ONE year after the liberation of Marawi, The SM Store continues to assist families affected by the siege through its Donate-A- Book, Give the Gift of Wellness, and Share Your Extras campaigns.
In a series of ceremonial turnovers held at SM Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Uptown, boxes of clothes, slippers, books, notebooks, school supplies, soaps and hygiene packs from SM Shoppers were officially turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Soccsksargen for the benefit of the Marawi community.
“Marawi was chosen as the beneficiary of all our CSR donations this year because of the devastation the City went through,” says Ma. Cecilia Abreu, The SM Store vice president for operations and CSR Head. “Through the donations coming from our customers, we hope that somehow SM can help Marawi residents in their everyday lives and communicate to them that there are a lot of fellow Filipinos who care for them so much.”
During the onsite distribution of donations in Marawi City, families were all smiles, filled with hope and excitement as they received donations from The SM Store. For Donate-A-Book, 3,650 boxes of books, notebooks and school supplies were turned over to the kids of Marawi community.
Give the Gift of Wellness, on the other hand, distributed over 16, 000 bundles of Safeguard soaps; while the Share Your Extras campaign had 295 boxes filled with assorted wears, slippers and hygiene packs to help Marawi families in their everyday sanitary needs.
“The Marawi siege [was] very destructive to the Maranao people especially [when] much of their livelihood was lost,” said Noraidah Busran, DSWD Regional Project Coordinator. “The SM Store was a big help to a lot of people especially in Sarimanok evacuation area. The smile and happiness of the people are priceless,”
It can be remembered that in May 2017 an urban battle between government forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) took place and lasted for five months. This conflict resulted in the loss of life, homes, and livelihood, with families evacuating in temporary shelters.
The donation to Marawi victims is one of the ways that The SM Store reaches out to communities in times of need. This is also one of its joint efforts in providing an aid to the people of Marawi. (PR)