It has been two months since disaster struck the Province of Cotabato when a series of high magnitude earthquakes devastated the region and affected roughly 326,800 people. The municipality of Tulunan, geographically located at the southernmost part of the province, is among the most affected areas, along with Makilala, Magpet, M’lang, and Kidapawan City.
Irish Mae Tiana, an 18-year-old grade eleven student at Makilala National High School, recalls her experience which she considers as the most terrifying so far.
“I remember during the earthquake when I, along with my classmates had to escape from our classroom in fear of falling debris from the ceiling,” said Irish. She also recalled how she ran 2 kilometres from the school to their house to check on her family, specially her mother. “My family is fine but our house is badly damaged. It is no longer safe to stay inside. We have to put up tents outside our house for temporary shelter,” she said.
Irish Mae is an active teenager and excels academically. As the youngest in the family, she carries the responsibility of helping her mother with work and household chores. The rest of her siblings, except for one older brother, already have their own families. Her mother works as a utility aid in their barangay while her father is a construction worker. “I sometimes help my mother in her work during my break,” she narrated.
Despite having been affected by the earthquakes herself, Irish Mae volunteered to become one of CFSI’s Youth Animators in New Caridad, Tulunan. She was among the first batch of Youth Animators who underwent the skills training conducted by CFSI on 21 to 23 December 2019 under the Child Protection Emergency Project (CPERP). Since then, Irish Mae, and her co-animators have been conducting weekly Psycho-social (PS) sessions for children of various age groups who were affected by the recent tragedy.
Because of her persistence, enthusiasm, and will to help her community, Irish Mae is able to play a significant role in helping affected communities rebuild their lives.
The CPERP is a 4-month emergency response project being implemented by CFSI in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and in close coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Education (DepEd). It seeks to supports 6,000 families, with 12,000 parents and 18,000 children, in the earthquake affected population in communities, evacuation sites, and schools across Municipalities of Makilala, Tulunan, M’lang, Magpet and City of Kidapawan in the Province of Cotabato.