Community and Family Services International (CFSI) continues to rebuild the lives of the people in Marawi, specifically the Persons with Disability (PWDs), by linking them to the local government and other service providers to receive aid. This initiative was through the organization’s Marawi Recovery Project (MRP).

Part of MRP’s psychosocial support activities is the provision of case management services, referral of PWDs to relevant agencies, and provision of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, nebulizers, and walking canes.

One hundred seventy-four (174) PWDs that were referred and served by MRP have received Php6,000 each during the PWD allowance payout by the Ministry of Social Services and Development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM).

The clients were from Marawi City and the municipalities of Ditsaan-Ramain, Marantao, Piagapo, Butig, Lumbayanague, and Masiu in Lanao del Sur.

The program, dubbed as “Kalinga Para sa may Kapansanan”, aims to protect the PWDs in the Bangsamoro region from abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment.

MRP project participants and referred clients were endorsed to receive the cash aid through their respective Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (MSWDOs) and the Marawi City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

Recipients will be receiving their cash assistance of Php 500 a month and shall be given in bulk or Php 6,000 once a year.

Some PWDs that CFSI referred to MSSD BARMM were cases that were not yet known, not registered, nor validated yet in their respective local government units.

The cases referred for assistance were immobility, visual impairment, orthopedic, chronic illnesses, psychosocial, and mental health, among others.

One of the MRP project participants who benefited from the payouts is Asgar who has a visual disability. His guardian, Aquisa, sells pater (chicken or beef shreds over rice).

Aquisa said the cash aid will help Asgar spend for himself. She will also be allowing Asgar to manage the money himself and decide how he would like to use the money for.

MRP also provided a guiding stick assistive device for Asgar.

CFSI also endorsed 230 PWDs to receive a PWD ID and booklet where 163 have already received theirs. The PWD ID and booklet can be used by PWDs to avail of discounts in buying medicines and receive other government support for PWDs as of writing.

Seven other clients were also endorsed to the Marian-Foundation Assistance for Spiritual and Social Achievement (MASSA) through the Lanao del Sur Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) to receive prosthetic legs.

Collaborations with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the local Rural Health Units (RHUs), and the Marawi City Health Office (CHO) are also continuing where CFSI endorses PWDs, elderly, and other clients in need of a medical checkup.

Mental health clients from the municipalities are being referred to Lanao del Sur Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), and to CHO and MSF, those from Marawi City. The three offices provide medicines for mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders and psychiatric services to persons in need.

As of February 2021, CFSI has provided case management for 667 persons, referred 678 persons to other agencies such as MSSD-BARMM and CSWD Marawi, and provided assistive devices to 533 persons.

CFSI, supported by the Australian Government, implements the MRP since 2017 to promote protection, psychosocial, and livelihood recovery of at least 6,500 households affected by the Marawi crisis.

To learn more about the project, visit https://cfsi.ph/marawi-recovery-project-mrp-project-brief/. #