Country: Phillipines

About: Lynrose Jane Genon, 25, is a young educator, community worker, and a peacebuilder, who advocates for meaningful youth inclusion in co-creating change. She empowers young women to own up their voice and speak their truth even if their voice falters.  She is the Co-Director of the Project Youth Amplifying, Co-Creating, Advocating for Peace (YACAP) and a faculty member at Mindanao State University. In her words:

When I was 13, I experienced the ugly reality of violent conflict, when our community was attacked because of the failure of the peace agreement. There were gunshots, some of my classmates and friends were held hostage, houses were burnt, and people were killed. After 9 years, another violent conflict happened not far from home, the Marawi Siege. It was a more violent conflict and displaced more than 350,000 individuals, including young men and women. When the siege happened, I was actively involved in managing a temporary evacuation for stranded students and in raising funds to help in the relief operations for the internally displaced families. It was personal to me because I know how it feels to flee from home and to live in evacuation sites. I, too, am familiar with living in constant fear of gunshots, hostages, and the burning of houses. To witness such violence, yet again,  made me rethink if we were doing enough. Where did we fail? When will these atrocities end? Will my future sons and daughters experience this violent reality? At present, rebuilding the structures of the communities affected by that conflict, both physical and social, is still ongoing; and we live with constant fear. Our community is aware that peace is so fragile. 

My story and experience and love for home brought me to work for a culture of peace. Peacebuilding for me is a work of love and care. I want to do more and be more so that I can help better in making home a better and safer place for my fellow youth and to the young generations to come. This has always been the guiding principle of my community work, career, and aspirations in life. 

Recipe for Change:

Here is my recipe in co-creating a peaceful, just and humane society: 

• Nurture your passion. Believe that you are a piece of peace. Start with your “why”, this is what will sustain you in your advocacy especially when things get rough. 

• Use and maximize leadership capital. You already have what you need to get started in co-creating change. Your foundation is who you are, what you know, and what you do. But also seek opportunities to enhance your skills and that will make you better at what you do. 

• Engage the community. My first peacebuilding classroom is my community, where I work with young people in building social cohesion through community peace dialogues and capacity-building and leadership development programs. 

• Tap in the power of collective voice. Organize and mobilize. Join, build, and nurture your team where you share and develop our expertise, and receive validation and support. 

• Translate passion to action and share your story. I know that we are rich with local and grassroots experiences in peacebuilding, but I also realize that to affect systemic change, bringing these experiences and translating them to policies is necessary, and anchoring our local work to international frameworks and policy. 

Let’s continue to co-create the future we want and deserve!

Recipe: FILIPINO ADOBO

Adobo is one of my favorite Filipino foods. Nothing brings the comfort of home quite like Adobo. Adobo is a marinated meat slice  (pork or chicken) in soy sauce, vinegar, and crushed garlic. Adobo, in general, can be cooked using different kinds of protein. Chicken is a commonly used ingredient. Almost every region in the Philippines has its adobo version and even more than one version in a location. With the variations of cooking across the country and households, this dish speaks of the diversity of our country and its unifying spirit.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs pork belly/ chicken breast ( in the Philippines, some meat shop sells adobo cuts) 

2 tablespoons garlic minced or crushed

5 pieces dried bay leaves

4 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon peppercorn

2 cups water

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Marinate the meat (pork/ chicken) in soy sauce, vinegar and crushed garlic to make it more flavorful. Pork belly/chicken breast  and other fatty cuts of meat are ideal for this recipe.It is best to marinate it overnight. If time is limited, one hour should be enough. 
2. Drain the marinade. Save it for later. 
3. Heat the pot and put-in the marinated pork belly / chicken breast then cook for a few minutes
4. Pour remaining marinade including garlic.
5. Add water, whole pepper corn, and dried bay leaves then bring to a boil. Simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour
6. Put-in the vinegar and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes
7. Add salt to taste
8. Serve hot. Share and enjoy! This delicious dish is perfect when served over newly cooked white rice.