MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--Women and youth entrepreneurs here can now showcase and sell their products with the opening of the Raheemah Economic Hub and Youth Development Center.

Located inside the Mindanao State University Marawi Campus, the facility was inaugurated and turned over by Save the Children Philippines to Raheemah Peace Weavers Cooperative on Thursday, Oct. 20, as part of the Marawi liberation 5th anniversary commemoration activities.

The center which aims to be the trading hub of products in Lanao del Sur was constructed under the Restoring Livelihoods and Learning in Marawi Project funded by the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific (JFPR), a trust fund administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Save the Children CEO Alberto Muyot said the hub translates their commitment to advancing the rights of women and children and at the same time promoting culture.

"In the midst of conflict, in the midst of COVID-19, how do we bring about the convergence of the promotion of the rights of women, the promotion of the right of children, the promotion of culture, and the betterment of lives of everyone? And this is it. We, in Save the Children, can only give life to our advocacy for the rights of children to survival - that’s healthy nutrition, to development - that’s education and the protection of children against all forms of violence, and of course, the participation of children in everything that we do through projects like this," he said.

The construction of the two-storey hub was done in collaboration with Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM).

TFBM Field Office Manager Asec. Felix Castro Jr. said the Marawi rehabilitation has many programs but few are concentrating on the economic empowerment of women and youth. The Raheemah hub, he said, focused on this as it will give chance for youth and women, especially mothers, to be productive.

"We had a lot of planning, discussions, and eventually frustrations, delays, and finally we finished it. And siguro nga dahil na delay [maybe because of the delay], we came up with a very nice output," he said.

Representatives of the JFPR, ADB, and Department of Public Works and Highways, as well as Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Commissioner Robert Alonto and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Jamil Faisal Adiong also attended the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Raheemah Peace Weavers Cooperative Executive Director Baicon Cayongcat-Nuska thanked their partners for making the hub a reality. She also vowed that the peacebuilding works of Raheemah would continue and they will exert more effort to build more opportunities for the women and youth, especially in Marawi. (APB/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)