NGO urges unhampered protection for children as Maguindanao conflict seen to intensify

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Save the Children Philippines has called for continuous and concerted response on the protection of children and their families who have been affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Maguindanao as local authorities and humanitarian actors expect prolonged struggle and further displacement in the region.

More than 60,000 individuals have been displaced, including an estimated 27,500 children (around 13,640 are girls and 13,860 are boys), as a result of the conflict between government troops and extremist groups on 18 March in the Municipality of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, which has since spilled over in the neighboring towns of Mamasapano, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Shariff Aguak, Datu Salibo, Datu Unsay, and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan.

“We are deeply concerned about the present situation of the children in Maguindanao who have to endure fear and displacement once again at the most unfortunate time of COVID-19,” said Atty. Alberto T. Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines.

Save the Children Philippines conducted an assessment in the evacuation centers and found that the major protection concerns of displaced children and adolescents were their fear and psychological stress from the volatile security situation and the apparent lack of privacy in the evacuation centers and toilets. Children and their families have also reported their miserable conditions in evacuation centers.

Due to the compounding safety issues and risks brought about by the pandemic, Muyot highlighted the importance of strategic communication of public health messages across the affected areas and innovative ways to implement the minimum health standards while in temporary shelters.

“We urge the humanitarian community to ensure that boys and girls are accorded with prompt and regular mental health interventions and that temporary shelters are provided with gender-responsive WASH facilities to avert cases of gender-based violence,” said Muyot.

Save the Children Philippines extended humanitarian assistance to 500 affected families by distributing food items and hygiene essentials. The support was made possible through the ReACh 2 TEACH project funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid.

The child rights organization has also been leveraging its engagement with the Local Council for the Protection of Children, Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC) desks, and the Women and Children Protection Units (WCPU) in the region and the community-based informal structures such as community-based child protection mechanism (CBCPM) groups who have been formally trained to support the government-mandated structures to protect children at all times.

Save the Children Philippines is working closely with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Ministry of Social Services and Development, the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, and other partners for the effective prioritization of people’s needs and delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Manila Bay gets fresh dolomite dump

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Heavy vehicles dump fresh dolomite at the "Dolomite Beach" along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Tuesday, April 13. The artificial white sand beach is part of a P389 million-peso project of the gov't to rehabilitate Manila Bay. 

Cases are still rising, yet the news we got today is manila bay getting another dolomite dumping?

What's the sense of Manila Bay's "beautification" if no one will be able to personally see it due to the lockdown?

Amidst the pandemic, the government is wasting money on dolomite dumping. This can even worsen the condition of the coastal and marine ecosystems in Manila Bay by introducing foreign material and increasing sedimentation.

Malacañang has defended the controversial dumping of crushed dolomite in the area. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque last Sept. 7 said that Manila Bay’s “white sand” makeover will give immeasurable benefit to Filipinos’ mental health.

The mental health reasoning of the government for the dolomite issue / waste of resources is the same thing as people using buzzwords they get from article headlines without actually reading the article.

So magagamot depression at anxiety ng mga Pilipino dahil maganda Manila Bay?!

These people are just killing Manila Bay. Idk ah but replenishing it again with another dose of dolomite that can be washed away again  over the course of how many months?? Where is the sustainable tourism?? WHY IS OUR MONEY GOING TO THIS SHITTY PROJECT?!

LITERALLY THROWING MONEY INTO THE OCEAN FOR NOTHING + the environmental repercussions of mining the dolomite!

This isn't how you rehabilitate Manila Bay. You do that by stopping the reclamation projects destroying the ecosystems, corals, mangroves, & displacing fisherfolk!

Let's be honest, Manila Bay is just a huge kitty litter at this point.

Stop lying to the Filipino people!

This could've been thousands of vaccines, additional beds and facilities.

This could've been thousands of Filipino lives saved.

Skill Building: Make the Most of Lockdown

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

With the ever-increasing scope of lockdown, it can be easy to feel like there is nothing for you to do but hunker down and wait until the worst passes. While this is certainly one approach you could take, you could always try to make the most of this time instead. How do you do that? By learning a new skill.

Learning a New Skill

It may seem like a stressful and convoluted process, but learning a new skill is actually much easier than most people even realize. Online learning facilities such as LinkedIn Learning allow people access to an enormous amount of tutelage and information for almost any topic. This makes the process of learning new skills much easier; all you need is a little time and dedication.

Coding

There are very few skillsets as misunderstood as coding. For the most part, people tend to look on programmers and software developers like techno wizards that know the beautiful machines' secret language. This is for a good reason. From the outside, coding can seem a lot like magic, but once you’ve broken into the nitty-gritty of the skill, you’ll see just how straightforward and interesting coding can be.

There are a ton of different ways that you can break into the coding skillset, and it often depends on what you want to do with the coding skills you are developing. Often the best way to start is to learn python. As a coding language, it is one of the most versatile and is widely regarded as the easiest to learn.

Art

The ability to create beautiful works with just a pencil or a computer is one that almost everyone who has seen an artist at work is jealous of. However, this isn’t some mystical gift passed down by the gods. Artists put a lot of work into honing their craft and sharpening their skills which means that you can too. With a bit of time and effort, you can create art every bit as beautiful as any you’ve seen others make.

There are a number of different ways to go about learning art online, from studying theory to instruction courses. In all likelihood, the most effective methods are the courses that lead you through learning the basics and offer exercises every step of the way, such as DrawaBox.

Risk Management

There are a number of ways to learn how to deal with risks, but one of the most surefire methods is to engage in controlled risk-taking. One of the best ways to do this is to play games. Ruby Fortune is the best online casino Canada has to offer and supplies many games that would help you learn to mitigate and manage risks.

You might not consider it one, but risk management is a skill, an important one. If you don’t develop your abilities with these skills, you will find any situation where you have to deal with risks far more challenging than is necessary. In fact, you may even freeze up and fail to handle such situations at all. Whether in business or just day-to-day life, risks are a part of living, and knowing how to deal with them will make your life much easier.