to a song from the CD – and download it for free.
The concert is being sponsored in part by Bank of Kansas City.
For more information about the documentary, visit www.zamboangathemovie.com. Please sign up for the eNews to keep current on the film.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, catholic, CFCA, children, christian, Concert, instruments, kulingtangan, music, philippines, rehearsal, scholar, student
The CFCA scholar students were diligent musicians, learning how to play traditional Filipino instruments, which they performed on in front of the audience of about 10,000!
Want to join the kids for a minute of one of their rehearsals? They start by counting out the beat (the main voice you hear in this clip is Xarina). Then they launch into the last segment of the piece they learned.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, aid, California, catholic, CFCA, children, christian, cmc09, Convention, Hentzen. Kansas, journalism, Kansas City, magazine, Media, mission, news, nonprofit, O'Meara, philanthropy, philippines, religion, St. Anthony Messenger, Wintz, world, zamboanga
Father Jack Wintz of St. Anthony Messenger magazine received an Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Award, honorable mention, for his article “Zamboanga: Land of Hope for Christian-Muslim Dialogue.” The story appeared in the magazine’s August 2008 issue. The award was presented during the 2009 Catholic Media Convention in Anaheim, Calif.
The article competed in the category, “Catholic Magazines, For Single Article with Worldwide Missionary Theme.” The O’Meara Awards recognize excellence in world mission news coverage.
Father Jack traveled to the Philippines in January 2008 to attend the concert, document the making of our film and report on Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Philippines. His article gives a vivid look at his trip, including interviews with Fatima, a 15-year-old Muslim girl in the CFCA-Zamboanga program; Maribel, a CFCA-Zamboanga staff member; and CFCA President and Co-founder Bob Hentzen.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, Anaheim, barclay martin, California, catholic, Catholic Academy of Communication Arts Professionals, Catholic Press Association, CFCA, children, christian, cmc, cmc09, Concert, documentary, film, international, Jack Wintz, magazine, movie, muslim, new media, nonprofit, philippines, social justice, St. Anthony Messenger, Twitter, zamboanga
Executive Producer Paul Pearce, Producer Loretta Kline and I traveled to Anaheim, Calif., where we conducted a workshop about the making of the documentary for attendees of the Catholic Media Convention, May 27 – 29).
The workshop was part of the annual conference, a joint effort of the Catholic Press Association and the Catholic Academy of Communication Arts Professionals. Our associate Bernadette joined us for the conference and manned the CFCA booth during our talk.
The documentary was also the theme of our booth, as you can see in the photo.
CFCA Booth
It piqued a lot of interest, and we grew our newsletter list and had the opportunity to introduce the attendees to the story of the kids, the concert, CFCA’s work in the region and Music Director Barclay Martin’s journey.
During our presentation, Paul read from Barclay’s journal. The audience connected with the depth and beauty of the passages. As the film reveals the lives of and insights from vibrant teens facing daily struggles, it’s also an invitation for everyone to reflect on the path each of us takes and coming to new realizations about our shared journey with the poor.
At the end of the workshop, the participants were full of enthusiasm for the film, for Barclay’s music and for sharing ideas for screening the film when it’s finished. Feel free to chime in, too, with any group-screening ideas – and please e-mail us if your group or organization would like to screen the film when it’s ready.
Special thanks to the conference organizers and to all of the people we met. We were really pleased by the interest everyone showed in the film, but we were overwhelmed with the warmth and generosity of spirit that reached out to embrace us and the people CFCA serves.
The theme of the event was “New Media for the Good News,” so social media messaging abounded. A constant Twitter stream flowed throughout the weekend.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, bbc, catholic, CFCA, children, christian, families, government, insurgent, Mindanao, one world, oneworld.net, philippines, philstar.com, prayers, technorati, terrorism, zamboanga
It’s been a disturbing and escalating news story all year – danger has flared up in Mindanao, including Zamboanga City. In the last week, there have been more reports of conflict, primarily between government forces and a regional group that often uses violence to deliver its message.
News this week includes the following stories: Philstar.com reported on a clash between insurgents and government troops. OneWorld.com wrote about “Displaced Filipinos Return Home Amid Violence.” The BBC posted a slideshow, “In Pictures: Mindanao conflict.”
Please keep the teens from the documentary, their families, Zamboanga CFCA staff and all of the citizens of Mindanao in your prayers.
