Features
Local Group Organizes Training on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
LOCAL GROUP ORGANIZES TRAINING ON COMMUNITY MANAGED DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS COMES FROM THE YOUTH SECTOR
The Alay sa Kapatid Foundation, Inc. or AKAP Foundation, a local non-government organization based in Baguio City recently concluded its weeklong training on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction from September 6-10 in AKAP Training Center, Baguio City.
AKAP Foundation was established informally in July 20, 1990 four days after the 7.7 killer Earthquake in July 16, 1990. AKAP is now implementing several projects focused on post disaster relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction. The organization is also implementing livelihood projects, reforestation and marketing assistance with its partner farmer organizations. AKAP is also currently implementing a rehabilitation project with communities affected by Typhoon Peping last year through the assistance of Lutheran World Relief.
The training was attended by AKAP partners coming from the communities of Coroz, Labey, Kilometer 16 and Mamoyod . All sitios of barangay Ambassador Municipality of Tublay, Benguet. The said communities are included in the list of badly hit areas during Typhoon Peping in 2009. Most of the participants are members of the people’s organizations and youth organization.
The Disaster Risk Reduction program of the Regional Center for Asia of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction or IIRR, an international NGO based in Silang, Cavite facilitated the weeklong CMDRR Training.
The training was designed to enhance the capacity of AKAP Foundation and its community partners to facilitate the CMDRR process. Selected tools in facilitating participatory disaster risk assessment (hazard, vulnerability and capacity assessment) and participatory planning where demonstrated and practiced by the participants. The participants also did a day and a half field practicum in Coroz and Kilometer 16 to conduct a Participatory Disaster Risk Assessment and planning with community members. Both Coroz and Kilometer 16 is high risk to landslide because the mountain areas surrounding the communities are already barren and denuded due to illegal logging, swidden farming (kaingin) and pocket mining.
Majority of the participants in said training came from the youth sector. Maria Tita Butz, Executive Director of AKAP Foundation stressed that the youth are the future of the communities and acts as second line leaders and capacitating them is very important in the sustainability of CMDRR. She also asserts that the whole CMDRR framework is significant in building the resilience of AKAP partner communities since they are hit by natural hazards like typhoons and landslide.
As part of AKAP Foundation’s re-entry plan, they intend to integrate CMDRR in their existing livelihood programs and natural resource management which will cover 5 sitios of Tublay Municipality. They will also propose to the local government of Tublay on integrating CMDRR in the local government planning. Most of the communities that attended the training intend to review the disaster risk assessment and organize community emergency response team or CERT.
