Monday, March 25, 2019

Climate Reality Leader: A Dream Come True

March 14 - 16, 2019
40th Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training
Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC)
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

 Climate Reality Leader: A Dream Come True
By: Josephine “Arjho” Latimban Cariño Turner

I believe in big dreams and wishes. I believe in achieving my dreams and wishes to come into reality too. These dreams are driven by my passion to learn, to engage with other people who are also passionate about what they care about in their community and in their personal life, to give back and share awareness to benefit other people. I have only seen and heard the former Vice President Al Gore sharing about Climate Change on TV interviews, on documentaries, in the mainstream print media, and on social media postings. Back then, I was only dreaming and wishing to be in an event where I can just listen in and learn more about this Climate Change and the Climate Crisis impacting the world, impacting the communities.

It was late in January 2019 that my Facebook Friend Manobo Princess Bae Limpayen Sibug-Las shared to me the great news that she was accepted for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training that will be held here in Atlanta, USA. She is coming to join this global training and I willingly shared to her that my family can host her stay while here in Atlanta. I thought then that I will only serve as a host and will be willing to drive her around downtown to the Georgia World Congress Center (GWW) from March 14 – 16, 2019. However, when I checked the website www.climaterealityproject.org, I found out that they are still open for application. The greatest part is that the application registration is free and the application will be screened if approved or not. However, associated travel costs will be shouldered by participants approved for the training. I did my online application and answered all questions asked. Here is what I shared as part of my application and I am sharing this with the hope that whoever reads this story will be encouraged to apply as well for future training of The Climate Reality Project:
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About Me

My name is Josephine  Latimban Cariño Turner but I prefer to be called by my nickname Arjho. I am half Blaan from the Blaan Indigenous Peoples Group of the Philippines and now living in Atlanta since 2006. I got my BS in Agriculture major in Plant Pathology and MS in Environment and Natural Resource Management major in Upland Resource Management from the University of the Philippines. I am also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI). I am a wife and a Mom of two beautiful kids. I am a cultural and environmental advocate serving non-profit organizations here in Atlanta and in the Philippines.  More about me at my website: https://arjhoturner.weebly.com/

What inspired me to apply to the training?

Before immigrating to the USA, I was a Program Manager for the Indigenous Peoples Development Program of Sarangani Province and one of our resource management projects was focused on preserving the traditional upland rice varieties. This traditional agriculture is very vulnerable for the impact of Climate Change especially as the upland areas become drier and drier and food security in the household level is adversely affected and help is very hard to get.  I believe that resilience and adaptability is ingrained into the traditions and cultures of many of the societies. However in many cases, if voices aren’t effectively communicated and stories left untold, focus of politicians and resources are directed towards where cameras focused that provide the most compelling narrative. Thus, am very much inspired to share how the Indigenous Peoples Group where I came from in the Philippines are really suffering from climate change that impacts the livelihood as well as the vanishing of cultural practices that have sustained them through time and hope to give a voice to that thru the KafyeBlaan Empowerment, Inc., a non-profit organization based in the Philippines that I serve a Consultant and Honorary Board of Trustee.  This is my first time to attend this Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training. I am excited to host a fellow participant friend from the Philippines with whom I get the information about the training.

What are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to learn on how to be a more effective environmental advocate. It would be awesome as well to meet participants from different countries and especially those who are actively doing collaborative works for people in marginalized communities. I am excited to meet mentors too and am very much willing to be mentored and empowered to join this global movement.
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On January 30, 2019, I got an email confirmation for the acceptance of my application. Just like that and my dream and wish is getting real! I could not wait for March 14-16! I shared this great news to Manobo Princess Bae Limpayen Sibug-Las and thanked her for sharing the information to me. I could have missed out this training happening 30 minutes away from where I live just because I did not have any information about it…but, God knows how to use people in our lives and make them vessels in fulfilling our dreams. 

Coming from the Manobo and the Blaan Indigenous Peoples Group of Region 12, we had great plans for the three-day event. We were ready. We intentionally wore our respective traditional clothing and accessories to represent the Indigenous Peoples Groups we belong and also share the cultural diversity of the Philippines after getting permission from The Climate Reality Project Team.  We did wore our traditional clothing during the first and last day of the training. Of the over 2,000 participants,  the two of us were very distinctive among the crowd because of what we wore and people can hear us wherever we go from the sounds produced by the brass bells in our belts. What we wore became a starting point for conversations and introductions with other training participants as well as sharing our advocacy too.




I am proud to share the advocacy of the KafyeBlaan Empowerment, Inc. to the 40th Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training in Atlanta. I had a great opportunity to open up discussion and sharing on the challenges that Indigenous Cultural Communities living on the fringes in developing countries like the Philippines face with the challenges of climate change and its impact to our cultural preservation ... rituals, practices and traditions like weaving that rely heavily on natural resources for raw materials like the wild abaca fiber for Tabih weaving and plants that are sources of natural dyes are in great danger of dis-appearing with the drastic change in the local climate from naturally cool, moist, and diversified farms as sources of crops/foods, fibers, herbal medicines, endemic species to now largely mono-cropping farms, highly intensive synthetic fertilizer dependent farms...as an example among so many we can share. In this training, I did not only share the story but proudly wear that story of the close ties to nature and natural resources as reflected in cultural materials done by two Blaan communities with whom I got my blouse and my Blaan Tabih ... Lamlifew in Datal Tampal, Malungon, Sarangani Province and Amguo, Landan, Polomolok, South Cotabato. I was also able to share about the Blaan Tabih Cultural Master Bai Yabing Masalon Dulo and gave a copy of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) portfolio in which she is one of the 2016 awardees from the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA). I made a thank you note addressed to former Vice President Al Gore, Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project in relation as well to the impact of Climate Change especially local climate change to the Blaan Tabih weaving culture. I am thankful to NCCA for sending the extra GAMABA portfolio copy thru Manobo Princess Limpayen Sibug-Las. Thank you as well to the KafyeBlaan Board of Trustees for allowing me to represent our organization in this global movement.



My dream and wish has come true. After 3 days of intensive, empowering, and inspiring training … I earned the Climate Reality Leader pin and Certificate of Completion attesting that I am now a Climate Reality Leader. This title comes with responsibility, accountability, commitment and dedication. As a Climate Reality Leader, I have agreed and committed to do the following acts of leadership:
1) to share the Climate Reality slideshow presentation to schools, organizations, community groups, government leaders, and other audiences about the climate crisis and what we must do to solve it;
2) to spread the message about climate crisis through the media; and
3) getting involved in Climate Reality events, attending a climate change event or hosting a climate change event, meeting up with local influencer to talk about climate change, writing a blog post, sending a letter to an elected official, and other meaningful efforts to raise awareness of and strengthen the movement to solve climate crisis.

If you are reading this story and you fall in one of those stakeholders that I can potentially partner with, please feel free to send me an email at arjhoturner@yahoo.com. All these acts of leadership are voluntary in nature and it is global in scope.

If you are interested to be trained as a Climate Reality Leader, the application for the training in Australia is still open until April 18. The Brisbane Training will be on June 5-7, 2019. Details available in this link: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training?segment=web_homepage_tile
As stated in the Climate Reality Project website, participants to the training come from all walks of life:

·         Community activists working for a fair economy for all
·         Business leaders looking to inspire change in their industry
·         People of faith embracing stewardship and compassion
·         Parents concerned about fossil fuels harming their family’s health
·         Young people ready to build a fair and inclusive clean energy future

Join this training and learn new ways to educate others and inspire action. The Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training will help you build skills in communications, leadership, and community outreach. Be part of the global community of activists committed to fight climate change crisis and you can start it in your own community.

“It’s time to fight fossil fuels together. Climate activists and social justice leaders, united in one powerful movement. Because fossil fuels aren’t just changing our climate. They’re poisoning our communities – and low-income families and communities of color most of all. So for any solution to work, it’s got to work for everyone.

It’s time to talk about equity. It’s time to stand with the frontline communities so often the worst hit and the fist forgotten when climate-fueled hurricanes and floods strike. It’s time to confront rising temperatures and rising injustice as two sides of the same terrible coin.” – The Climate Reality Project

#LeadOnClimate