Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Manila (Fides Service) - The vast island of Mindanao where besides Christians, there are many Muslims and indigenous Lumads, is a land of mission where a few courageous priests, religious and lay people work to spread the Good News, travelling to remote areas in the forests and mountains to visit communities who have never heard of Jesus Christ.
Fr. Josè Aduana, of the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate is one of these priests. He and runs a primary school and lives in the mountain village of Pangipasan among people of various different tribes whose dailt life is untouched by western or Islamic culture.
One important task for the missionaries is to back the people in their struggle to keep their lands, in the past expropriated for political or economic reasons and conceded to mining companies to exploit natural mineral resources. Protection of land is the fundamental guarantee for the survival of Lumad customs and traditions. Another task is to teach modern farming techniques to help these people who are subsistence farmers grow more and better crops.
OMI missionaries also give basic medical care to mountain people in Kidapawan. According to the OMI bulletin OMIWorld, an elementary school built by OMI missionaries in Pangipasan in 1977 today has a staff full time teachers who teach 177 children of the Manobos tribe. A state elementary school in this area which used to exist, had to be closed because teachers refused to come to these areas of hardship.
Today thanks to OMI missionaries life in Kidapawan has improved and the communities are gradually developing while maintaining their own traditions and customs. With their work to improve the standard of living and to imbue local traditions with the light of the Gospel missionaries bring to the indigenous peoples of Mindanao the message of God’s love for mankind and salvation in Christ. (Agenzia Fides 18/01/2006 Righe: 27 Parole: 2726
