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Monday, September 8, 2014

One more Glimmer of Hope

Another Glimmer of Hope is forthcoming for the Yolanda affected families in the town of Tanauan, province of Leyte.

Come September 10, 2014, the groundbreaking rites for two more Resettlement Sites for Yolanda displaced families of the municipality will be conducted at Barangays Maribi, a barangay adjacent to the first Resettlement Site at Barangay Pago; and the other one is at Barangay Sacme.

This will be done by the Local Government of Tanauan together with its partners Gawad Kalinga, National Housing Authority and the Department of Public Works and Highways. opt

Glimmer of Hope for Yolanda victims

97 Yolanda displaced families in Tanauan, Leyte have already received housing units at the Pago Resettlement Site.

This after the 4th turn over to 50 families conducted recently by the LGU in partnership with Gawad Kalinga, NHA and DPWH.

Mayor Tecson said in the first turnover, 20 families benefitted; 19 for the second batch and 8 for the 3rd batch.

Leyte Gov Dominic Petilla who led the turnover together with Tanauan Mayor Pel Tecson, assured livelihood assistance to the family beneficiaries.

Some 1,500 housing unit are scheduled to be constructed at the Pago Resettlement Site. Opt

Govertment continues to assist former rebels into the mainstream society

Three more Leyte ex-rebels each received P75,000 cash assistance from OPAPP and the Leyte PLGU.

Per info received from Army friends at the 19th Infantry Battalion, the 3 former rebels received cash assistance from Leyte Governor Dominic Petilla during the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting held at Governor’s Hall, Leyte Provincial Capitol Bldg., Tacloban City on Tuesday, September 2.

The bounty comprised P65, 000 livelihood assistance from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and P10,000 basic assistance from the provincial government of Leyte.

The governor who also gave one (1) sack of rice and food packs each to the former rebels, expressed hope that the bounty will be use to improve the living conditions of the former rebels as they go back to mainstream society.

Cpt. Christopher Badong, Civil Military Operation Officer of the 19th Infantry Battalion based in Kananga, Leyte, said the recipients surrendered to the military, after experiencing hardships in the underground movement of New Peoples Army.

Without them mentioning, the Army is the prime mover in helping and guiding the former rebels as they go back to the folds of law. Congratulations to our Army friends.

Understanding Mid Autumn or Moon Festival

2014 Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 8th. The holiday lasts from September 6th to 8th.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second grandest festival after the Spring Festival in China. It takes its name from the fact that it is always celebrated in the middle of the autumn season.

The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and biggest.

Mid-Autumn Festival is an inherited custom of moon sacrificial ceremonies. The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production. Hence, to express their thanks to the moon and celebrate the harvest, they offered a sacrifice to the moon on autumn days.

This custom could be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC) and was more often practiced by the royal class on the Autumnal Equinox. At that time, the custom had no festival background at all.

Later in the Sui (581 - 618 AD) and Tang (618 - 907 AD) dynasties, social prosperity inspired the custom of appreciating the moon on the moon sacrifice ceremony day among common people and the two merged. The people expressed their faith more liberally than the royal class and so they did not strictly hold their activities on the Autumnal Equinox. So August 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar, the closest full moon day to the Autumnal Equinox, turned out to be a better choice and was set as a fixed festival. This happened in the Tang Dynasty. By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127 AD), Mid-Autumn Festival had already become a widely celebrated folk festival.

Romantically speaking, the festival is to commemorate Chang E, who in order to protect her beloved husband’s elixir, ate it herself and flew to the moon.

In addition to the romantic legend Chang E Flying to the Moon mentioned above, there are many other legends and stories related to this grand festival. The most well-known ones include Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine, Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree, and Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising.

On the festival day, family members gather to offer sacrifice to the moon, appreciate the bright full moon, eat moon cakes, and express strong yearnings toward family members and friends who live afar.

In addition, there are some other customs like playing lanterns, and dragon and lion dances in some regions. The unique customs of ethnic minorities are interesting as well, such as “chasing the moon” of Mongolians, and “steal vegetables or fruits” of the Dong people.

The Moon Cake is the special food of Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in various flavors according to the region. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family, so it is easy to understand how the eating of moon cakes under the round moon can evoke longing for distant relatives and friends.

Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Commemorating International Day Against Nuclear Test on August 29

The whole world will observe the fifth annual International Day against Nuclear Tests will be on Friday, 29 August 2014.

The day highlights the efforts of the United Nations and a growing community of advocates, including Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and media in informing and educating on the importance of a ban on nuclear weapons testing for the achievement of a safer and more secure world.

The day, August 29, was chosen by the General Assembly as the annual commemoration date against nuclear tests because it marks the day in 1991 when Semipalatinsk, in Kazakhstan, one of the largest test sites in the world, was closed permanently.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by General Assembly resolution 64/35, was first observed in 2010, to promote the idea that “every effort should be made to end nuclear tests in order to avert devastating and harmful effects on the lives of people… and, that the end of nuclear tests is one of the key means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” opt

Army Brigade continues to be a glimmer of hope

Thank You Army's 802nd Brigade for Continuing to be a GLIMMER OF HOPE !

Eight (8) Yolanda affected fishermen from Carigara, Capoocan and Albuera were given new rays of hope as the Army’s 802nd Brigade recently turned over to them boats which will enable them to go back to their usual livelihood.

The turn over was done at Camp Downes, Ormoc City on Friday, August 22.

Col. Dinoh A. Dolina, commander of the 802nd Brigade said the motorboats were donated by good citizens from Papua New Guinea and Army Cavaliers who volunteered to help people having hard time feeding their families after Yolanda.

The boats are made up of quality wood with a 10-valve motor totaling the production cost of around Php 15,000.00 for each unit. (opt)

ICRC Prexy visits projects for Haiyan survivors in Samar

ICRC President Peter Maurer is currently on a visit to Haiyan hit Samar on 25 August 2014.

ICRC President and Party visited Basey District Hospital.

The party also visited the shelter and livelihood projects in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Giporlos.

The ICRC President will have interaction with invited media reps in Giporlos.

With the ICRC president are Alain Aeschlimann, Head of Region; Pascal Mauchle, Head of Delegation; and Jesse Edep, Communication Officer.

Also with him are PRC Chairman Richard Gordon, and Gwendolyn Pang, Secretary-General. (opt)