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Home  News Carrying On... Spiritual Upliftment and Economic Empowerment
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Spiritual Upliftment and Economic Empowerment |
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Written by Hadja Tahara S. Basman
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In a meeting with our corporate benefactors recently, we had the chance of presenting the many activities that MRI, CMM and now, Taha M. Basman Memorial Islamic Foundation, Inc. (TMBMIF) has been doing. We take pride in the number of communities and beneficiaries that came our way. All these, we reiterated, would not have been possible if not for the confidence and trust that various individual and institutional benefactors have bestowed upon us for over five years now. We were then asked to state in concrete terms the advantages our beneficiaries get from such activities - advantages that will eventually help in the maintenance of peace in our communities and in paving the way for business to prosper.
For us, engaging the different sectors of Muslim society to become involved in community activities is not the end all and be all of the CMM/MRI programs. The staple provisions – Day Care Madrasah for the children, leadership and livelihood trainings for the youth, Sunday Islamic seminars and livelihood training for the women, Tartil (Qur’an Reading Training) and Imam Training for men – do not satisfy the ultimate goal of making our Muslim beneficiaries capable of making their life better. We are always aware that the acquisition of skills should be applied and used for our communities’ own benefit; otherwise, efforts for our advancement will be rendered futile. Community service must provide avenues in giving opportunities to gain not only spiritual direction, but also technical skills in order to meet the twin goal of economic empowerment and spiritual upliftment for the people we are working for.
The da’wah (teaching of Islam) programs might not give direct economic benefits but could provide the moral basis in leading a virtuous life for its beneficiaries. The needed spiritual guidance of participants can be best attained through an independent discussion of issues with the help of the ulama (Islamic scholars) who profess the real teachings of Islam on peaceful co-existence and moderation. For the women, it gives them a weekend respite from their daily chores of tending the household and caring for their families. The youth, considered the more vulnerable sector of society, is given the spiritual guidance towards leading the life of a good Muslim in its weekend youth Islamic seminar. The goal is to make them well-informed and enlightened so they can veer away from joining groups masquerading behind questionable ideologies that advance violence and lawlessness and result in discord in their communities.
Our advocacy doesn’t stop there, though. Opportunities for economic empowerment remain part and parcel of the program. The basic educational skills needed to rise from poverty and hopelessness are made available to them. This is addressed by our Day Care Program, which prepares children for the primary school. At an early age, their eyes are opened to the importance of education gained through hard work and spirituality. The youth are encouraged to study and learn technical skills so that they will have fulfilling and lucrative jobs ahead of them. CMM’s collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) gives them this opportunity. Likewise, available scholarships for deserving students are maximized for their benefit. Armed with the proper skills, entrepreneurship for the adults is also encouraged.
Providing the abovementioned atmosphere for our beneficiaries will eventually give them independence and dignity in the face of the many challenges in school, the workplace and their respective communities. The success of each program is gauged on the level of contentment of these beneficiaries. This contentment, it is hoped, will become a contagious occurrence that will then reverberate to their families, co-workers and communities, resulting in more productivity and greater harmony. Where currently, they are on the receiving end of the needed help, pretty soon it will be their turn to extend aid to those who are just starting to make use of such spiritual guidance and technical skills.
In Sulu, for instance, the CMM programs still continue despite the sudden necessity of financial and administrative independence from Manila. Volunteerism by its members plays an important role in the renewed effort to give selfless contributions for their cause. Through their own resourcefulness, CMM Sulu was able to secure a monetary grant from Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) as seed capital for the manufacture of native Tausug delicacies. This venture provided employment to some of them and at the same time, is expected to finance their youth and media programs which they find effective in rallying the community to become active partners in their advocacies for peace. Similar efforts were being done by other CMM provincial offices in Zamboanga and Davao. In Marawi City, some organizations have taken on with continuing the programs which CMM has started such as the Ramadhan programs and tri-media activities. The implementation by others now shows that the brand of service commenced by CMM is still being carried out by these organizations.
Doing all these through our own efforts untie us from the clutches of dependence. It is imperative that we not always expect others to pull us up from the morass of poverty. Dole-outs, special treatment, protection or sympathy will not help us in the long run. Self-reliance is indispensible in gaining the respect of our non-Muslim counterparts, but more importantly, in obtaining our self-respect. Likewise, striving for excellence in our chosen fields should be our moving target. The generations to come must be provided with examples set by us, thus preparing a better future for them.
Indeed, business will flourish as long as there is peace in our communities. And peace can be attained if there is contentment among people because of the presence of opportunities for advancement and betterment where the people’s talents and abilities are put to use for their own benefit. It is in simple philosophies like these – not in unrealistic, grand, un-implementable plans espoused by some ambitious leaders – that cordiality and, thereafter, social cohesion can gradually be achieved by our communities.
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