“Tungod sa kagutom nga nasinati sa mga tao, pati among mga lagutmon nga among pananom sa palibot ginapangawat na” (Due to scarcity of food that people are experiencing, even our rootcrops are being stolen), Ester “Bae Makabulig” Villarin said. As the entire province of Bukidnon continue to implement a general community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tightening of food supply for the entire province resulted to deprivation in the communities. Barangay Maluko is one of those barangays that until now, has not received any intervention from the local government unit (BLGU). 
  
Bae Ester is a leader in the Apu Datu Mambalintos Clan, one of the 14 clans of the Bukidnon Indigenous Cultural Community Ancestral Domain (BICCAD) in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. BICCAD is one of Samdhana’s partner for the past two and a half years in the project on strengthening Indigenous Governance and empowering women and youth. Barangay Maluko is accessible via the provincial road. 

The BLGU of the neighboring barangay like Barangay Tankulan provided 4kls of rice and 2pcs of canned goods to selected household. Since the beginning of the community quarantine the BLGU of Barangay Maluko have not yet delivered their emergency relief. “Pinili lang man ang ginalista sa mga Purok Leaders ug kung kinsa tong duol sa dughan mao lang ang ma lista. Dili jud ma apil ang poorest among the poor apil na ana ang mga IP’s nga anaa sa lagyo nga sitio” (Only selected (sic) are listed by the Purok Leaders and those who are close to them are listed. The poorest among the poor, including the IPs living in the remote sitios, will not be included.) Another NGO Partner, LILAK Purple Action for Women, had provided emergency assistance  in the early period of the quarantine, but it served only 28 households, those which had the most dire need. Bae Ester said Barangay Maluko have 1,031 households and half are indigenous families. There are 115 households composing the Apu Datu Mambalintos Clan. 

Crops were affected by the long season of drought, causing hunger among the community members. Many agricultural laborers, who are daily wage earners, were forced to stop from their work in the big agro-industrial farms when the quarantine started. It became a challenge in the community where to find their daily needs especially in this difficult time when there is scarcity of locally produced food. ###

Samdhana Appeal

A donation of one thousand pesos (P1000) will provide food for one family for two weeks and allow for delivery to isolated and predominantly indigenous communities that are already calling out to be supplemented for their basic needs, as they are unable to earn daily wage and provide for their families in the coming days of the extended community quarantine. We appeal to your kind and generous hearts at this time of crisis to provide food for survival of Bukidnon families in Brgy. Maluko.

Our full letter of appeal can be read here: https://www.samdhana.org/stories/finding-resilience-time-crisis or https://www.facebook.com/samdhana.institute/posts/652360695329573?__tn__=K-R 

Responses to frequently asked questions: 

How will we get the food supplies? 

The supply of rice, sugar and coffee will be purchased from traders in within the town or nearby cities in Bukidnon. Samdhana Institute will assist to directly secure the supply, and will work with the local partner.

How will we get the food to the communities? 

Samdhana Institute will arrange for transport for the goods from supplier to receiving community.  This will be arranged directly and coordinated with the respective local governments and other kindhearted transport owners. It is important that this reaches the communities in need at the soonest possible time. 

How will we ensure that these food items reach those who most need it? 

Beneficiary selection and goods distribution will be managed by the partner Indigenous Communities through their leadership structure and the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR). They shall closely coordinate with the respective municipal and barangay government units. The Indigenous youth and women will be the responsible individuals in the frontline during beneficiary validation and actual distribution. They will be provided with face masks and disinfecting solutions and social distancing will be practiced during the distribution.  Goods will be delivered to each household or the nearest point of convergence per purok, zone of sitio, where physical distancing can be practiced during the distribution process. 

Tracking and reporting?

Acknowledgement receipt per beneficiary will be filled up and signed. Photo documentation and video documentation will be assigned to the youth.  We will provide donors with copies of these and a full report.

Who is Samdhana Institute? 

Samdhana operates across South east Asia.  In the Philippines, it has an office in Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao and in Coron in Palawan.  Samdhana Institute supports indigenous peoples and local communities to secure their rights to their territories and their wellbeing.   Our work is mainly supporting and facilitating Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), and civil society organizations working with them, developing their capacities;  institutional mechanisms and next generation leaders, and supporting communities develop local innovations for community resilience. But the struggle for tenure security and resiliency is not a short-term task.  We also provide urgent support for indigenous and local communities in far flung areas during critical times such as during disasters and this current COVID 19 crisis.  Samdhana Institute was registered in 2003 and 2005 as a not-for profit organization in the Philippines and Indonesia, respectively.  For more information, visit our website in www.samdhana.org  

Do let us know if you have any questions or concerns. You may also want to contact Erwin (erwin@samdhana.org) or Joan (joan@samdhana.org) directly for more details.

The Samdhana bank account for your information is BPI Cogon CDO Branch Acct. No. 9321-0045-36. Please send through email confirmation of sending the donation to bunny@samdhana.org. We will send you your acknowledgement receipt through email. 

The following are the contact details of Joan, Erwin or Cane.  SMS or WA message to Joan (09258668477) or Erwin 09175853817 or Cane 09175300255 or via messenger : Joan Auj (Joan); Er Kyu (Erwin) and Aim Sylph (Cane).

Maraming salamat po!

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