Mindanao cultures thriving amidst progress

AMORE chief Tetchi Capellan (center) and Zamboanga City Vice Mayor Beng Climaco admire the beadwork on a native Yakan dress at AMORE’s recent celebration of National Arts Month in Zamboanga City in cooperation with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. The Yakans can now continue weaving fabrics at night with the light that AMORE has introduced in their villages. Said Hadji Bazheir Abdilla, a Samal-Tausug from the island village of Pangapuyan in Zamboanga City, “Everyday and especially during Ramadan, we and our children can already pray longer and with better concentration at our lighted mosque, or when it’s raining, in our lighted homes. Our womenfolk can continue weaving at night and our children can study more. After work, we can now converge under our streetlights for merrymaking, sharing of stories, sharing of thoughts, and planning for our future.”