Kalinga, Unawa at Linang
sa Isip at Taglay
The JM Canlas Organization
A non-profit organization established in honor of the late artist-athlete,
Jamile Matthew Madiclum Canlas
3RD JM CANLAS
BADMINTON CUP 2026
DATE: March 21–22, 2026
TIME: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
VENUE: Don Antonio Sports Complex
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About the Organization
The organization aims to promote awareness and remove the stigma on mental health in Filipino households, foster care-based safe spaces for Filipino youth, and provide the needed psychological aid to Filipino children and teenagers—all to prevent another loss of a young, precious life from suicide.
In line with JM Canlas’ interests, the organization focuses on youth-centered mental health education through creative, participatory approaches (seminars and workshops), expressive arts therapy, and sports. These programs aim to equip future generations of Filipinos with the tools and practices needed for strong mental and emotional well-being.
Spearheaded by the Canlas Family, along with its partners, supporters, and volunteer pool of mental health advocates, the KULIT Org continues to promote mental health awareness, create safe spaces, and teach care-based, trauma-informed practices — all in the hope of saving the lives of Filipino youth facing mental and emotional struggles.
Our Programs
KALINGA
UNAWA
LINANG
Kalinga
Direct Care and Healing for Children & Youth
At the heart of KALINGA is Psychological First Aid (PFA)—a humane, practical, and youth-appropriate approach that prioritizes safety, calm, connection, and hope. Interventions are delivered by trained facilitators in environments where children and youth already feel safe, such as schools, community centers, evacuation sites, and partner institutions.
KALINGA integrates expressive arts therapy as a core modality, recognizing that children often process emotions not through words, but through movement, play, drawing, music, storytelling, and theater. These creative approaches allow the youth to:
- Safely express emotions and experiences
- Regulate stress and anxiety
- Rebuild a sense of control, confidence, and self-worth
- Strengthen resilience and social connection
The program is non-clinical, culturally sensitive, and developmentally appropriate, ensuring that support is accessible, ethical, and responsive to children’s unique contexts. KALINGA does not replace professional therapy but provides early, compassionate intervention and referrals when needed.
Core Focus:
- Youth-centered Psychological First Aid
- Expressive arts for healing and emotional regulation
- Safe spaces for recovery, dignity, and care
Unawa
Building a Care-Based Support System
Recognizing that children and youth heal best when surrounded by informed, compassionate, and supportive adults, UNAWA equips caregivers with the knowledge and skills to respond to distress in calm, non-judgmental, care-based, and trauma-informed ways.
The program offers:
- Psychological First Aid (PFA) trainings tailored for parents, family members, and educators
- Mental health literacy and destigmatization seminars, helping participants understand stress, trauma, and emotional well-being without fear or shame
UNAWA emphasizes understanding (unawa) rather than punishment, fear, or dismissal. Sessions encourage reflection on caregiving practices, challenge harmful myths around mental health, and promote help-seeking, empathy, and emotional safety within homes and schools.
By strengthening adult responses, UNAWA helps create protective environments where children and youth are less likely to be retraumatized and more likely to thrive.
Core Focus:
- Caregiver and teacher PFA training
- Mental health awareness and stigma reduction
- Trauma-informed caregiving and education
Linang
Growth, Expression, and Healing Through Play and Art
Rooted in the belief that play, movement, and creative expression are essential to a child’s development, LINANG reframes sports and arts spaces as environments of care, inclusion, and emotional safety, rather than pressure, aggression, or harm.
The program includes:
- Sports clinics and tournaments guided by care-based and trauma-informed facilitation, emphasizing teamwork, emotional regulation, consent, and respect over competition alone
- Theater arts workshops that foster self-expression, empathy, imagination, and confidence while integrating trauma-sensitive facilitation practices
Facilitators are trained to recognize distress, avoid retraumatization, and respond with compassion—ensuring that activities build children up rather than break them down.
LINANG nurtures not only physical and creative skills, but also:
- Emotional intelligence
- Social connection and cooperation
- Confidence, agency, and joy
Core Focus:
- Trauma-informed sports and arts facilitation
- Play-based and expressive learning
- Holistic child development and resilience
– Nido Qubein
