LUMBAYANAGUE, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--Some fishermen in Brgy. Pitatanglan here can now make the most out of their living.

This, as the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) through its Marawi COVID Recovery Project (MCRP) and the funding of Australian Aid handed over Thursday, August 4, ten units of fishing boat, eight bundles of fishing nets, and a hand pump to enable the beneficiaries to fish and get water resources in the middle of Lake Lanao as its shoreline is recognized as unsafe. 

CFSI Senior Community Officer Abdulnasif Tanggor said this initiative was a product of their employment of the community-based approach wherein the community itself gets to select what to request based on their actual necessities.

“Ginawa ito through the community-based approach. Sila iyong nagpili kung ano ang kakailanganin nila. Dahil mostly sa kanila ay fisherfolk, pinili nila ang angkop sa kanilang pangkabuhayan. Basically, these people are from lakeside kaya ang kabuhayan nila is from Lake Lanao,” he said. 

[This was made through the community-based approach. They were the ones who chose their needs. Because most of them are fisherfolk, they chose what fits their livelihood. These people are from lakeside which is why their livelihood is from Lake Lanao.]

Tanggor said the same village also benefited from their effort as in 2019, when his organization implemented the Marawi Recovery Project (MRP) wherein six barangays of Lumbayanague became recipients of their interventions. 

The MRP has ended and the organization transitioned into the implementation of the MCRP due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tanggor said the new project targets to help four barangays of the municipality which they identified as totally affected by the global health crisis. These are Barangays Bualan, Pindolonan, Mapantao-Balangas, and Pitatanglan.

He further said that these villages suffered much from movement restrictions which resulted in the hampered means of living since these were dominated by fishermen, thus, making most of their products perishable. 

With the livelihood support successfully delivered, Tanggor hoped that the beneficiaries would treasure what they received as this would observe a domino effect whereby the betterment of other aspects of life would follow when the livelihood was also well-boosted.

“Sana ay pahalagahan niyo. Sana makatulong sa inyong mga kabuhayan. Kung maganda ang livelihood natin, basically, ang maging result niyan ay makakatulong siya sa education at ibang aspeto ng pamumuhay,” he said.

[I hope you give importance. I hope it can help your livelihood. If our livelihood is good, basically, its result is that it can help education and other aspects of life.]

Meanwhile, Pitatanglan resident Jabar Esmail, who acted as the project team leader during the implementation of community-based livelihood support of the MCRP in Lumbayanague town, conveyed his gratitude to the CFSI as he saw how his whole community could utilize the help extended to them,

“Ang mga magulang dito ay nahihirapan sa fishing nila sa [Lake] Lanao. Gusto nilang masupport ang mga anak nila kahit sa pag-aaral nila. Wala silang makukuhang tulong. Nang dumating ang CFSI, nagpapasalamat kami dahil binigay nila ang gusto naming bangka. Maraming salamat sa support ng CFSI. (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Sur)