By Leilani S. Junio
MANILA, (PNA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Thursday that it is now focusing on “transition period” in the provision of food for the evacuees sheltered in the evacuation centers in Zamboanga City.
According to DSWD Secretary Corazon J. Soliman, they are slowly shifting to a transition period wherein the evacuees are given some chance to cook the food packs that they want to eat and according to their preferred ways of cooking them.
Secretary Soliman said that Badjaos started to cook their native food now through the community kitchen set up in the stadium.
“Our brothers and sisters Badjaos does not want to eat rice and chicken anymore. In understanding their cravings for their native delicacy or toasted cassava and dried fish, our social workers here provided them the supplies and then they are the ones who cook it according to their desires,” she said.
Soliman also added that other evacuation centers are now also gradually shifting in cooking their preferred foods as the DSWD designed some kitchen areas where evacuees can cook their foods being supplied by the agency.
“In stadium, some kitchen areas away from their tents were also establish to enable them to cook their desired food,” she said.
The DSWD chief however assured that delivery of hot meals for some displaced families in the grandstand and other evacuation centers will still continue until such time that majority community kitchens were set-up.
“However, as of now it is expected that there will be a gradual decrease of orders to the local food providers as other sheltered families in evacuation centers started to shift in cooking the kind of foods they want,” she said.
Soliman cited that the transition is a sign that things are starting to normalize now as the armed conflict between Misuari rebel groups and the government forces is nearing its containment.
She said the department will prepare also the evacuees for another stage of the assistance that DSWD will still provide – the rehabilitation period.
She also added that Family Development Sessions (FDS) will be conducted now in all the remaining 35 evacuation centers wherein, about 5,000 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) mothers will be group together.
“In the first session, they will be asked of their feelings, experiences and fears during the conflict to let them outpour their trauma. In the next session, together with Mayor Maria Isabelle ‘Beng’ Climaco, we will ask them what are their dreams and what do they foresee when they will gradually go out from the evacuation centers,” she said.
Soliman said from the turn-out of the sessions, the crisis management committee together with Mayor Beng will begin to formulate ways on how to make those dreams of affected families come true.
“Since President Benigno S. Aquino III has released a budget of P3.9 billion for their rehabilitation and early recovery, we want to implement ways on how to really come-out with the plannings of concrete shelter that will suits their dreams and needs too,” the DSWD head said.
As of now, she said they are closely coordinating with Habitat for Humanity and Gawad Kalinga who pledge to assist in building of temporary shelters as they begin to identify land areas where concrete shelters will be establish.
“By October 5, hopefully we will be able to conduct a ground-breaking ceremony to assure the severely affected residents that there is still ‘life and hope’ for them after the conflict as they can see and feel that permanent and more concrete shelters is already on its way for them,” she added.
She said that continuous relief assistance will be provided to the affected families in Zamboanga City.
“Food provision for about 21,000 families will be part of the plan until such time that they will be able to stand up and go back to their regular source of livelihood to give them spending power too after the incident,” she added.
The DSWD chief said her department in the early days of the conflict already implemented cash for work wherein some evacuees who rendered jobs in cooking, cleaning, and transporting in the kitchen were given P150 each a day.
She also added that those who helped in building the tents in evacuation centers were also paid at P250 each.
She said that the International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC) also conducted cash for work programs to those rendering jobs by cleaning the evacuation centers.
“As of now the funds that were given by President Aquino in order to ensure the protection and welfare of the affected families is still enough to cover the expenses that will be incurred. We will have full details of the entire expenses as the permanent and concrete shelters numbering to about 10,000 were established,” she added.
She assured that all plans for rehabilitation will pushed through as the President promised that if there is a need for additional budget, the President will not hesitate to order for its release to keep to his promise of providing relief and recovery to the affected families in Zamboanga City.
“President Aquino wants to assure that Zamboanga City will once more recover out of the devastation from the conflict,” she added.