Life in evacuation is never easy. The fisherfolk of Barangay Damatulan, the latest evacuees of Midsayap town in North Cotabato, southern Philippines, knows this well.

Abos Omar, 44, and his neighbors hurried to their fishing boats as fighting between the MILF and military forces erupted in Damatulan. They crossed the Pawas River at night to seek refuge at the nearest evacuation site in Barangay Kadingilan.

“We were not affected by the war, until now,” said Abos, a fisherman who relies solely on the river for his catch. He must wait for some time before he can cast his fishing net again.

“We sleep here... on the ground,” said Bailaga Almada, 44, as she pointed to improvised beddings made of cardboard and tarpaulin spread on top the moist, bare earth. A fish vendor with nine children, she already accepted the grim conditions her family has to live with while in Kadingilan.

“Hayaan na lang,” she added, trying to comfort herself. “What’s important is that we get some shuteye.”

Most of the evacuees in North Cotabato have already returned to their homes to resume their lives. But for Abos, Bailaga and their fellow evacuees, their plight has just begun.

Good thing Operation Blessing was in town and gave mats and blankets to 56 families in the Kadingilan site. That means no more sleepless, uncomfortable nights for these evacuees, thanks to OB, with help from local volunteers and the 6th Civil Military Operations Unit of the Philippine Army.

“My children can now sleep well,” Bailaga said with an outpouring of thanks when she received OB’s gift of comfort. Abos was grateful as well for his new mat and blanket.

“These are what we really need and we can use. Thank you for helping us,” he said.

Operation Blessing has also distributed 166 mats and blankets to internally displaced families in Takepan, Pikit; in Pagangan, Bagolibas, San Mateo and Dualig in Aleosan; and in Upper Labas, Midsayap. Most of these families brought nothing with them when they evacuated. Some, sadly, have nothing to return to as their houses were torched to the ground.

Through its faithful partners, OB continues with its mission of rehabilitating and rebuilding the lives of those affected by the armed conflict in Mindanao.