THE Catholic Church has launched a toy campaign in an effort to bring back happiness and comfort to children who are still recovering from the trauma brought about by the ongoing crisis in Marawi City.
The National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa)/Caritas Philippines, the social arm of the Catholic Church, launched the toy campaign “Share the joy, give a toy”, targeting to give new and preloved toys and educational materials to at least 3,000 children who evacuated in Iligan City and other disaster-affected areas.
Nassa/Caritas Philippines Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez said aside from basic necessities, like food and nonfood items, there is an urgent need to address the psychosocial needs, especially of children.
“The trauma brought by the armed conflict was evident in the faces of the civilians, especially the children, who were robbed of a peaceful and memorable childhood. Through this campaign, we hope to help ease the trauma,” Gariguez said.
The provision of toys will form part of the psychosocial interventions of the rapid response appeal recently launched by Nassa/Caritas Philippines with the Diocese of Iligan. “We are also encouraging children who will be donating toys to write simple cards or notes, with inspiring messages for the children of Marawi,” Gariguez added.
Donations can be dropped off at Nassa/Caritas Philippines office located in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines building in Intramuros, Manila until August 11.
New or pre-loved toys as well as educational materials for children will be accepted as long as they are clean and in good condition. Scary-looking toys, pigs or wild-animal replicas, toys that look like weapons, toxic, battery-operated and damaged/soiled are discouraged.
Nassa/Caritas Philippines together with the Diocese of Iligan is also implementing a P10-million humanitarian response to the Marawi crisis, covering the essential needs of 3,000 families or 15,000 individuals in Iligan City such as halal food, and non-food items like hygiene kits, household items and sleeping kits.
Data from the Office of the Civil Defense-National Emergency Operations Center showed 102,860 families or 465,674 individuals were displaced by the armed conflict in Marawi.
Nassa/Caritas Philippines is the humanitarian, development and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.