Empowering Women in Ganassi

Situated in North Upi, Maguindanao, Barangay Ganassi is one of the farthest communities of the municipality. Its long and winding up-bound road is only accessible by four-wheeled vehicles and motorcycles. On rainy season, even four wheelers cannot enter the community limiting transportation to motorcycles. Most of the residents walk to town and to school down the very muddy road. All the residents are Muslim and accordingly, at least one member of the 39 families in this community is forced to join the MILF as a tradition.

Ormina Acob, the president of the Bayanan Women’s Organization had been staying in the community for almost twenty years now. Born and raised as Ilongga, she was used to the Christian way of life. When she married a Muslim in 1983, she was converted to Islam. The family moved to the South where they lived with their two children until her husband died. She remarried in 1992 to a resident of Ganassi and since then transferred to the community where they established their home. Their main livelihood is farming with corn as their main product which is the same with almost all of the members of the community. Since marrying a traditional Muslim, she had to adjust with their many traditions and practices, one of which is that women are not allowed to join men in decision-making or even in gatherings and meetings. Thus, the leaders of the community are all men.

She recalls living in the community with no social services at all. Only recently was the primary school established in the community that caters to their children. The mothers of the school children started participating in school related activities. Also recently, health workers started visiting the area once a month but they have no health center yet. Some mothers, Ormina being among them, were trained by the midwives and nurses to assist the other members of the community in the absence of professional health workers. With the school and the health services introduced in the community, the women started to participate in community development.

In 2006-2007, the big development in women’s empowerment came when the Community-Based Development Program was able to enter the community through its Livelihood project funded by CONCORD. The community development workers assigned in the area organized the Bayanan Women’s Organization thru which the livelihood project was coursed. This would cater to the needs of the women since they belong to the marginalized members of the community. The 50 members of the organization were provided with livestock and poultry and they were expected to pay a percentage of the expense back to the diocese in two years. Unfortunately, after a year, an animal disease attacked these dispersed animals and only a few survived. Despite this unexpected misfortune, the organization was committed to pay back their obligation. The organization is growing stronger with membership extending to other sitios. They also have 3 members who are Tedurays. With the approval of another project in the community (also in partnership with the diocese) this women organization is once again given the chance to have a livelihood component that they could call their own. Ormina claims that at present, the members of the organization are very excited and are looking forward to having their own livestock and poultry again.

According to Ormina, being unable to express herself had been a struggle. But now, she is very thankful that she belongs to an organization which gives her and the other women a venue to express and make decisions for themselves thus making her realize that she is self-worthy and can make decisions after all.