Youth group sends aid to conflict-affected Mamanwa tribal village

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 3, 2021): Youth group sends aid to conflict-affected Mamanwa tribal village (By Alexander Lopez)

IP COMMUNITY AID. The youth group Propelling Our Inherited Nation Through our Youth, Inc., together with partner agencies, conducts food distribution and a feeding program for the Mamanwa tribal community in Sitio Songkoy, Barangay Mahanub, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte on Friday (Sept. 3, 2021). About 75 IP families directly benefited from the activity. (Photo courtesy of POINTY Surigao Norte)

Youth group Propelling Our Inherited Nation Through our Youth, Inc. (POINTY) in Surigao del Norte has forged partnerships with different government agencies to provide food relief to an indigenous peoples (IP) community in the province.

About 75 IP families belonging to the Mamanwa tribe in Sitio Songkoy, Barangay Mahanub, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte received family food packs and hygiene kits in a distribution activity conducted on Friday.

POINTY also facilitated a feeding program for the children of the Mamanwa tribe in the area.

“The food distribution is part of the outreach program of POINTY Surigao del Norte, dubbed as ‘Alay Pagmamahal sa Katutubo’. The activity also highlighted the fifth-year anniversary of the group in the province,” POINTY said in a statement.

The distribution activity was supported by the 30th Infantry Battalion, the Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and the local government of Gigaquit.

Private groups also extended support to the activity, including the local chapter of the MotorCycle Riders Club of the Philippines.

The group said the Mamanwa tribe in Barangay Mahanub is considered vulnerable to the terroristic activities of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

“The activity was also aimed to educate and empower the IP community and help the IPs become resilient from adversities caused by the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG),” it added.

The group is also working to protect the IP youths from the recruitment activities of the NPA terrorists.

“POINTY Surigao (del) Norte will continue to fulfill its passion and commitment to empowering the youth to be catalysts of peace and development as (this) will lead for impactful change in the province,” it said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines - NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1152522