Relief Operations for the Marawi City Evacuees

soccom

7 years ago

The Salesian Lay Volunteer Organization (SALVO) led by the FIS Commission on Mission Animation delegate, Fr. Arvin Abatayo, SDB, organized a relief drive for the families affected by the crisis in Marawi City in Mindanao. The Rondalla youth group of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (ASOLL), some SALVO members and other interested individuals volunteered during the repacking of relief goods on July 9, 2017 at Don Bosco Provincial House wherein the following goods were prepared: 59 sacks of food packs (good for 472 families); 29 sacks of used Clothing (good for 290 individuals); 8 boxes of hygiene kit (good for 210 individuals).

The aforementioned relief items were distributed on July 13, 2017 to the evacuees now residing under the pastoral care and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish in Barangay Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro City through the assistance of the Social Action Center of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro headed by Fr. Saturnino Lumba. Fr. Doroteo Rabuyo Jr., the parish priest and his staff actively worked together with Hon. Wilhelm Valencia, the barangay chairman and other Local Government Unit (LGU) members during the relief distribution. The Salesians of Don Bosco were the first to provide relief intervention in the area.

Registration of the evacuees before the relief distribution was facilitated by the LGU staff

According to Mr. Carlbyrd Cabaraban, the lay coordinator of the Social Action of the Archdiocese of Cebu, there are approximately 4,000 displaced families, with an average of five (5) members per family, registered by the Cagayan de Oro City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) Office. They have been staying temporarily with their relatives with no work and having limited resources only.

Another volunteer from the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro who personally encountered the evacuees staying in Iligan City and Marawi City, disclosed that most of the victims, if not all, especially the children, youth and women, have been suffering from the trauma brought by the Marawi City crisis. Other than providing them with prayers and basic needs, the evacuees seek most for psychosocial intervention to help them cope up with their distressing experiences and prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress.

Zenaida Ann S. Miranda