Promoting peace, one story at a time

Normina Limbona, 19, is one of the community patrollers of S’bang ka Marawi. Mina, as she is fondly called by friends and family, started as a patroller in September 2020. Since then, she has produced reports on a wide variety of topics ranging from community quarantine guidelines to the state of internally displaced persons (IDPs) housed in temporary shelters following the Marawi Siege. 

As a first-year student majoring in Communication Studies at the Mindanao State University in Marawi, Mina has just started to learn the fundamentals of media and communication. After attending the media refresher session on “The Role of Community Journalism in Social Change and Peacebuilding” tailored specifically for S’bang ka Marawi community patrollers, Mina learned tips and tricks that she now applies in writing news reports. 

“I have learned that when you are writing a news story, you have to make a news story with reliable sources,” Mina shared. 

The media refresher session conducted last March 29, 2021 in Marawi City included lectures and discussions on press freedom, the media landscape in the Philippines, and the basic concepts of community journalism and news writing. 

As part of the session, the participants shared their experiences of being community patrollers. Like Mina, the rest of the community patrollers recounted the challenges they encountered as they gathered news stories. One of the most apparent is their difficulty in contacting government officials who can provide information and answer questions on various issues. 

Aside from learning valuable lessons on interviewing and handling sources, Mina also learned the importance of media in the lives of the people in the community. “Nakatulong ang training na ito upang mas mahasa at mapalawak ang aking isipan na malaman ang kahalagahan ng media at pagpapakalat ng mga balitang makatotohanan para sa masa,” (This training helped me sharpen and widen my understanding of media and mass communication) she said.  

As a young Maranaw community journalist, Mina believes that through her reports, she can help fight for justice and peace in her community. She underscored the importance of S’bang ka Marawi as a platform where various sectors such as the youth, women, and the IDPs are able to amplify their voices, “Nagiging boses ito ng mga taong naninindigan para sa kaayusan at kapayapaan sa Marawi City at Lanao del Sur” (This [radio program] has become a platform for people who stand by peace and order in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur), Mina said. 

The Refresher Sessions on Media and Communication is an initiative of IDEALS as part of the Mindanaoan Youth Voices for Peace project funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). It primarily aims to strengthen the capacities of community patrollers in the reportage of issues relevant to their communities. ##