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INTERNS

We are assisted by national and international interns who are motivated by love and joy to help transform our land and peoples towards justice and peace.


These women and men completed their internship under the PeaceBuilders School of Leadership:


ALDREN J. SAYSON BANAL
aldren@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Early in life, Aldren felt called by God to serve his Creator and to serve people. He was raised as a Roman Catholic. Aldren went to a seminary for a couple of years but did not continue into the priesthood. He graduated at The Holy Cross College in Davao City with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Literature. Now, Aldren is active at the ‘Singles for Christ’ ministry. His job experiences include marketing in a pharmaceutical company and doing public relationship in a telecommunications industry. Upon his return from a one-year job assignment in Japan, he applied into the 2-year, full-time insternship program at PeaceBuilders School of Leadership.

Aldren served as PAR Support Systems Specialist — Precision Coffee Roasting & eCommerce

Asked why he chose to join the PBCI-CFP Tribe upon returning from Japan: I want to have a better understanding of the organization where Sihaya belongs. I know God has a better plan for both of us, and I know this is not by accident. I know there is a divine purpose for both of us to serve God together.


DIANNE GRACE A. REGENCIA 
reggie@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Diane Grace prefers to be called Reggie. She’s goal-oriented and creative. Although able to work independently, Reggie is a team-player, teachable, and open to new ideas. She’s innovative, resourceful, and is able to communicate at all levels. Our office staff members know her as a good time-manager. Her mentors see in her cross-cultural competency that is so needed to thrive in our PBCI-CFP Tribe. In 2014, Reggie completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting Technology at the Ateneo de Davao University. She is currently taking a second degree, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, at the Philippine Women’s College in Davao City.

Reggie served as PAR Support Systems Specialist — Accounting & Finance

Asked how she learned about PBCI and why she applied to PeaceBuilders School of Leadership: I heard Ina (Joji Pantoja) when she was speaking at a conference on Social Entrepreneurship. Right after her session, I approached her and requested if she would mentor me as a social entrepreneur. She said I have to go through the assessment and application process at the PeaceBuilders School of Leadership. Now, I found a home to grow as a person; I found a learning community to explore and develop my life’s calling.


GELLI AIZA ‘WANAY’ SANNADAN BALUYAN 
wanay@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Aiza is Wanay — a proud indigenous woman from the tribe of Banao in the Province of Kalinga. She is a Registered Nurse with specific expertise on health advocacy. Along her professional journey, she gained skills on systems administration, event coordination as well as community-based learning facilitation. She is also a dedicated environmental activist. Her dream is to continue her passion to help her people in the area of community-based health care and inclusive development initiatives — such as coffee farming, processing, and marketing. While learning peace and reconciliation with PBCI and CFP, she was also dreaming to rejuvenate the coffee plantations in their tribal lands in Kalinga, starting with the properties her family owns.

Wanay served as PAR Support Systems Administrator and Inclusive Development Worker

Asked how her indigenous cultural values would help enrich PBCI: I was raised in my tribal community practicing our values and customs which are Caniyao, Ngilin and Fain. It is Caniyao when you harm any of God’s creation. Ngilin is to abstain from doing any act that is prohibited in our community that will harm the environment and the body. Fain is when you do not offer what you have to your neighbors and to other people. We value communal decision; respect to other people; and we have our own way of negotiating peace in a non-violent way with our neighboring tribes and to other people which we call Bodong.


SIHAYA ANSIBOD
sihaya@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Sihaya is a proud Erumanen Ne Menuvu — one of Mindanao’s Indigenous Peoples. Her tribal name means “The Enlightened One”. Her legal name is Jobelyn Basas. She obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Development from Southern Christian College, Midsayap, Cotabato. Prior to coming to PBCI, she served as a psycho-social worker in an organization advocating and working for children’s rights. She has good working skills in dealing with various kinds of situations, proficient in working with computers, works effectively with PBCI office and field teams, and flexible in adapting changes in new settings. Sihaya is the lead values transformation facilitator in this movement.

Sihaya served as PAR Community Development Facilitator

Asked about her experience working with PBCI staff: Working with PeaceBuilders is an opportunity to learn new things and also having this unique experience of working with people I consider as family and friends. My co-workers at PeaceBuilders are family that love me, appreciate me, and motivate me; they are also friends that accept and respect me. I am happy that I belong to this community.


joncran

JONATHAN CRANSTON  
jonathan@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Jon is from Virginia, USA. When Jon was ten years old, his family moved to Batangas and then to Cainta, Rizal, where his parents taught at Faith Academy for 9 years. He left the Philippines when he was 18 to attend college in the States. “I left a large portion of my soul with the land and the people…” he said. His first summer job was in a Jollibee at the Antipolo-Simbahan Junction, where he was the only “’kano” (short for Amerikano) on the team. He visited Davao twice as a young boy then as a teenager and was glad to back in Mindanao.

Jon served as Staff Writer in our Information and Communications Team.

Asked what he would contribute to PBCI as an intern: I have a Bachelor of Arts in English Degree from James Madison University (2010). I have some experience with editing and pro bono journalism… I imagine that I might be most useful to PeaceBuilders Community as a chronicler and correspondent, documenting their operations.


salome

SALOME HALDEMANN
salome@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Salome was our intern from Eglise Evangélique Mennonite de Strasbourg, France. She was a scout chief for 5 years before coming to Mindanao. The scout leadership helped her gain solid common sense and resourcefulness. As an occupational therapist by profession, she has a very good knowledge of human health. She is currently in the stage of her journey when she’s developing “a strong interest for the meaning of a radical discipleship,” and she’s realizing that “there is nothing more revolutionary than building true peace.”

Salome served as our PAR Network Coordinator.

Asked what made her decide to leave Europe and live with us in Mindanao for 18 months: Too often, nonviolence is understood as passivity, and I admired how PeaceBuilders followed the steps of Jesus. I have read, heard and imagined it, but I want to experience a different kind of life. I have much to learn, and I believe PBCI would offer great training.


aj

ARTHUR J. BLOCK  
aj@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Arthur J. Block was a senior student of Intercultural Studies at the Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada when he joined us in Mindanao. We liked AJ’s writing style and his knowledge of some crosscultural principles and theories. So we invited him to be a part of our team who collects, analyzes, and communicates the data and information we learn from our Peace and Reconciliation mission fields.

He served as Staff Writer in our Information and Communications Team.

Asked how he came to know PBCI: With the prospect of the internship looming in the distance, Daniel and Joji came and spoke to my class. I immediately resonated with what they had to say and knew that I wanted to do my internship with their organization. Since then I have further developed a specific passion for peace and social justice.


TWINKLE ‘TALA’ BAUTISTA
tala@peacebuilderscommunity.org

Tala is the Pilipino term for ‘star.’ She is a proud member of the Kalinga First Nation and celebrates the fact that she belongs to the Indigenous People (IP). She’s a graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. Tala is currently working on her Master of Arts degree in Conflict Transformation at the Eastern Mennonite University—Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Tala is the Chief Operating Officer (on leave) at PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. and also Senior Vice President at Coffee for Peace, Inc. Tala was the first mentee under the internship program at PeaceBuilders School of Leadership.

Tala served as PAR Community Development Facilitator.

Asked about her passion as a Peacebuilding Missionary: I believe in the wealth of the indigenous knowledge… I dream of IPs rejoicing in their cultural heritage without shame, freely sharing the indigenous knowledge with the mainstream — the business world, academe, media, etc. The encouraging thing is, there are already steps done to uphold the IPs. We can build on them.


Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/people/interns/

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