Alyaser Hadji Ansary is a field assistant of Community and Family Services International (CFSI) under the Marawi Recovery Project (MRP). The project gives assistance to people affected by the Marawi Siege, a five-month long war in Mindanao, Philippines between the government and armed groups in 2017.
Yash, as he’s fondly called, is a survivor of the siege. He was a high school teacher in downtown city when the war erupted.
On the day of the attack, he was trapped in the middle of the firefight and saw how buildings were burned. He also recounted how his father braved the barrage of bullets, rushing inside home just to get his important documents, before his family fled to safety.
They moved to Manila with the hopes of starting a new life in the economic center of the Philippines. However, the business they put up did not go well which led them to go back to their hometown in 2018.
In the same year, Yash joined CFSI under MRP. Little did he know that this will be the start of his career as a humanitarian worker and that he could be of help to his fellow siege survivors.
For two years now, Yash is part of the team providing livelihood support interventions to project participants. Their distribution of livelihood support packages continues amidst the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“Being a humanitarian worker is serving and helping people in need. It’s a profession that I wish I could do for a lifetime,” Yash shared with a smile. #