Internally displaced youth sheltering at the biggest evacuation center in Zamboanga City, the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex, were able to take their minds off the hardships they faced at a special cultural and sports festival organised by CFSI and UNICEF at Baliwasan Central School on 8 December.
Themed “Bangon Zamboanga: Kabataang IDP’s Nagkakaisa” (Arise Zamboanga: United IDP Youth), the day featured cultural performances and a range of sporting events, including basketball, volleyball, badminton, chess and Scrabble.
More than 400 youth from the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex and the adjoining Cawa-Cawa evacuation center also mobilized for a Clean-Up Drive organized by CFSI and UNICEF on 6 December.
As youth, it is our obligation to clean up our surroundings[/pullquote]“This is our home now,” said one of the youths involved. “And as youth, it is our obligation to clean up our surroundings to help stop pollution and halt the spread of viral diseases.”
CFSI Zone C Community Organizer Faizal J. Bahidjan said: “There are a lot of things that affect our planet in a bad way, but the good news is that everyone can help to reduce them and do their bit for the environment.”
More than 65,000 people remain displaced in Zamboanga following conflict between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in September, of whom more than 15,000 are still sheltering at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex and more than 6,000 along the Cawa-Cawa shoreline. CFSI has had a continuous presence in Zamboanga City since 17 September, working with a range of partners to provide much-needed humanitarian interventions, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development, UNICEF and Western Mindanao State University’s College of Social Work and Community Development.
