Friday, October 17, 2008 War-affected kids gather for sports By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato -- Some 500 internally displaced children from the war-torn areas in Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces will converge at the Notre Dame of Midsayap College (NDMC) Friday to attend a sports clinic.
They will also undergo counseling in an effort to heal them from the effects of war.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said the series of activities among children--Muslims, Christians and Lumads alike—is part of the Sports for Peace program which he conceived to promote peace in a region ravaged by arm conflict.
“We inherited this Earth not from our ancestors, but from our children,” Ramirez said as he emphasized the need to gather the children affected by war and to make them feel comfortable while interacting with each other in the four days that they are together. The program will be staged from October 17 to 20 at the NDMC.
Ramirez said NDMC under its president Fr. Romeo Saniel will play an important role throughout the activity as it is the school which will fetch the children from the different areas like Aleosan, Kabuntalan, Midsayap, Libungan and Pikit.
Ramirez brought with him coaches to conduct the clinic and a psychologist from the Philippine Center for Sports and Medicine, Karen Trinidad, who will be leading the counseling.
Trinidad and the NDMC guidance counselor were set to meet last night to discuss on the demographic profile or background of the displaced children.
The clinics will be anchored on basketball, softball, volleyball and football, according to Ramirez, who is the project director and training head.
The opening ceremonies for the Sports for Peace will be held starting at 8:00 a.m. Friday at the NDMC Gym.
The coaches’ clinic with respective lecturers will then follow.
The guidance counseling and psychological sessions will be held in the evening.
