As the world celebrates the International Day of Peace today, Sept. 21, a child rights group urged the government and other concerned agencies to end discrimination against children who face deprivation stemming from various circumstances.
Save the Children Philippines (SCP), in a statement, said discrimination against children facing deprivation to lingering armed conflicts, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic must end.
“As the world struggles to find solutions to the pandemic, we call for the fulfillment of rights of children to health, learning and protection from violence as their plights continue to be sidelined,” SCP Chief Executive Officer Atty. Alberto Muyot.
Muyot, a former Undersecretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), shared that this year’s International Day of Peace is themed “Shaping Peace Together” calling on the global community to “spread compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic.”
In the Philippines, Muyot said that the SCP has launched the “Restoring Livelihoods and Learning in Marawi” project, in partnership with Japan Fund for Poverty, Government of Japan, and Asian Development Bank.
The project aims to provide livelihood and emergency employment to displaced families due to the Marawi Siege in 2017 and ensure continued learning of their children.
“The pandemic made the lives of the financially-challenged and conflict-affected people here twice difficult,” said Asinah Munid, Kagawad of Barangay Lumbayangue in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.
The program implements short-term emergency employment for working-age men and women in more than 90 barangays in the province of Lanao del Sur. In addition, it aims to implement projects on social, economic and agro-forestry community projects like road and school repair, waste management program and other labor services.