ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service’s Sagip Kapamilya has rolled out its mobile shower facilities in the early hours of September 18 via its “Kapamilya Shower” van in Zamboanga to offer free shower to residents who have been displaced by the ongoing clash between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government forces.
“Our Kapamilyas are really in a tough situation in Zamboanga City. Because of the clashes, they left their homes and are now scattered in numerous evacuation centers.
Some of the temporary shelters are already full, so some families would just sleep on street pavements. Where to get and cook food is a serious concern. And so is hygiene and sanitation. The portalets are not enough and they can’t even take a bath. Some of them would just wait for the rain or for the water hosed to the people by the city’s fire services” ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service Head Jerry Bennett shared.
There were images shared on photo-sharing site Instagram that showed a long line of people waiting for their turn to bathe in the “Kapamilya Shower” van.
The shortage of food and clothes, the availability of comfort rooms and water supply are daily grinds the evacuees have to deal with.
Since September 13, ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service Sagip Kapamilya, a composite of ABS-CBN Regional Network Group (RNG), Integrated News and Current Affairs INCA),and ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc., has been conducting feeding programs in some identified evacuation centers in Zamboanga. More than 2,000 evacuees are served daily by the team. Thousands of packs of relief goods were also distributed to the families.
Bennett further adds that as soon as the clashes are over, and the government declares the conflict zones clear, The ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service will carry out stress debriefing and trauma counselling activities, specifically for the children exposed to the violence.
ABS-CBN is continuously coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government to aid the families affected by the Zamboanga crisis.
