IDP community journeys to recovery

DATU PIANG, Maguindanao ? Using a long, thin stick, fifteen-year-old Muhanna Mohammad patiently pointed at the letters written on a Manila paper as around 30 children broke into a singsong, reciting the alphabets. The boys and the girls then took turns identifying the sets of alphabets before Muhanna declared a break. Rustles of feet can be heard as the children rushed to get their slippers left on the steps of a bamboo and concrete structure called as ?safe space for children? where, for the past four weeks, it serves as their classroom-cum-play area.?I like reviewing my alphabets,? said Asad Mohammad, 8, Muhanna?s younger brother, an incoming Grade 2 pupil at the nearby Datu Gumbay Elementary School.?We were taught how to be obedient to our parents,? quipped his playmate, Maguid.But for five-year-old Maira Abdumagid, her favorite part was doing action songs.The throng looked like they were having the regular summer classes as they waited for their snacks to be served.But the activities participated in by these children were part of the psychosocial sessions, a component of the integrated rehabilitation program designed for internally-displaced persons affected by the 2008 armed conflict and who are now starting to rebuild their lives and communities.The families of Muhanna, Asad, Maguid, and Maira are among the 50 families who resettled to this part of Barangay Buayan from the remote Sitio of Nimao, a sub-village of Buayan. Since February this year, they have been living in ?core shelters? provided in the rehabilitation program that is supported by the Strengthening Response to Internal Displacement in Mindanao (StRIDe-Mindanao) Project funded by the European Commission.StRIDE Mindanao Project is lodged within the Government and UNDP-managed Action for Conflict Transformation (ACT) for Peace Programme. The Programme is implemented by the Mindanao Development Authority (formerly Mindanao Economic Development Council) in partnership with the Regional Government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.Also included in the rehabilitation package are installation of water system, construction of barangay health station with provision of medical equipment, establishment of botika ng barangay, conduct of supplemental feeding, provision of services to address reproductive health concerns of women and children as well as provision of livelihood support.The Project, through its local implementing partners, is also facilitating the formation and strengthening of community organizations such as the Barangay Water and Sanitation Association (BAWASA) and Neighborhood Association and Shelter Assistance (NASA). Trainings on sustainable operation of facilities, culture of peace, conflict resolution and management, disaster preparedness and risk reduction, early warning and preventive measures are also being conducted.A total of 30 communities in Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao and North Cotabato are being assisted for a multi-sectoral rehabilitation under StRIDe Mindanao.In this enclave in Buayan, the men and women are in the process of identifying the form of livelihood they wish to engage in.?The men wish to secure fishing gear and agricultural inputs while the women want to do mat weaving. But we will still conduct another round of consultation to finalize the livelihood assistance,? said Fairudz Rose Ebus, executive director of Mindanao Tabang Bakwet (MTB), the local implementing partner of StRIDE Mindanao in Buayan and convenor in Central Mindanao of the Mindanao Emergency Response Network (MERN).IDP-farmers till their lands in sitio Nimao, which is still considered as highly-conflict vulnerable area, and come home to the relocation site at sundown. They are also cultivating vegetable garden in their backyards.?Our condition is far better here than at the evacuation center,? said Sijasmin Makmod, 39, who lives with her elderly parents and two siblings in one of the shelters.She would know better as she and her family had stayed at the evacuation center in the town proper for a year and a half.Now, their shelter featured a two-meter extension to accommodate a receiving area and a kitchen. The length of expansion to the shelter was agreed by the IDPs in a consultation, Makmod said.Assistance from other programs and government agencies also poured into this small community.Oxfam provided four latrines and one from Lutheran World Relief Save the Children gave non-food items to the families while UNICEF trained MTB staff on psychosocial processes and in turn, trained young IDP youths, like Muhanna and three others from Buayan.The various trainings do not only benefit the IDPs but also the local government unit officials.?The trainings help us improve our skills in dealing with displacement such as in camp management and addressing IDP needs,? said Musib Tan, Datu Piang municipal administrator who serves as the LGU?s focal person on IDP concerns.He remembered that in 2008, when IDPs started to pour into the town, they would just be placed anywhere. The National Disaster Coordinating Council report showed that in December 2008, Datu Piang was hosting around 8,000 families or 41,000 persons.During the course of displacement, the town, located on the banks of Rio Grande de Mindanao, also suffered from floods that worsen the condition of the IDPs.?Now, we know what to do to respond to specific problems and we are improving in terms of dealing with IDPs and partners,? Tan said.?This thriving community here shows how the government and partners help one another to support the IDPs in bringing them back to their feet,? he added.It may be a long journey for these IDPs to full recovery but they have made significant steps.For now, Muhanna, Asad, and Maguid are looking forward to the opening of classes in next week. ? ACT for PeacePLAY TIME. IDP youth volunteers (back to camera) lead the performance of an action song for fellow IDPs during a psychosocial session in Brgy. Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao. ? ACT for PeacePAY IT FORWARD. Muhanna Mohammad (right, standing) teaches alphabets to fellow IDPs at a ?safe spaces for children? in Brgy. Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao. ? ACT for PeaceWATER, MA, PLEASE. A young girl takes a bath as her mother pumps water for her at the relocation site in Brgy. Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao. ? ACT for PeaceALL SMILES. IDP children take a break from a psychosocial session in Brgy. Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Via Zamboanga Times