The Umpungan nu Bangsa–Bai sa Kutawato or UMBAIKA (meaning Committee of Women Nation in Cotabato), a women organization in Pikit, was formed since year 2000 and now has 150 women members composed of Moro, Lumad and Settlers. UMBAIKA became beneficiaries of organizations during the emergency response and rehabilitation. The president is a 64–year–old woman named Umbai Maliganan, a peace advocate since the two immense wars erupted in Mindanao between the government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last 2000 and 2003.

Umbai Maliganan lives in a small village Saranay, located in Takepan, Pikit and is one kilometer away from the national highway. She lives in a shanty and humble home where her source of income is just few meters away. When asked about her experiences in evacuation centre, she exclaimed, "sobrang paghihirap, sobra pa sa nararanasan ng mahirap (too much suffering, more than what people in poverty experienced)."

The armed conflict is like a nightmare for her especially for children and grandchildren. She said, she used to running away every now and then since she was still a child to save her life from flying bullets. But, the difference is that she is becoming older and her endurance cannot cope with the need. The conflict has left her and her family without option but to leave their own land, displaced and thrived in the evacuation centre where basic needs are not sufficient for all the displaced women, children, elders and men. She is one out of other millions affected by the angst of conflict who left their home, properties, and livelihood for the sake of survival.

"Mainit masyado sa loob ng evacuation centre, maraming batang nagkakasakit at kulang na kulang kami sa pagkain ..., (It is very hot inside the evacuation centre, there are many children suffering of illnesses, and there is insufficient food...)" Umbai describes their situation whilst sheltering inside an evacuation centre because of conflict. They suffered from water shortage. Children, women, and men are suffering from diarrhea, cholera, and skin diseases because of unsafe water and unclean environment. There are times that they only rely on salt because there was insufficient food from the government agencies. The evacuation centre is too small for the families staying there. Most of the times, they have sleepless nights fearing that they have to jump from one evacuation to another.

These difficult scenarios for people like them have called her attention to initiate a plan to coordinate with existing organizations lobbying in the government and the revolutionary group leaders to hold ceasefire.

"Usually, when there are interventions from the non-government organizations and government agencies, I am the point person of the evacuees. There, I and many others realized I have the skills in lobbying and negotiation," she added. She lobbied the evacuees needs to Department of Social Welfare and Development and Father Bert Layson of Immaculate Conception Parish. She was able to address the problems of the evacuees and had accessed to basic services like clean and safe water, food, and other items they needed in the centre. In the long run, she was able to lobby support on their livelihood for ways to start their new life back in their village.

The people inside the centre told her, "Buti ka pa Umbai, alam mo kung sino ang lalapitan mo kapag kulang ang pagkain at kagamitan natin. (Good for you Umbai, you know where to lobby and ask help when our food and materials are insufficient)." Women started consulting and asked help to Umbai even up to now about their welfare. Thus, UMBAIKA was created.

From the evacuation centre where she started lobbying to local government agencies, she did not expect that she will become a part of the peace advocates from Mindanao to lobby in the national government about the plight of the poor evacuees.

Petite and approachable Umbai has caught many people's attention because of her confidence – she speaks English, she speaks for peace. She has faced and worked with many personalities in peacebuilding such as the ceasefire committees of both the government and MILF, International Monitoring Team, and civil society organizations for sustainability of ceasefire. She became one of the representatives of the evacuees in Mindanao in lobbying at the national government for the resumption of peace talks in the year 2003. With the colorful grassroots experiences she carried with other peace advocates and lobbyists, the efforts bear fruit – it is the today's relative stability in peace and strengthened ceasefire mechanisms in placed in the grassroots and international level.

She shared that the conflict has caused suffering. But it has opened a venue where she gradually becomes a significant character in advocacy and peacebuilding to sustain the ceasefire on the ground between the government troops and armed troops of MILF. Her experiences and the results in going and speaking in Malacañang along with other delegates from Mindanao to lobby and advocate for halting of the huge war and the ceasefire to continue is a treasure she will passed on to the younger generations, to her children, and grandchildren.

"Ayaw ko nang mangyari pa ulit ang all–out war (I don't want the all out war to occur again) ...," she confessed with sincerity. Umbai does not like violence that is why she opts for peacebuilding. The creation of women's organization is also her way of helping the women in her community, like her, affected by the rage of conflict, to cope up and realize their importance as partners of men in developing their family and community. Noraima, her 22–year–old daughter, will likely to follow her mother's footsteps in peacebuilding.

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