“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your today” a mantra that keeps on igniting in the heart of Christian P. Sumalinog, a 24-year old Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairman for Barangay Poblacion in Tboli South Cotabato. Christian earned his degree in Bachelor of Science in International Tourism Management at the Joji Ilagan International School General Santos.
He was the guest in “Voice Of The Youth Live!” last May 22 for the “Bilib Kami Sa’yo” segment, which aims to accentuate empowered youth and for them to share their knowledge and experience to everyone.
Christian’s wildest dream when he was a child is to become a businessman and follow the footsteps of his parents. Little did he know he was meant to do something in their community, especially for the youth.
Entering politics had never crossed his mind, but his parents pushed him to try and pursue it. And now that he has been part of public service, he has seen that there is a lot of things that he can offer, and this is an opportunity to help a lot of people; namely the Tboli youth in their community.
During his term, he had initiated various activities and projects mainly focusing on empowering youth and improving their community. Some of which are:
- Sports activities wherein he installed bleachers and basketball rings because basketball courts are a place where youth can interact with each other and build a strong sense of camaraderie.
- The “Katipunan ng Kabataan: Community Garden”. This project centralizes the self-sustainability of the youth, helping them get an income for their foster needs by selling vegetables.
- To satisfy the need for relevant and timely information, Christian also started a program called “USAPANG KABATAAN SA PUROK”. They invite speakers and discuss topics that enrich the youth’s knowledge of certain issues like early pregnancy, drug abuse, and other relevant social issues. Lastly, he also had “SK Tmobong” where they teach basic life skills to children.
Christian believe that our voices should be heard and the media is our most powerful weapon.
However, on top of these we must be very critical in engaging and sharing what we know to everyone. For him youth nowadays are intelligent, brave, and have a broad scope of imagination which can either harm or help us.
The future relies on the hands of the youth, and we must not let our emotions outweigh our intelligence.
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