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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider Homegrown BPO comforts young quake victims in Davao Oriental

Homegrown BPO comforts young quake victims in Davao Oriental

Published Oct 20, 2025 04:50 pm
DAVAO CITY – A homegrown business process outsourcing firm has delivered toys over the weekend for children in the coastal town of Manay in Davao Oriental province, the epicenter of the recent twin earthquakes
Wawee Liwanag, training and operations head of GlobalTalk BPO, said that toys could bring comfort as well as restore a bit of normalcy to children.
Liwanag added that many of the children had to deal with fear, stress, and anxiety after they were traumatized by the powerful earthquakes and succeeding aftershocks.
The toys could help give the children a safe way to express their feelings even if they could not say it yet very well, she said.
“Our goal is to reach around 300 children, but so far we’ve only raised enough for at least 50 kids. If there is additional support, we can pool in our resources and we can send another batch in the next few weeks,” Liwanag said.
The toys are composed of therapeutic toys like soft stress balls, art materials like coloring books, clay, and fidget and sensory toys to help the children manage their anxiety, Liwanag said.
They also distributed simple puzzles and non-electronic toys to divert the children’s attention and could be used anywhere.
The toys were distributed in Barangays San Ignacio and Rizal.
During disasters, Liwanag said, the purpose of play is not just to bring joy to the children. “Play is also a therapy as it helps reduce fear, process their feelings and could also bring back hope.”
“With play, the child’s mind could rest and help bring back a sense of safety. It could also help in expressing their trauma in a healthy way. It helps them feel seen, cared for, and not forgotten amid the difficulties,” Liwanag said.
The provincial government said that the twin earthquakes affected at least 177,000 families in Davao Oriental. Nine people were killed and 11,381 houses were damaged, 752 of which were totally destroyed.

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Manay Davao Oriental Davao earthquake GlobalTalk Toys
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