(This story was written by Almerah Maca-alin, a Field Assistant of CFSI. Almie, as her co-workers fondly call her, is the team leader for one of the activities under the Protection component of one of CFSI’s major recovery and rehabilitation project in Marawi.)
For Cayasalam Sultan Naga, being an old widow, losing her children, falling ill, nor being caught between the siege in Marawi can not stop her from treading the road to rebuild her life.
Cayasalam is a resident of Barangay Guimba, Marawi City and was displaced with her family when the Marawi Siege erupted on May 2017.
Before the Siege, Cayasalam worked as a volunteer in a madrasa in Guimba where she taught Arabic. She also kept a small store and a modest vegetable garden in her home.
We met her for the first time in Baloi-Lanao del Norte where she was displaced with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. She was bedridden, looked very weak, and was suffering from severe skin allergies all over her body.
We also learned that she had seven children, all of whom she tragically lost because of illness.
During our talk with her, she said that she cried and pitied herself because they had no money to see a doctor about her condition and she feared that she would eventually succumb to her disease.
As an initial assistance, CFSI granted her a wheelchair for ambulatory support.
In November 2018, she and her family were able to return to their home in Barangay Guimba, one of CFSI’s service sites. There I met Cayasalam again.
When we visited her home in Guimba, we were shocked to see that she was restrained to the bed in the basement of their home. Regrettably, Cayasalam developed a mental problem where she would have episodes of unconscious aimless wandering. Her daughter, Norhaya, shared that although her family did their best to watch her, Cayasalam would still be able to disappear from their watch and leave in a trance, sometimes even in the middle of the night. She would wake alone to her consciousness, feeling lost and disoriented. This left the family no other choice but to tether Cayasalam to the bed.
While her life story may sound like a series of regrettable events, all is not lost for Cayasalam who proves to be tougher than any tragedy. In fact, despite the setbacks, she incessantly persists.
As one of CFSI’s beneficiaries, Cayasalam and her family was granted a sari-sari store starter set as a form of livelihood support on August 2018.
About nine months later, we visited their home again to check on her condition.
Cayasalam looked far better than when we first saw her in Balo-i and during the initial intakes the year before. Her skin and mental state had improved significantly.
She took me to the garden she had been growing in her home and proudly showed the crops she had grown herself. She also showed us her steadily growing sari-sari store that helped in providing for her family.
Cayasalam’s family is expecting another addition to their family as her daughter, Norhayam is pregnant with her fourth child. With the sari-sari store and the vegetable garden they have, Cayasalam believes that they are now better equipped to sustain their needs.
Further, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), CFSI has also assisted her in seeing professional medical attention for her skin disease and mental health.
