ICRC gives P8-M cash grants to Marawi evacuees

THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) distributed more than P8-million multipurpose cash grants to help alleviate the plight of the families displaced during the Marawi City conflict last year.

The cash grant was distributed starting June 20 until Friday, June 22, to 1,007 displaced families in Lanao del Sur's municipalities of Butig, Lumbayanague, Lumbatan, Masiu and Poona-Bayabao.

The ICRC noted that many families in the south-eastern part of Lanao del Sur continue to struggle due to lack of food and other necessities after they have been displaced for more than a year since the start of the five-month conflict in Marawi City.

The absence of a stable income and capital for small businesses has forced many who were traders before the start of the conflict to rely on farming and fishing.

"Many displaced families gained access to farmlands and basic tools with the help of relatives. But insufficient funds to buy farm supplies forced them to take loans at a higher interest rate," said Dragana Rankovic, who heads the ICRC team on relief and livelihood assistance.

The ICRC said the cash grant aims to help the most vulnerable displaced families.

They included people with no or low income, those in the evacuation centers, those with multiple dependents especially young children, pregnant women, the elderly and the sick.

Noronsalam Nasser, one of the recipients of the cash grant, said they ventured into fishing as means of livelihood but the income was barely enough to sustain them.

"With the cash grant, I will set up a small business selling shoes and slippers. This cash assistance will also allow us to send our children to school," Nasser was quoted by the ICRC as saying.

Nasser is a mother of six from Datu Sa Dansalan village, one of the most affected areas in Marawi City.

The ICRC, along with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), has helped hundreds of thousands of people affected by the crisis since fighting broke out in May 2017 in Marawi City.

The focus has shifted to the remaining displaced families in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur by improving their access to health care and clean water, along with livelihood recovery.

The ICRC, a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization that assists and protects victims of armed conflicts, also financially supported the PRC's livelihood assistance for at least 1,500 conflict-affected families within Marawi City. (SunStar Philippines)

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