The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided humanitarian assistance worth Php758,070 to families displaced by the June 3 Mt. Kanlaon eruption, an agency official said on Wednesday (June 5).

“Through DSWD Field Offices-6 (Western Visayas) and 7 (Central Visayas), the Department provided Php611,980 in aid to Negros Occidental and Php146,090 to Negros Oriental,” DSWD Asst. Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao said.

Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the assistance given to date include family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items such as family kits and sleeping kits.”

In line with the DSWD’s mandate as the head of the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, the agency is also assisting concerned local government units (LGUs) in monitoring the condition of the 426 families or 1,414 persons currently taking temporary shelter in 11 evacuation centers in the two provinces, according to Asst. Sec. Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson.

The DSWD and concerned localities have also established child-and women-friendly spaces to protect children, nursing mothers and pregnant evacuees.

“Due to the heightened vulnerability of children during disasters, such as the recent Mt. Kanlaon volcanic eruption, child-friendly and women-friendly spaces were set up to enhance their resilience against the negative effects of emergency situations on their well-being,” Asst. Sec. Dumlao pointed out.

“These spaces offer activities such as psychosocial counseling, games, educational activities, art therapy sessions, and supplementary feeding, among others,” the DSWD spokesperson added.

The establishment of child- and women- friendly spaces during disasters is aligned with Republic Act No. 10821, known as the Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act. #