MARAWI CITY — Around 18,000 households have been displaced because of the Marawi siege in 2017. Among them is Namiya Usman Hadji Noor whose family has a long-standing operation of an antique shop offering wooden craft chairs, tables, wooden treasure chest, malong/ landap, meranao ethnic costumes, figurines, craft necklaces, and Meranao miniature products.
Sadly, everything got devastated because of the siege. Their place, Barangay Dansalan, became a ground zero.
Leaving the place has not been easy for Namiya, her mother, and her siblings. Moving from Brgy. Dansalan was like leaving a part of themselves – the small antique shop. They didn’t want to leave, but they had to.
But their sadness and loss eventually turned out to hope and faith as each of the internally displaced household heads received livelihood grant from the Department of Social Welfare and Development through the Sustainable Livelihood Program.
Namiya used this grant to start anew, to start her small antique shop at Brgy. Basak, Marawi City. Earning an estimated net income of Php 10,000.00 per month, Namiya shared how grateful she is for the new beginning in their lives.
“There is a rainbow after a strong heavy rain,” she said.
She likewise told her fellow IDPs not to lose hope and be courageous to grab every opportunity for growth and development that would come along the way.
“Life could be challenging but having a positive attitude towards things would change everything,” she added. (DSWD)
