“This program serves as a legacy of BDA and UNICEF to us,” said Domingo Mofac, Vice President of Community Based Child Protection Network (CBCPN) in Barangay Lamlahak, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato Province.

Mofac is one of the volunteers who attended the exit meeting between the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA)-United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Child Protection Component Program (CPCP) staff and CBCPN members held in Barangay Health Center of Lamlahak on November 20, 2013.

The exit meeting was conducted to formally inform the community that the program intervention for Barangay Lamlahak has ended and the responsibilities of sustaining the implementation is turned over to the volunteers.

Implemented from September 2012 to September 2013, CPCP educated the community members of Barangay Lamlahak on Human Rights, Rights of a Child, Human Trafficking and Philippine laws on child protection.

It instituted the Systems Based Approach to Child Protection in Bangsamoro communities in core areas of the MILF.

Present in the culmination activity were the BDA-UNICEF Staff, CBCPN Officers and members, Community Welfare Volunteers (CWV), Youth Focal Person (YFP), Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces officers, Moro Islamic Liberation Front - Political Committee local officials, and Lamlahak Brgy. Chairman. Gabriel Untang.

“I will make my own move for CBCPN”, CBCPN President Abdulrahman Doy revealed during his presentation of the CPCP Sustainability Plan. He outlined the mechanisms on how their group will continue the program implementation.

CPCP is an undertaking jointly implemented by BDA and UNICEF which focuses on increasing the community awareness and mobilizing volunteers on child protection. The CBCPN, YFP and CWV are volunteer groups organized to help operationalize the child protection program in the community.

In his message, Untang expressed how thankful he was for BDA and UNICEF. He disclosed that the program “filled the shortcomings” of the Barangay with regards on implementing program for children’s protection.

BDA-UNICEF Regional Coordinator Lydia Salisipan said Barangay Lamlahak is lucky for being chosen to pilot implementation of the program.

The community volunteers in return gave their message of appreciation for the help extended to them especially for the children.

“CPCP ends but the knowledge and learning imparted to you will remain and we hope that the program for child protection will continue even after this exit meeting,” Salisipan said.

The community volunteers have undergone capability building activities on how they can protect the children and what to do should there be incidence of child abuse.

The program also provided sports and indoor game equipments for the children.

The pilot implementation was undertaken in six (6) municipalities namely Butig, Lanao Del Sur, Taragona, Davao Oriental, Datu Saidona, Maguindanao, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Mohammad Ajul, Basilan, and Siraway, Zamboanga Del Norte, from September 2012 to September 2013. (With reports from Daniah Aleyah Laguialam)

Volunteers from Barangay Lamlahak, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato accepted the responsibility to sustain the BDA-UNICEF Child Protection Component Program during the Exit Meeting on November 20, 2013 at Brgy Lamlahak Training Center.