COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Is Key To Sustainability

Community organizing as a strategy employing the rightsbased approach is essential so that the affected population recognize their rights and the support due them. It is a long term process, yet it leads to survivors affirming their self-worth and capacity to recover from the disastrous situation.

Their empowerment for self-determination is as crucial as their mobilization into disaster response. Thus, community participation is central in all aspects of the humanitarian response. For instance, management of farm tools and other farm inputs is more effective when policies and guidelines were developed and agreed upon by all members of the farmers’ organization. Memorandum of understanding or partnership agreements developed by the survivors themselves, with minimal guide from the NCCP, clearly identifies the roles of all stakeholders, promote ownership and a sense of collective responsibility.