We, the Kalalagan Team are very lucky. Despite being assigned to the farthest areas of the Psychosocial Support in Emergencies Project (PSEP), and needing to always be in the field, no one in the team complained. We fought back our exhaustion and tiredness with dedication and love for service. We saw our difficulties as opportunities to learn, and later deliver more effective and reliable services. Every one in the team was inspired and motivated. Why? Because we knew that we were instruments to reach Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) living in the farthest of places. We were actors — service providers, who needed to motivate and inspire beneficiaries to get up and confront their present situation. As service providers our tiredness was put to rest by the urgent need to help affected communities.
Acmad Deedat Galman, a member of our team, shared that the Psychosocial Support (PSS) played a big role in the lives of the children affected by the siege of Marawi City. PSS was not just about playing with children, drawing and colouring animals, or jumping and laughing. It was about practicing empathy and spreading hope. Aisah Omar shared about the joy and happiness she saw in children during the conduct of PSS. According to her, it was the children’s joy, happiness, and warm welcome of the CFSI staff that completed her day and gave her strength — being affected by the siege and an IDP herself.
The conduct of PSS for children brought about positive impacts on us as well. Another member of the team, Fahada Camim shared that the sessions allowed her to better see and understand the needs of the children. In addition, Sittie Naida Mesug expressed that the conduct of PSS boosted her self-confidence and developed her capacity and skills in dealing with children.
As for me, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to be a service provider. Through the PSS, I hope to have contributed to the IDPs growth in strength, motivation, and inspiration, and contribute to the rebuilding of their lives.
CFSI Kalalagan Team, under the Psychosocial Support in Emergencies Project
— Amanoddin M. Macacuna