Three years after Islamic State-linked militants besieged the long-embattled city of Marawi, young civilians still bear the brunt of the conflict.
The five-month warfare that started on May 23, 2017 left nearly 77,000 children displaced from their homes. Those who were able to flee the fighting, however, now face a new threat: the coronavirus pandemic.
“Children are more at risk of exposure to the disease as clean water and hygiene facilities remain a problem in transitory shelters,” said Aedrian Araojo, communications officer of Save the Children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (SCP-BARMM).
Along with other youth volunteers, the 27-year-old Araojo finds purpose in the current crisis by providing support to the youth and their families living in areas with fragile and limited welfare systems.
Lanao del Sur has already recorded at least nine confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of May 17, with four deaths and 40 probable cases. Meanwhile, there are over 25,000 evacuee families in the outskirts of the city and in different parts of the Lanao provinces, while internally displaced persons, or IDPs, live in clumps of temporary shelters, where physical distancing is difficult to practice.
“Add to this the loss of income and livelihood among parents that impact their capacity to provide for their children’s basic needs,” said Araojo, stressing that the economic hit on families makes reconstruction and rehabilitation plans all the more urgent and necessary.
In the meantime, to ensure conflict-affected families have access to livelihood amid the global health crisis, new emergency employment schemes were put in place to complement existing initiatives by the national government, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and SCP-BARMM.
One measure that Save the Children has taken was the distribution of emergency kits such as hygiene kits and food vouchers to disadvantaged individuals. The global independent children’s organization also provided food assistance to medical and security frontliners.
Need for stronger support in education
While SCP-BARMM responds to the problems presented by the pandemic, the group remains committed in providing children with a brighter future through education.
Save the Children is an independent global organization dedicated to helping the youth in need. Founded in 1919 by sociologist Eglantyne Jebb who was moved by the plight of children living in horrendous conditions in war-ravaged Europe, the group has been sharing its global vision in the Philippines since 1981.
Save the Children believes the education carries even more importance now in BARMM, where aside from dealing with the threat of Covid-19, the youth face rising cases of domestic- and gender-based abuses amid district-wide lockdowns, along with recruitment by various armed groups.
“We see education as a sustainable life-saving support for the youth,” Araojo said. “But given the situation, Save the Children had to recalibrate its objectives to make them relevant today.”
The SCP-BARMM is currently working with the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) through the ReACh 2 TEACH program to ensure that young people will have access to education and protection from abuse and violence.
The project grants children from 46 schools with developmentally and culturally appropriate instructional and learning materials. Teachers are also trained to provide psychosocial support to learners facing violence due to armed conflict.
The three-year project is being implemented in Marawi City, as well as in Sulu, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental, or provinces that have been experiencing protracted conflict due to insurgency, terrorism, clan feud and tribal wars.
Role of youth volunteerism in nation-building
In light of the recent third anniversary of the Battle of Marawi, Araojo calls on youth leaders to be more involved in issues within their respective communities.
He believes that more could be done to prepare a new generation of volunteers to help with societal challenges, such as bringing an end to the decades-long insurgency in Mindanao.
For one, he views conflict-affected children and youth in war-torn areas not just as mere survivors. Rather, “they can be critical agents of change who can contribute in promoting peace and economic growth of the country,” he said.
Araojo added that it is important to equip the young with the essential knowledge and skills and establish them as pillars to be the front-runners in achieving the national goal.
“We should provide them with platforms to speak up and give them opportunities to help,” he said, before focusing his call on the involvement of the youth to the peace process in Mindanao.
“We should involve them in projects that motivate out-of-school children and youth to return to school and protect them from the unlawful recruitment by armed groups,” he said. “We should mobilize them to become key actors in rebuilding a stronger and more peaceful Marawi.”
On the Cover Bailiya, 12, is one of the beneficiaries of Save the Children Philippines’s education program. Read her story on the Save the Children web site at bit.ly/2X7U6Bz. Photo: savethechildren.org.ph