ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews / 31 Aug) – The Badjao community here, whose members are used to begging in the streets, received a sack of rice and a kilo of sugar per family from a non-governmental organization that came to their village Tuesday.
The Save the Children Philippines, in partnership with officials of Barangay Tambacan, distributed the food items to 160 families at the barangay hall.
The Badjaos, originally from Tawi-tawi and other islands in the Sulu Archipelago, who came to Iligan have settled at Purok 4 in Barangay Tambacan, a coastal village, where they erected houses on stilts by the beach.
Dr. Amado Parawan, health and nutrition advisor of Save the Children Philippines, said their donation was their way of helping ease the hunger and difficult living condition of the Badjaos.
He said the initiative is under the life changer community sponsorship program of the organization, which seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable and underserved communities in Mindanao. They are thus giving importance to the Badjao community in Save the Children’s continuous campaign against hunger.
“This is our initial aid for the Badjaos here,” said Mykiel Patcho, head of the Iligan office of Save the Children. Among the next activities lined up, he added, are teaching the Badjao mothers how to prepare nutritious food through a community kitchen and to monitor the children’s nutrition and weight.
The community kitchen program, Patcho said, will start soon and will last for three months. “Hopefully, there will be changes by then,” he added.
