The Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (ECOWEB), Inc. has implemented cash assistance in a total amount of PhP3,000,000 to more than 760 vulnerable families affected by the Marawi City siege under the Survivor and Community Led Response (SCLR) approach with the funding support from Johanniter.
Deliberate consideration has been made in selecting the beneficiaries of the project. The vulnerabilities identified are the elderly, person with disabilities, female single-headed families, pregnant and lactating mothers, persons with chronic illness, high dependency ratio with more than 5 children and with those no property/ livelihood sources or lack of capacity to recover livelihood on their own without support.
The payout cash will also be used by the survivors in their livelihood for them to independently cope with loss from the siege. In choosing the livelihood they wanted to venture, the IDPs form themselves into groups based on the SCLR approach.
IDPs who are temporarily residing in Tambacan, Tubod, Upper Hinaplanon, Santiago, Iligan City and Municipalities of Piagapo and Pantao Ragat were the first batch to receive cash assistance.
One of the IDPs who received the highest cash assistance of P12 000 is Mrs. Tapnain M. Mangondato, a 67-years old who temporarily lives in Steel Maker’s Village Tubod, Iligan City. She has 15 unemployed children and 25 grand children as her dependents and now the head of the family since her husband died last September 15, 2017 due to trauma and agitation he has experienced during the Marawi crisis. When asked what she did to her cash assistance, she replied: “I immediately bought assorted bread so that it will be appealing to my grand kids. Our family loves bread and it will be the first time for us to eat bread since the Marawi siege.” She also added that some money will be saved as an investment for her to plant crops when she returns home.
Mangondato also mentioned that they formed a group and named it, “Kamagogopa” which means helping one another. The group has 10 members where each has to give P500 as start up capital for their proposed food business.
With a grateful heart, her almost speechless gratitude is expressed by these words, “Salamat ( Thank you)…. Salamat jud sa ECOWEB ug sa mga Funder (Thank you ECOWEB and funders). “
Marawi crisis has taken toll to a number of lives, homes and livelihoods. It may be a horrifying history for the survivors, but the simple act helping hand can give hope to the resilient citizens of Marawi to start anew despite of the unpleasant war they have experienced.
