P260,000 each in aid to displaced Marawi folk released by US

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—-Residents displaced by the 2017 war on terror in Marawi City received aid from the American government to build learning and training facilities, the United States Embassy in Manila said on Friday (Jan. 17).

The embassy said the aid was given to displaced residents and their host families through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID gave out micro-grants of P260,000 ($5,000) each to six community organizations and will support community learning facilities, including training spaces and daycare centers.

The micro-grants are part of USAID’s three-year P1.35 billion ($25 million) Marawi Response Project, which supports initiatives for economic recovery and social cohesion of displaced residents and communities hosting them in the cities of Marawi and Iligan and the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.

Launched in 2018, the project is a partnership between USAID and international nongovernmental organization Plan International, with support from local organizations Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits and Maranao People Development Center.

“The US government, in partnership with the Philippine government, is committed to supporting Lanao communities in their journey to recovery,” said Jeffrey Lehrer, chief of USAID’s Office of Economic Development and Governance.

Lehrer, with Mindanao Development Authority chair Emmanuel Piñol, handed over the grants in Iligan City last Wednesday (Jan. 15).

Philippine officials witnessed the ceremony.

Nikki Macaraub, a beneficiary of the Marawi Response Project, said that by having a facility for teaching sewing and dressmaking, more displaced women will be aided in starting businesses which, in turn, would support efforts to rebuild their lives.

To date, the United States, through USAID, has committed more than P3.4 billion ($63.6 million) for humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi, according to the US Embassy.

Edited by TSB