MANILA – What was once a violence-torn “barangay†(village) in Zamboanga del Sur province in Mindanao, mainly due to a clan war, is now a peaceful and thriving community that is looking forward to still better times ahead.
And residents attribute this mainly to the efforts of Ustadz Gamar Abdullah Dagadas, a community leader, who persisted and succeeded in overcoming the problems that tore apart his barangay, Sambulawan, in the town of Dinas, Zamboanga del Sur.
For this reason, Dagadas was one of the awardees of the “Kalahi†community service for 2009 which is conferred annually by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Kalahi (literally meaning “blood brother/sisterâ€) is the flagship poverty reduction programme of the DSWD. Officials said that as envisioned, it is a volunteer-empowered project which has trained more than 139,000 community leaders since its launching.
Officials explained the programme aims to develop and train ordinary men and women, but with proven leadership qualities, so they can acquire skills about projects and relevant aspects of community life.
As DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral put it, “An individual, given right values and conditions, can spur his or her fellow community members into sharing and sacrificing time, effort and money for the betterment of their communities.â€
In this respect, the DSWD said Dagadas fell into this category of outstanding community leaders who succeeded in pursuing a project even in the face numerous and seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
For barangay Sambulawan, the main problem was a clan war that remained unresolved for years. At the height of the clan war, which also spilled into neighboring villages, Sambulawan became a “ghost barangay†because it was often deserted as residents fled to safer areas to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Dagadas was credited for playing a key role in implementing “conflict-management strategies†in order to pursue a potable water system project in the barangay, which was funded by the Japanese government.
The DSWD acknowledged that it was through the persistence of Dagadas that he succeeded in bringing the clan war combatants as well as the other stakeholders to a dialogue.
As a result, the dialogue slowly managed to resolve the clan war and the attendant problems that it brought to the village.
As the DSWD acknowledged, it was only when Kalahi started implementing the project in 2005, followed by the construction of a health center in 2007, that the residents started returning to their homes.
Under his term as the chairman of the Barangay Sambulawan Water System and Sanitary Association, Dagadas oversaw the registration of the group with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He also supervised the setting up of an efficient management and financial system and the strengthening of the organization through regular dialogues and workshops.
At the same time, Dagadas helped ensure the consistent collection of fees from association members, which resulted in a positive balance for the association, equivalent to $1,200 in the latest audit.
Success would likewise come the way of Dagadas when he oversaw the expansion of the water project to cover two more neighboring villages barely a year after the establishment of the association.
According to the DSWD, ordinarily these achievements would not raise eyebrows in the development field.
But it pointed out that when such achievements are taken in the context of the never-ending cycle of conflict and the trauma of war that the Sambulawan residents have undergone, the achievements of Dagadas come sharply into focus.
But more than that, the simple things done by Dagadas galvanized the residents into an overpowering change for the better for the whole community.
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