The newest Marianist religious community considers Oct. 2, 2004 as the date of its establishment in the Philippines. All the Marianists know, it happens to be alao the foundation day of the Society of Mary. After the arrival of Oscar Kerketta and Victor Sahayaraj from India on September 23rd, of Pablo Rambaud from Spain on the 28th and joining Richard Joyal from Canada, the following days were a time of settling in and preparation.

Part of the preparation was not only unpacking and house cleaning but having daily meetings to vision the kind of community life we desire, to take care of the practicalities of living community life, to plan for the future in terms of inculturation, for insertion in the diocese, for ministry, for the development of the Marianist Family, for the vocation promotion and formation and to get acquainted with the city. It has been great fun so far.

On the day of Pablo’s arrival the administrator of the street children centre, Balay Pasilungan had invited the community for lunch for the following afternoon. This was the first occasion for the newly arrivals to visit the future ministry of Marianists which will be handed over by the Marist Sisters at the beginning of June. This ministry was offered to Richard as possible apostolate for the Marianists back in February when he visited Davao for the first time. At that time Richard was investigating other potential ministries in nearby dioceses without having any intentions of settling in Davao City.

Before taking on the responsibility for the street children project, all four in the community will be learning Cebuano, the predominant language of the southern Philippines. There is an excellent program at the Maryknoll Institute of Language and Culture located in Davao City.

Since this is the first of regular communication of this community to those outside the Philippines, we will first begin by helping you get acquainted with the Philippines. This information might sound something from tourist guide books which most of it is.

MINDANAO

Covering 94,630 sq. km (36,530 sq. Miles) and second largest island in the Philippines only to Luzon, Mindanao is a land of superlatives. It is the southern-most end of the archipelago - neighbour of Malaysia and Indonesia. The region has the world’s largest eagle; the world’s most expensive shells; the world’s richest nickel deposits; the world’s largest city, not by population but by area; and of the world’s deepest water. Within the Philippines, Mindanao cradles such extremes as the highest peak, Mt. Apo; Aliwaywayg Falls, the steepest waterfall; and Augusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, both the largest freshwater wetland, and the largest mangrove swamp. The island is larger than 10 of Europe’s countries, like Switzerland or Belgian.

Some 16 million people of various ethnic and cultural origins inhabit the island. The conversion to Islam on the island began in Sulu at the end of the 14th century. Jolo became the flourishing commercial centre of Mindanao at the time, extending up to the end of the 16th century, notably in the region of Lake Lanao. The arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century prevented the spread of Islam. Since then, the Muslims have resisted different attempts at cultural integration. During the 20th century there has been an influx of migrants to the island, mostly Christians from the other parts of the Philippines and a good number of Chinese. Since 1948, the migrants make up the majority population of the region, and since 1970, about 70% of the total population, the Muslim 20% and the tribal 10%

The diversity of Mindanao on climatic and geographic levels, the unique character of its fauna and flora (still vibrant despite intensive logging); the abundance of natural resources; the diversity of the population and their cultures; all these make Mindanao an island apart. It holds about 80 percent of the country’s iron reserves, all its nickel deposits and an abundant supply of other minerals. In agriculture, Mindanao is the country’s leading producer and exporter of banana, pineapple, corn, coffee and other crops. It is also a major producer of livestock and crabs.

Though most of Mindanao’s rich natural resources remain untapped, those already exploited – by illegal logging and rampant gold mining, for instance – have experienced serious environmental degradation. Until recently, the province’s economy suffered both government neglect, and law and order problems. A lack of basic infrastructure still hurts business establishments and tourism, while some places continue to be hotspots for crime.

For a time, in the Muslim regions of the Mindanao, tourists were vulnerable to kidnapping. A major offensive by Philippine government troupes during the previous President Estrada administration, followed by the involvement of American forces during the current Macapagal-Arroyo presidency have heightened tensions in the area. Sadly, some areas of this wild, spectacular section of the island simply would not be visited. These trouble spots include Basilan Island, the Sulu Islands, the areas of Cotabato, Samboanga, which is on the opposite side of the island from Davao City. There are hopes that a military crackdown on the terrorist kidnap gang Abu Sayyaaf and especially the increased investment in the area will continue building peace. Also the recent negotiations taking place in Norway offers much hope to this fascinating island.