UVPN: The Red Carpet to the Call

by: Asmina U. Sulaiman, RN

UVPN Cotabato

What's so intriguing about UVPN?

As you try to do a 360-degree turn-around, you will be able to see the physique of the world. You are to probe the top and bottom part where you can see what's trending and what's ready to trash out,;who's in the go and who left behind. Yet, I bet you are to see more. When you look around, what you are seeing are people being busy on their own lives, maybe struggling to earn few pesos for their hungry family at home; maybe one is just aiming for fame, power and money. Only a few are yelling around the streets for their grievances to be heard. Maybe some are just not yet contented so they keep on searching. Most are just people who act like normal, surviving everyday of their life. Other words, everyone has its own call.

Well, let me tell you. It is just a sneak-a-peek. You missed something. You might be forgetting the internal area where the roots grew horribly that raises the question "Why these things are happening?". Most especially, you missed the area where you stand at. It may be just a piece of place fitted for your feet alone, yet could elevate or shrink you at a time. Around you is nothing but a huge package of natural-human dilemma and temptations. So worldly that it might blind you from your true mission. 

I started my UVPN life earlier when I was in high school. Back then, it was the former Voice of the Youth for Peace Organization which was later named as Voice of the Youth for Peace and Orderliness until it got to be today's United Voice for Peace Network. As a starting organization, we encountered different things. We do activities, plan them, materialize them, gather operational budgets and it never be that easy. We admit we have difficulties doing those. Those difficulties were rooted from several things like financial matters, behavioral problems, scarce resources and time constraints stretching us into a critical thinker "geeks". So we sort it out by bending our resources and exhausting our options. It is not only about handling problems. There is more in UVPN that obligates us to wake up ourselves.

"Amidst Adversity, There can be Solidarity" -An Essay from a UVPian

Bismillah With the aim of involving all our UVP Youth Members in contributing their literary pieces, essays and insights about UVPN and our advocacy, we have received an email/essay from a fellow UVPN Student. Here is her story of how she wanted to make change to her community and finally made it through UVPN. Alhamdulillah!

Amidst Adversity, There can be Solidarity
By: Hasmiene Diocolano Ibrahim

    I was sitting in the bench early in the morning while waiting for my friends to arrive; we have this usual meeting to discuss important matters for our bulk school requirements. I have heard unintentionally from the other edge, a cluster of students exchanging stories about the remarkable experiences they had during flood times. The fact is that, flood seems so normal in the city. When it rains, even not heavy, we can expect for it to turn up. After some time, I grasp several apprehensions.

    With all of those customary occurrences in and out of the university, nothing is more notable than June 2011 flood in Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, and nearby areas. The week long flood have already displaced an estimated 500,000 – 650,000 persons, damaged vast properties and so with their livelihood. These might seem so tremendous. Are these really this way? At a first glance, no doubt, it could be deemed as it is. However, we have to bear in our mind the concept of  Divine Will (Qadaa)  and Predestination (Qadar).These are basic principles of faith that we have to internalize deeply as a Muslim believer. Why did I include this? We have inculcated that Allah (SWT) made this to happen for a purpose or purposes. We might not automatically realize it, but surely, there is. As mentioned in our Holy Book (Qur’an 36:82) “Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!”- and it is !”. Whatever Allah decrees will happen inevitably comes to pass by His Power. 

Further, the Prophet (SAW) said “Allah wrote the decrees of His creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and He said: His Throne is above the water.” Hence, no rooms for questions and contentions because Allah (SWT) have carefully taken into account various facets of our lives.

    We could attest on this. Many individuals across different areas have cast their means to assist multifold victims of flood. Here we could manifest how mankinds fulfill its duty as a trustee of Allah (SWT). As His vicegerent, we must be prudent to accomplish our responsibilities in this world. We are accountable to what we have. Our knowledge, properties, and all the treasures that we cherished, we owe all of this to Him. We must not be arrogant on believing that what we achieve is just the product of our own efforts and nothing more. We have to go back to the basic principle that Allah (SWT) has the full control of all the dealings of the humanity. If not through His will, we can’t rejoice what we have. What I would like to emphasize, that though these floods caused a lot to us, it is still worthy. This is where we have witness how solidarity amidst diversity reign among humankind.