Stories from the Ground

Stories from the Ground A Collection of Inspiring Stories of Resilience

Stories from the Ground A Collection of Inspiring Stories of Resilience

Copyright @ 2016 Center for Disaster Preparedness All rights reserved. Any part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, even without permission of the publisher as long as it will be properly cited.

This document shares the stories from the ground featuring the good practices, challenges, and lessons learned of Center for Disaster Preparedness’ partners in realizing safe, resilient, and developed communities. Specifically, the ‘voices’ of stakeholders from the government, civil society, and community are highlighted in this publication as evident in the following projects:

Strengthening Resilience to Disasters among Vulnerable Urban Poor Communities in Manila, Philippines The Strengthening Resilience to Disasters among Vulnerable Urban Poor Communities in Metro Manila aimed to advance children and youth’s rights and participation in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) agenda. In partnership with Plan International-Philippines, the three-year project targeted three major cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and these were Quezon, San Juan, and Valenzuela.

In each city, select four at-risk communities were able to actively take part in the project activities.

A diverse menu of capacity building activities was designed and carried out to boost local communities’ capacities in combating disaster threats with special consideration for the needs and capacities of children. These activities were comprised of awareness raising campaign, skills training, and various learning events. Among those who benefitted from the undertakings were the village councils, parents, teachers, non-government organizations, youth groups, and children and youth. The aforementioned stakeholders were able to participate in different trainings in Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CBDRRM) which, specifically involved community risk assessment (CRA), contingency planning (CP), and Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Planning (BDRRMP). A variety of skills training activities were also held and these included Basic Life Support (BLS) and Search and Rescue.

Partners:

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The project Persons with Disabilities: Empowered, Engaged is a year- long project implemented by the PPP in partnership with the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB). It covered six communities in the municipalities of Balangiga and Lawaan in the province of Eastern Samar. DRRM capacity building activities were organized for this project and these included: ToT on Disability Inclusive DRRM (DiDRRM), CRA workshops, BDRRMP workshop, sensitization of project stakeholders on disability inclusion, and psychosocial support services training.

One of the project’s key milestones was the reactivation of disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) in the covered municipalities. This provided an enabling environment for the persons with disability to exercise leadership and gain confidence as active development agents in their respective communities.

Partners:

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Building Inclusive Resilient Communities Better Shared Risk Governance The Building Inclusive, Resilient Communities; Better Shared Local Risk Governance in the Municipalities of Giporlos, Quinapondan, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar Province is a partnership project between CDP and Oxfam under the THRIVE (Transformation of HaiyanAffected Regions through Innovation and Economic Empowerment) Program. One of the project outcomes focuses on Adaptation and Risk Reduction through ensuring that government plans are responsive to gender-specific needs and capacities and address risks in the locality through assessments, advocacy and campaigns, comprehensive DRR plans, policies and capacity building.

Partner:

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The DRREAM BIG Project is a two-year partnership endeavor between UNICEF and the Center for Disaster Preparedness, which was funded by UNIQLO and the Margaret A. Cargill (MAC) Foundation. Fundamentally, this groundbreaking project implemented from April 2014 to May 2016 sought to encapsulate and realize the integrated goals for the covered barangays through inclusive and participatory education toward disaster-resilient communities and schools. This undertaking was implemented in the municipalities of Basud and Paracale in Camarines Norte, with two (2) focus barangays and schools in each of the localities.

Mainly dedicated to the cultivation of disaster-resilient villages, the vulnerable communities of Barangay San Felipe and Barangay Taba-Taba were chosen in the municipality of Basud, while Dalnac and Labnig were selected in Paracale. The population of San Felipe is at 3,282, while the coastal barangay of Taba-Taba is at 657, respectively. Similarly, the community of Dalnac has a populace of 2,196, while Labnig, which directly fronts the Pacific Ocean, has a population of 534. Because these barangays are highly exposed and susceptible to both natural and human-induced hazards, it has hindered them from attaining both a culture of safety and resilience, particularly for the children and youth. The DRREAM BIG Project helped the selected localities envision a better future for their communities – a future that supports sustainable and resilient development for their children and for generations to come.

Partner:

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Center for Disaster Preparedness Block 25 Lot 3 J.P. Rizal St., New Capitol Estates 1, 1126 Batasan Hills, Quezon City, Philippines Fax: +63 2 361 2243 Phone: +63 2 361 2191 http://www.cdp.org.ph