{"id":17405,"date":"2025-10-07T07:20:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/?p=17405"},"modified":"2025-10-02T09:24:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:24:30","slug":"we-were-once-shy-how-a-group-of-women-rose-from-conflict-and-disaster-to-dignity-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/we-were-once-shy-how-a-group-of-women-rose-from-conflict-and-disaster-to-dignity-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe Were Once Shy\u201d\u2014How a Group of Women Rose from Conflict and Disaster to Dignity and Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n

In the mountains of Surigao del Norte, the village of Barangay Matangale sits quietly\u2014home to farmers, coconut harvesters, and indigenous families trying to rebuild from years of conflict and loss.<\/p>\n

For decades, this community has lived in the tension between armed rebel groups and the military. Then in 2021, Super Typhoon Odette struck, wiping out crops, homes, and the fragile sense of stability residents were holding on to.<\/p>\n

But what happened next wasn\u2019t an overnight\u00a0miracle\u2014it was the fruit of seeds planted long before.<\/p>\n

Back in 2010, Community Health Evangelism (CHE) was introduced to the village. It began with training. Conversations. Trust-building. Slowly, a local leader named Wilma stepped forward and gathered 30 women\u2014many of whom had lived on the margins, overlooked and under-resourced. They formed the\u00a0Inay Tindog Association<\/em>\u2014”Mothers Stand Up.”<\/p>\n

Over time, these women grew in faith, confidence, and unity. They began taking ownership of small initiatives. A turmeric coffee business emerged, made possible through a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and local matching funds. Later, the local government noticed their success and provided sewing machines, enabling them to expand into textile work.<\/p>\n

But the greatest transformation wasn\u2019t economic\u2014it was personal.
\n\u201cWe were once shy, insecure, and fearful,\u201d said Wilma. \u201cBut now we have peace, God\u2019s direction, and a sense of security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their story is a testament to something we don\u2019t say often enough:\u00a0real transformation takes time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, we planted seeds in Matangale. Some grew quickly, others slowly. But today, those seeds are bearing fruit\u2014led by women who were once overlooked, now leading businesses, mentoring others, and witnessing to God\u2019s faithfulness.<\/p>\n

At Medical Ambassadors International, we believe that sustainable development doesn\u2019t come with shortcuts. It comes through walking with communities, equipping local leaders, and staying when the headlines fade. Because it\u2019s not about quick impact\u2014it\u2019s about lasting hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe help local leaders transform their own communities\u2014through Christ, through health, and through sustainable change that lasts for generations.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you for being in this with us\u2014for the long haul.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the mountains of Surigao del Norte, the village of Barangay Matangale sits quietly\u2014home to farmers, coconut harvesters, and indigenous families trying to rebuild from years of conflict and loss. For decades, this community has lived in the tension between armed rebel groups and the military. Then in 2021, Super Typhoon Odette struck, wiping out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-che"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17405"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17408,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17405\/revisions\/17408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.reliantcreative.org\/medical-ambasadors\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}