Fifty-nine years old and widowed, Mombao Dirindigun stands as the sole parent to her six children, one of whom, 24 years of age, is affected with paralysis. Before the siege, Mombao’s only source of income was selling spices which she grew in a small plot in her home in West Marinaut, Marawi City. West Marinaut is one of the 24 Barangays in the Most Affected Area of Marawi City, previously known as Ground Zero.
When the war erupted, Mombao was still in the hospital where her son was being treated. To escape the conflict, she and her children fled the war-torn city and found themselves in Cagayan de Oro City only to live in the streets for days with no roof above their heads and only some carton boxes to sit and sleep on. Her son still had a dextrose attached in his vein when they ran.
At present, Mombao and her family is living in her sister’s residence in the Municipality of Ditsaan-Ramain where the temperature can get extremely cold on most nights. This and their state of living made it difficult for Mombao to provide her son the care he needs for his condition.
Mombao’s family was among the 261 recipients of sleeping kits distributed by CFSI from the Servathon 2018. Dirindigun shared that her son can now sleep better and in comfort because of the assistance they received.
“He could not sleep properly before because his bed was too hard and because of his condition. Now, we have the linens we can use to make him more comfortable,” she shared.
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On its second consecutive year, CFSI becomes a recipient again of 651 kits containing basic necessities from the annual Servathon organized by Hands on Manila last September 2018 which were given forthwith to 534 families from several areas, namely the City of Marawi in Iligan; Municipalities of Piagapo, Ditsaan-Ramain, Saguiaran, Pantar, and Marantao in Lanao del Sur; and Municipalities of Matunggao, Balo-I, and Pantar in Lanao del Norte.
About 260 Home-in-a-Pail kits, 261 Sleeping Kits, 40 Educational Kits, and 90 packs of NutriMeals were turned over to CFSI Sub-Office Iligan (SOI) for distribution in service areas of five different CFSI projects: the Marawi Recovery Project, the Psychosocial Support in Emergencies Project/2, the Mindanao Protection Project, the Fresh Start Project, and Harmony Learning Center for Marawi Project.