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. Here’s a link to an online version of the story.
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.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, agricultural, asia, bbc, blog action day, catholic, CFCA, children, christian, family, Fengshen, Filippino, fishermen, fishing, food, global, government, hunger, land, malnutrition, market, Mindanao, philippines, poverty, rice, typhoon, weather
Report from Trisha Pitts, CFCA project director for the Philippines:
The poor are always the hardest hit and the first to feel the direct impact of problematic conditions. I know this is true of the Philippines. The people are challenged by violent conflict, government land-use policy and turbulent weather.
The direct result is increased hunger and malnutrition for the most vulnerable.
Here’s a rundown of some of the challenges Filipino families face in their daily lives:
1) Violent conflict: Terrorist activity and four decades of fighting over economic and land rights issues have prevented the Mindanao region from fulfilling its promise as “the rice bowl of the Philippines.” Natural resources are vast in Mindanao, but not much agricultural development has taken place due to the ongoing conflict.
Mindanao still ranks lowest in the Philippines in all areas – education, health and economy. The failure to realize Mindanao’s promise as the rice basket for the Philippines has meant more hunger for the poor throughout the country.
2) Land use policy: Similarly, government policy on land use – allowing prime agricultural land to be turned into shopping malls, condominiums and golf courses – has meant that the Philippines, once self-sufficient in rice production, is now the world’s biggest importer of rice.
With food prices rising dramatically all over the world and rice prices reaching record highs, this has translated into less food for the poor.
3) Severe weather: The Philippine islands are at the mercy of the weather. They are impacted by as many as 25 typhoons or tropical storms each year. These storms destroy property and crops, interrupt the livelihoods of fishermen and kill or displace thousands of people. The recent Typhoon Fengshen damaged an estimated 246,000 hectares of rice farms, which drove up the price of rice and decreased the ability of the poor to afford it.
Rice is the staple food of the Philippine diet. Poor Filipinos rely on rice to feed their families. Whether it’s because of violent conflict, goverment policies or damaging weather, the poor are the first to feel the effects of reduced rice production.
Please visit these blogs from the CFCA community also participating in Blog Action Day ‘08:
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, catholic, CFCA, children, christian, government, journalist, Manila, MILF, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, muslim, philippines, Ramadan, rebels, relief, separtist, terrorism, UN, United Nations
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that thousands of people fleeing their homes are putting a strain on relief response in the southern Philippines.
An article from Oct. 2 states:
“Providing assistance to the thousands of people displaced by the conflict between troops and Muslim separatist rebels is straining government resources, UN agencies and government officials told reporters on 2 October in Manila, as they agreed to step up relief operations.”
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aging, catholic, children, christian, fathers, fishing, fuel cost, nonprofit, oil, philippines, poverty, small business, zamboanga
This week in the CFCA Notes from the Field video series Philippines project director Trisha Pitts shares stories about how the rise in fuel prices impacts the fishing industry and CFCA fathers who have small fishing businesses in the Philippines.
From Trisha: “Small, local fishermen in the Philippines have had an increasingly difficult time making a living by fishing. The latest hit has come from the rise in fuel prices. Because they have had to go farther and farther away from home to fish, fuel has become their largest single expense. Some say that fuel costs are 70% and more of their expenses.”
