Kapwa in Action: Weaving Our Skills & Resources into the Struggle for Lumad Ancestral Land

Join Liyang Network USA in a presentation and conversation around genuine solidarity with Lumad land defenders in Mindanao, Philippines. Learn about the work of Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women, an intergenerational, inter-tribal grassroots organization by and for Lumad women & LGBTQ+ people, and how diaspora communities can leverage their diverse skills, experiences, and resources in support of the Lumad struggle for land, livelihood and self-determination.

Rurelyn Bay-ao, youth coordinator of Sabokahan, will be sharing a message to participants. Depending on Rurelyn’s internet access, participants may have the opportunity to engage in a question and answer session with her. 

About The Liyang Network with Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women Facilitators:

Cris is the national coordinator of Liyang Network USA. Together with Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Womxn and  Liyang Network Philippines, she works to deepen support for frontline indigenous communities in Mindanao, Philippines through educating the international community on the victories and struggles of Lumad communities, collaborating with community partners to amplify the calls to action of Lumad communities, and facilitating culturally responsive exchange programs and projects between Lumad communities and their supporters. Cris recently returned to the US after spending four months living in evacuation centers and at community schools with indigenous womxn and youth in the Philippines. Prior to working with Liyang Network, Cris was an international advocate for the Save Our Schools Network.

Rurelyn Bay-ao is a 19 year old Manobo-Lumad youth leader, land defender, and womxn’s and LGBTQ+ rights activist, native to Talaingod in Pantaron Mountain Range, home to one of the largest old growth forest left in Mindanao, Philippines. As the Youth Coordinator of Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women,  Philippines’ Focal Person on the Executive Council for Asia Indigenous Youth Platform (AIYP) and a spokesperson of Save Our Schools (SOS) Network, she is devoted to connecting and mobilizing indigenous youth locally, nationally, and globally in the fight for self-determination and defense of ancestral lands. Rurelyn is the grandniece of Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay, the first Manobo woman to be named tribal chieftain who is honored for having played an integral role in organizing a victorious tribal war against Alcantara and Sons logging company in the 1990s.                    

IG: @liyangnetwork