By Celso Dulce

Originally Written: December 10, 2012

I did not expect the sight that greeted us when we reached barangay Langaon. Men and women, including some elderly were repairing the hanging bridge known as Kalawahig-1. Some were erecting two concrete posts where steel cables of the bridge will be re-anchored. Some were replacing the wooden planks. Some were gathering rocks from the riverbed and piling them into an embankment that will strengthen the bridge’s foundation. Two days ago, we were informed that the bridge was washed out by a flashflood spawned by Typhoon Pablo (Bopha).

Typhoon Sendong (Washi) damaged the Kalawahig-1 suspension bridge that connects barangay Langaon to “the outside world.” The bridge was in a state of disrepair prior to Sendong, in the first place. The flooring is made of bamboo. The sides are unprotected and anybody, but most especially children, could easily fall into the river. The bridge was in urgent need of repair as the community could not bring their farm produce to the market, could not safely access relief assistance and basic services, and could not bring in basic commodities. 

In March 2012, CARE worked with the community to undertake minor repair of the bridge, as part of the cash-for-work activity. Cyclone wires were installed on the sides of the bridge to prevent people from falling into the river. 

Rotting bamboo were replaced to strengthen the flooring. Community members were jubilant, feeling safer as they cross the bridge everyday, to go to the market, and in general to do business with the outside world.

A follow-up CARE emergency response project provided another opportunity to further strengthen the bridge. Building on the initiative of a local NGO, Green Mindanao, which constructed a concrete foundation for a new bridge. CARE provided thick steel cables, wooden planks, cyclone wire, nuts and bolts, and other materials to complete the bridge through another cash-for-work activity. In August 2012, the new bridge was completed. I visited Langaon on 24 November 2012 and saw not only people crossing the bridge but even motorbikes laden with produce. The bridge was affording people safe access to goods and basic services. It was also encouraging people to increase agricultural production and livelihood activities as the people can now safely transport farm inputs and farm produce. 

On 5 December 2012, I was informed that barangay Langaon lost its hanging bridge to a big flashflood triggered by typhoon Pablo. The news was very difficult to accept. According to Langaon residents, Ugiaban Bridge one kilometer upstream got clogged and formed a temporary dam. When this temporary dam burst, it unleashed a huge wall of water that reached up to the Kalawahig-1’s flooring. The residents of Langaon watched helplessly as a huge wall of water washed away their bridge. The Kalawahig-1 was built substantially higher than the original precisely to prevent it from being overtopped by floodwaters. 

The Langaon community was able to retrieve all the bridge’s materials – the steel cables, the wooden planks, the nuts and bolts, the cyclone wires. With their meager resources, and without waiting for external assistance, the community started rebuilding their bridge. We were talking with some community members when Barangay Chairman Martin Tanio arrived, bringing with him perhaps two kilograms of tie wire I did not ask, but I had a very strong suspicion that it was the most that they could afford, having earlier bought already a few bags of cement and a few pieces steel reinforcement bars. 

Kalawahig-1 was built through a project partnership amongst CARE, ACCORD and RMP, with funding support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), AXA Philippines and Metrobank Foundation. Barangay Langaon is in Baungon municipality, Bukidnon province. 

Driving back to Cagayan de Oro, my colleague Athena was saying that we were not mistaken sticking it out with the people and the leaders of Langaon. Langaon demonstrates the indomitable spirit of the poor and vulnerable, who aspire to make their communities more resilient.

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

Originally Written: December 12, 2012

“Not a single house was damaged because we prepared for the typhoon,” Romie Otacan, Barangay Captain of La Flora, Talacogon, Agusan del Sur proudly reported during the Tropical Storm Bopha (TS Bopha, locally known as Pablo) joint assessment made by CARE Nederland, Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development Inc. (ACCORD), and Agri-Aqua Development Coalition–Mindanao (AADC).  

Otacan narrated that as soon as the barangay (village) received the typhoon forecast, they immediately carried out their community contingency plan, which was formulated by the community through the Climate-proof Disaster Risk Reduction, a project being implemented by the Partners for Resilience, which includes CARE, ACCORD and AADC. A day before the forecasted landfall of TS Bopha, the residents anchored their houses to nearby trees to prevent them from collapsing or from being damaged, before moving to pre-identified evacuation centers such as the elementary school, health center, and barangay hall. Village officials were also noticeably carrying out confidently their responsibilities defined in their community contingency plan.

Results of the joint assessment revealed that at least 500 houses were either partially or totally damaged in the whole municipality of Talacogon. The typhoon-ravaged Southern Mindanao, Northern Mindanao and CARAGA and left at least 700 persons dead and some 300,000 families homeless, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Residents said that Bopha is the worst typhoon that hit Talacogon, with winds even stronger than that of Washi (Sendong) which also punched through the municipality in December 2011.

For the past years, it has been a recurring challenge to convince LGUs and communities to invest in disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives, but Bgy. La Flora and other CARE barangays in Talacogon are proof that DRR pays off.  

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

The Partner for Resilience (PfR) is an alliance of five Netherlands-based humanitarian, development, and environmental organizations, and our local and national partners. We possess varied expertise: disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and ecosystem management and restoration. We strive to combine our individual expertise to bring lasting improvement in the lives of the most vulnerable in society – these include the communities who are at high risk of being affected by natural hazards, as well as those who live in conflict areas.

In the full document, you will also be able to read about PfR’s:

• vision
• theory of change
• history
• programming areas
• stakeholders
• partners
• geographical area
• national and regional policy efforts

View, read, and download the full briefer here.

Humanitarian actors around the world are becoming overwhelmed with increasingly destructive, complex, and chronic disasters. Globally, more than 200 million people are affected by natural disasters every year, with those living in low-income countries being three times as much affected as those in high-income nations. Just as people are recovering from one disaster, another one comes along, setting back humanitarian response and development gain. This setback can be avoided by humanitarian assistance and strengthening resilience.

Watch the full video below:

You may also learn more about CARE Netherlands by accessing their website here. 

by Liza Hoefnagels

Excerpt: Extensive summary

This study was commissioned to analyse development programs in an urban context in order to identify key principles for future programs on urban resilience building. The study focused on the experiences of development practitioners working in an urban context. The methods of analysis included a context analysis and program analysis to identify urban context characteristics, good practices and lessons learned from experiences of practitioners who work within the CARE International foundation. Furthermore, this study contains a SWOT analysis on the Integrated Risk Management (IRM) programs in the Philippines to identify which characteristics of the IRM approach contributes to urban resilience. Lastly, a comparison was made between the general experiences of development practitioners working in an urban context and the SWOT outcomes. Which was used to develop a set of key principles, providing a way for development programs to increase resilience in an urban context, especially for the urban poor. 

The study highlights the impact of the high population density of urban areas. These populated areas consist of highly diverse communities, who have very diverse livelihood strategies, needs and vulnerabilities. Land shortage is a common problem in urban areas, and many practitioner indicated that as a result, they faced challenges with resilience building due to land right, trust and power relations issues. Furthermore, operating in an urban area can be challenging due to the variety of actors and interests, integrated urban systems and dynamics and the multi-faceted risks. Another characteristic of poor communities in urban areas is that they are ‘time poor’ because they have to find new sources of livelihood on a daily basis. This makes it difficult to involve urban poor people in resilience trainings and workshops.

However, it was found that the urban context provides many opportunities for resilience building, if the right practices are used by development organisations. As a result of the analysed good practices, lessons learned, strengths and weaknesses from the experience of practitioners, the following key principles were identified and recommended for future development programs on urban resilience:

• Be flexible
• Support local ideas and use local systems
• Identify and empower champions within each stakeholder group
• Develop a holistic approach
• Promote collaboration
• Involve the private sector
• Organise the community
• Create platforms for dialogue
• Invest time in an extensive context analysis

Furthermore, the IRM approach, which was developed for and until now mostly used in rural areas, has proven to have a positive contribution in urban resilience building because it integrates disciplines, focuses on both short term risks and long term change, recognizes multiple scales and invests in an extensive context analysis. However, there are still some concerns about how to define the urban ecosystem and integrate all the facets of the IRM approach in short term programs. Lastly, the researcher recommends that non-government organisations develop an overall strategy on how they want to and can contribute to urban resilience. This strategy should be specific on which facets of urban resilience it focuses on as well as embracing the expertise of the organisation. The ‘five Ws of urban resilience’ can be a useful tool to develop a strategy in such a way.

View and download the full document here.

Story by ACCORD, Inc.

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting not just the health but also the livelihoods of people the world over. In Cotabato City, many from urban poor communities have been unable to work because of strict quarantine measures imposed across the Philippines midway through March 2020.

To help partner communities tap alternative sources of livelihood during the COVID-19 crisis, the Moving Urban Poor Communities Toward Resilience Project (MOVE UP) organized a mobile palengke (market) in five barangays of Cotabato City on June 13, 2020. This was also one way to make affordable, fresh, healthy food accessible to locals as they observe stay-at-home rules.

MOVE UP worked with the local government and two community savings groups (CSG), which are livelihood groups formed as part of the project’s strategies to enhance urban resilience by improving financial literacy and making livelihoods more resilient. Members of the participating CSGs – who, before the pandemic, made a living by selling food products, tailoring, or working as housekeepers – sold fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, and spices at the mobile palengke.

Pre-activity consultations and planning

Throughout the whole process, the CSG members were actively involved in decision-making, and there was always proper coordination with the local government.

The first step was to conduct consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The team met with the barangay and city local government through the members of the project’s Technical Working Group on Resilient Livelihood, and members of the CSGs. The next phase involved figuring out which commodities to sell, making the necessary logistics arrangements, looking for cost-efficient suppliers, and computing for potential revenue, among other planning-related tasks.

To promote the activity, city and barangay local governments worked together to help spread the word.

Market day

The group went to all five barangays – Poblacion 3 and 9, and Rosary Heights 3, 4, and 5 – in one day. They had planned to spend two hours in each site, including the loading and unloading of items from the rented trucks. Staff members made announcements on-site in the local language using a megaphone. Physical distancing was observed, and the team used masks and disposable gloves.

Challenges and lessons

During the post-activity evaluations, several challenges were discussed. Planning and coordination was made more difficult by the quarantine because face-to-face meetings were discouraged, if not prohibited. Making sure the perishable goods stayed fresh – on the day itself and a few days after, in case there were leftovers – was also challenging. There were difficulties during procurement because stock availability was limited, another effect of the lockdown on supply chains. There was also a sharp price drop, particularly for fish, from the day of procurement to the day after the activity. Lastly, five barangays, with one to two market sites per barangay, may have been too many to cover in one day, as the loading and unloading process in each site was laborious and time-consuming.

Some CGS members also expressed hesitance to join future sessions. For one, sales projections made during this run of the mobile palengke may not be applicable to subsequent runs, as buyers begin to have more choices available due to the loosening up of movement restrictions. Some are also less inclined to do it again because they incurred some losses due to the price fluctuation.

But despite these concerns and the challenges they faced, the team has decided to try again and adjust based on the lessons they learned from the previous activity.

Focusing on people rather than just profit

The mobile palengke gave partner communities a chance to explore an alternative livelihood, and also brought food closer to communities whose access to markets has been difficult. It also allowed the MOVE UP team to see how else they could help improve the livelihoods of CSGs.

It was a good reminder that exploring alternative livelihoods entails taking risks – as all livelihood pursuits have associated risks – and learning from the challenges.

Most importantly, it was a reminder that making livelihoods more resilient is more than a quest for profitability. The systems that make livelihoods more likely to be profitable, sustainable, and humane must also be improved. This requires allowing communities to fully participate in the process (thereby improving their social positions) and working hand-in-hand with local governments (as a result, helping create a more enabling environment). The gains from these efforts may not be as tangible and immediate as turning a profit, but they pave the way for the longer-term, systemic changes needed to help empower urban poor communities.

To bolster urban resilience, then, we must place people, rather than just profit, at the center of livelihood efforts.

In the remote village of Han-ayan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, the Lumad continue to face difficulties to their way of life and right to self-determination. These come in the form of armed conflict, everyday discrimination, and a political discourse that perpetuates the marginalization of the Lumad and their culture.

Education that is grounded in local culture offers a way to better their circumstances and strengthen community resilience.

Through schools built by and for the Lumad, children are given a chance to “deepen their knowledge of what it means to live in and for our land of heritage,” says Richard Campos, a volunteer teacher. As such, agriculture serves as the core subject. The students take up soil management in their first year, animal husbandry the next year, followed by organic pesticides, then forestry in their fourth year. The curriculum aims to enrich not just the students as individuals but also the community in general.

This video also features ACCORD’s partnership with high-risk and disaster-affected communities during the “Children of Peace” Project, in partnership with International Organization for Migration, and with support funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

In many of CARE and ACCORD’s partner communities, both urban and rural, there are individuals who stand out because they go above and beyond what is asked of them. These are our champions of resilience: people who are driven by their compassion for others, and the recognition that

resilience-building is everyone’s responsibility.

But what inspires them to take the lead in the service of their communities?

“It is my joy to see that people don’t get hurt during calamities, that nobody gets left behind,” says Mariedel Barbin, 52 years old, of Barangay Potrero, Malabon. Barbin is a housewife who was appointed barangay executive officer because of her active participation in disaster risk reduction-related seminars, meetings, and other activities. As the executive officer, she is part of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee.

Eulalio Orlandez, a community development worker from Barangay La Flora in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, conducts trainings to bolster his community’s capacity to overcome hazards. He says, “I simply want to help. This is what fuels me.” Talacogon experiences periodical flooding and is underwater four months out of the year, usually from November to March.

In 2013, Haiyan barreled across the Philippines and left destruction and massive loss on its path. Millions of people were affected, particularly poor communities, farmers, older persons, and persons with disabilities — those most vulnerable to extreme events such as Haiyan — and many have yet to fully recover and strengthen resilience.

Barangay Bayabas in the municipality of Dagami, Leyte, was almost flattened by strong winds. Apart from houses and structures, their livelihoods were wiped out as well.

But through humanitarian actions after Haiyan, followed by development projects, Barangay Bayabas was able to bounce back. Collective action played a big role: members of the community came together to form the Bayabas Farmers Association, which today has 64 members and four

different types of farms: communal, group, individual, and an organic learning farm. Members say their products are becoming popular.

Through these collaborative efforts, Barangay Bayabas is a community on its way to achieving a protected, diversified, and strengthened livelihood.

Disability inclusion is key in building truly inclusive and resilient communities. It requires addressing barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from engaging in community life, recognizing that these members can be active partners for meaningful change, and fostering an environment that empowers them to do just that.

In Dagami, Leyte, several locals with disabilities participated in ACCORD’s resilient livelihood program and ended up playing important roles in their communities.

Roger Ubaldo, 45 years old, a stroke survivor, had no other sources of livelihood after Typhoon Haiyan destroyed coconut trees. The different trainings on farming techniques and business management; however, helped him find alternative sources of income and he was eventually chosen to become their group’s sales distributor.

Adelaida Madalena Garsilaso, 50 years old, visually impaired since childhood, did not let her disability stop her from contributing to her community and is now a beloved teacher at Barangay Camono-an’s daycare center.

With their tenacity and strength of spirit, they broke barriers for themselves and helped their villages become more sensitive to the needs of persons with disabilities and their role in resilience building.