NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – To protect children from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Community and Family Services International (CFSI) provided protective gears and disinfectant items to 6,000 children in various barangays and evacuation centers in the province.
In April and May 2020, CFSI worked with barangay councils to distribute face masks, face shields, and disinfectant items to vulnerable households with children ages zero to six, with more than three child members, or with a child with disability or special need.
Among the recipients were households taking refuge in evacuation centers in Makilala town. These households, which are displaced for eight months now, are survivors of the three major earthquakes that hit the province in late 2019.
Aside from the children and their families, CFSI also distributed protective kits to 900 frontliners in the province including checkpoint marshals and various local government workers.
CFSI staff and volunteers went to the boundary checkpoints of the towns of Makilala, Magpet, M’lang, and Tulunan, and the city of Kidawapan to hand over kits to the marshals. Further, protective kits for the local government workers were coursed through their respective focal persons to minimize mass gatherings and person-to-person contact.
According to CFSI Project Coordinator Joniel Gedoria, the face masks were purchased from local tailoring shops in Kidapawan City to help small businesses recover from the negative economic effect of the pandemic. The disinfectant materials were also purchased from local suppliers in the city.
CFSI staff members hand over basic protective and disinfectant materials to Cotabato Police Provincial Office.
This initiative was part of CFSI’s Child Protection Emergency Response Project (CPERP) which aims to support the needs of 6,000 households and 18,000 children affected by the earthquake. CPERP is implemented in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and in close coordination with different Philippine government agencies. #