MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)-Philippines has delivered happiness to at least 600 families in Lanao del Sur province after food packs were timely distributed for the Ramadan season.

Two villages all in one town benefited from this regular seasonal program of the organization, namely, Barangays Bacayawan and Pagalungan in the municipality of Sultan Dumalondong.

The food packs consisted of 50 kilos of rice, a kilo of native coffee, two liters of vegetable oil, two kilos of brown sugar, 500 grams mongo, two packs of bihon, two trays of egg, six cans of sardines and two pieces of squash. 

Abdulfatah H. Nor, a resident of Brgy. Bacayawan, expressed his joy as this was the first time that an aid was delivered to his place.

He said this was a blessing, considering that a lot of them are poor and are having a problem on where to get food. 

“Kung wala ito, karamihan sa amin ay walang handa sa Ramadan. Malaki ang pasasalamat namin sa inyo kasi kayo ang nagbigay sa amin ng kasiyahan. Maraming salamat sa inyo,” said H. Nor.

(Without this, almost all of us will have nothing for Ramadan. We are very thankful to you because you gave us this gladness. Thank you so much to you.)

Mahdi Isra, the treasurer of Brgy. Bacayawan, was grateful to the benefactor as well for including his place as one of the target beneficiaries. 

He said the food packs are important to his constituents, taking into account that his barangay is one of those isolated areas in the province, and most of their people, especially those widows and solo parents, are financially incapable to support their needs during the Ramadan season. 

Isra was positive that through this, recipients could already focus on praying and tendering their children, instead of thinking about where to get some food. 

Omaya Sangcopan who is also a resident of Brgy. Bacayawan was extremely delighted to receive a food pack from the IRW-Philippines.

She said they needed this, especially since they are suffering from a crisis and her husband had no stable job. 

Sangcopan shared that they were having a problem with how to budget their income from farming, considering that they still have to wait for five months to reap their crops and they would not even know whether their harvests would be good as there were pests on their field. 

With the food pack she received from IRW, Zolaina Bongaros of Brgy. Pagalungan also conveyed her thanks after receiving her food pack from the IRW-Philippines. 

She said this would be a big help, especially since there is a crisis in their place and they do not have an ample supply of food for this year’s Ramadan season. 

Brgy. Pagalungan resident Noraya Awal, on the other hand, likewise expressed her glee knowing that her family would welcome the Ramadan season with enough food for all. 

“Masayang masaya kami sa natanggap naming food packs, lalo na sa panahon ngayon na krisis sa lugar namin. Masayang masaya ang mga tao ngayon sa ipinamigay na food packs,” she said.

(We are very happy for the food packs we received, especially at this moment, as there is a crisis in our place. People are really happy now with the food packs given.)

The holy month of Ramadan started on March 23 this year. (CRG/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)