ACTION Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization and the Zamboanga City Government recently forged an agreement for the implementation of livelihood projects for victims of the 2013 siege residing in the villages of Tulungatung, Sta. Barbara and Sta. Catalina.
Dubbed as Response to the Unmet Humanitarian Needs of the Most Vulnerable Conflict-Affected Populations in Mindanao or REACH, the project will be funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) through ACF or Action Against Hunger.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and Suresanathan Murugesu, ACF Deputy Country Director, spearheaded the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) during simple ceremonies held at the City Hall conference room recently.
The village chairperson of Tulungatung Jesus Felipe, Sta. Catalina- Belman Malandi and Sta. Barbara – Junaid Musa were also signatories in the MOU with City Social Welfare Officer Socorro Rojas, City Health Officer Dulce Miravite, City Engineer Chris Navarro and ACF Zamboanga City Base Head of Project Elsie Cuerdo-Junio as witnesses.
Salazar said the project intends to “cover gaps in the current humanitarian response to meet the needs of the vulnerable, conflict-affected population in Mindanao who have been less assisted, and socially and culturally discriminated.”
She said the projects include cash transfer for food security; water, sanitation and hygiene or WASH; health and nutrition related intervention; mainstreaming protection on child and gender-based violence (GBV). (SunStar Zamboanga)