Former war-torn Lanao town forges on toward peace, tolerance – Interaksyon.com.

Cherryl Agbayani, InterAksyon.com

KAUSWAGAN, Lanao del Norte – This town, one of the flashpoints of the renewed fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2008, turned 63 on Monday with a celebration marked by continued efforts of Christian and Muslim residents to transform their community into a peace sanctuary.

The charter day celebrations, highlighted by a grand parade participated in by people from both faiths and the “Hugyaw sa Kadagatan,” featuring dancing on colorful rafts towed around the Kauswagan Eco-Tourism Park near the town’s seaport, come on the heels of the launching over the weekend of the Sustainable Integrated Kauswagan Area Development and Peace Agenda.

The project is a partnership with the Manila-based nongovernmental organization, Assisi Development Foundation, Inc.

ADFI president Benjamin Abadiano said their organization is committed to helping Kauswagan implement the development program, which involves alternative livelihood, peace and security, health, education, environment, infrastructure, and water development, among others, over the next five years.

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