ZAMBOANGA CITY, (PNA) -– The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has established child-friendly spaces and temporary day care centers at the sports complex where the bulk of the evacuees are temporarily sheltered.
The sports complex is the biggest among the 38 evacuation centers and houses more than 70 percent of the thousands of families displaced by the standoff.
Greta Martinez, Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) focal person of the DSWD regional office, said day care services and supplemental feedings as well as play therapy are regularly being provided to children.
Four temporary day care centers have been established with one day care placed in each of the four zones at the sports complex.
Martinez said they have partnered with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in handling the day care program as well as the Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP) program for the children.
Martinez said they also provide the children with supplemental feeding after the day care session. The World Food Programmed (WFP) provides the biscuits and milk-chocolate drink for the supplemental feeding.
Martinez said a minimum of 50 and maximum of 75 children aged two to six attend the day care sessions.
She said that two day care sessions are being conducted daily by volunteer workers who are under the supervision of DSWD.
She said the children engaged in fun activities that include kiddie games, storytelling, drawing, and coloring.
She said these simple and easy activities aim to help the kids process their experiences and return to normalcy.
She said they have also partnered with the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) for the conduct of play therapy with children and set up child-friendly spaces for each of the four zones in the sports complex.
Other organizations such as the Church-based organization Katelingban, Bethany School and the Federation of the first district also contribute in the provision of day care services program inside the evacuation centers.
“The most vulnerable sector must be protected. The growth and development of children must not suffer amidst the crisis brought about by the recent armed conflict Zamboanga City,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said in a statement.