World Vision holds interfaith forum for children’s well-being

MANILA, Philippines – World Vision will hold its first National Interfaith Forum on September 14-18, 2015 at Grand Menseng Hotel, Davao City, with the theme, “Faith in Action (Faith and Development Integration for the Well-being of our children).”

More than a hundred participants from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including representatives from Sorsogon Church Partners, Antique Ecumenical Movement, Davao Ministerial Interfaith, Zamboanga Amores Interfaith, Sarangani Province Interfaith Movement and other Christian, Muslim, and Interfaith partners and groups, are expected to join the activity.

Davao Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla, who is the chairman of the Bishops Ulama Conference, will grace the event to welcome the different faith communities.

The forum will encourage church partnership and interfaith collaborations to achieve the best interest of children. Participants will identify their roles in promoting a context-sensitive spiritual nurture of children, child protection, economic sustainability, and addressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The event will also highlight sharing of good practices on church partnership and interfaith collaborations.

“We believe that our religious leaders, institutions, and community members, are well-positioned to respond to the pressing concerns of our times like issues on children’s protection, the increasing reality of HIV&AIDS, and poverty,” said Melchor Magdaong, Christ-Centered Commitments Manager.

World Vision has been doing interfaith forums in the past decades across its targets areas specifically in Mindanao.

“We (hope) this forum will lead to shared action. Through a common action, we would learn to understand better ourselves, each other, for the better world of our children,” added Magdaong. – Rappler.com

World Vision is a child-focused, relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families, and communities worldwide to overcome poverty and injustice. For more information, log on to www.worldvision.org.ph