MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The Community and Family Services International (CFSI) officially handed over its self-help project to a community group composed of 15 solo parents, all from Barangay Calocan West, here.
This initiative aims to sustain the gains of the previous efforts pushed by the international non-government organization (INGO) under its Marawi COVID Recovery Project (MCRP).
CFSI Community Organizer Hidaya Esmail Manioba said they intended to organize a group especially composed of solo parents as they saw such a sector as vulnerable and among those with special needs.
She said through their self-help project, her organization could link the group of solo parents to relevant institutions, which could bring more aid.
Additionally, the target beneficiaries can realize that although they are in a current situation that makes them vulnerable, they can also have strengths and capacities unique to other people, which can help them contribute to their own community.
Manioba went on to explain that the psychosocial support they offered to single parents was a project that the recipients themselves specifically chose.
She relayed that the solo parents chose to request chairs considering that they were already given a livelihood in the prior years, which have fortunately expanded, and they wanted something that could be beneficial not just to their group but also to their community.
The community organizer stated that the worth of the chairs was P10,000, an amount that might be small but was hoped to have a big positive impact.
Manioba also thanked their beneficiaries for their cooperation.
She conveyed that, along the way, they saw their target recipients determined to make their project successful.
"Nakakataba ng puso na may bunga ang mga ginagawa namin sa ground. Sana ang mga project na natanggap nila ay mas lumago at lumaki pa," said Manioba.
(It makes our hearts happy to see that what we do on the ground is bearing fruit. I hope the projects they receive will progress and grow)
Meanwhile, Pendocina Omar, a solo parent from Brgy. Calocan West, expressed her sincere gratitude to the CFSI for helping them recover since the siege started in 2017 and the pandemic seriously affected them in 2020.
She attested that the CFSI was the first to help them during those needy times.
Omar shared that among the aid they received were groceries, seminars on how to sustain and expand businesses, and the distribution of free birth certificates.
"Maraming salamat sa CFSI. Kulang pa ang pasasalamat ang dapat namin ibigay sa inyo. Inshallah, ang tulong na ibinigay niyo sa amin ay hindi mawawala. Palalaguin namin iyon at kung papalarin, kami na naman ang tutulong sa kapwa namin," she said.
(Thank you to the CFSI. Thanking them is not enough for all the things they have given us. Inshallah, the aid they gave us will not perish. We will make this grow, and if fortunate enough, we will be the ones to help our fellowmen)
