Philippines
Safe Haven Community Development project is a multi-faceted community development project operating in the Surigao Del Norte province of the Philippines.
It aims to assist the poorest communities in the municipalities of Alegria and Santa Monica by developing clean water and sanitation systems, providing education/training opportunities, introducing alternative farming methods, establishing micro-enterprises and providing holistic care for homeless families/children in crisis and at risk.
While the project is multi-faceted and reaches a wide variety of beneficiaries and their communities, the core is based upon the Safe Haven Community Village (SHCV). SCHV is being developed to be a self-sustaining productive community that cares for homeless or orphaned children and families in crisis or need. This aspect of the project provides this vulnerable group with access to health care, education and psychological/emotional support/development to assist them to integrate back in to Filipino society.
The project has started down the road to self sustainability by investing time and resources into a few projects that will start to generate food and/or income for the Village. These activities include the constructing a chicken coop and vegetable gardening. The aim is to eventually replace foreign aid with sustainable farming practices that will feed the beneficiaries and raise income from locally managed micro-enterprises.
The Noble Endeavours Community Development project is a multi-faceted development project aimed at improving the livelihood of the people living in Minuyongan village. Located in the isolated foothills of the Central Mindanao region of the Philippines, Minuyongan village lies at the heart of a tribal community in great need. The village and surrounding areas support a population of 18,000 people - existing without the provision of any government infrastructure whatsoever (i.e. education, health facilities etc).
Noble Endeavours is partnering with the local community to provide purified water, education, health, dental care and employment opportunities. The first completely free school was established in 2008 and our plan is to continue adding to this school until a full primary school and high school exist in the region. Health services have also been established. The first water purification plant has recently been installed providing pure water – another first in the region.
Australian Project Manager Ian McKay is helping to build sustainable communities and bringing social and economic stability to this isolated tribal community.
The Leyte-Samar Centre for Change Village is a holistic care development project aimed at improving the lives and future opportunities of the increasing number of street children in the City of Taclobah, Leyte, Philippines. The project intends to assist in the rehabilitation and reintegration of these children back into Filipino society, while providing sustainable benefits for the wider local communities both immediately and into the future.
The Centre has identified from research that traditional feeding programs and drop in centres do no more than make life easier for children to stay on the streets, what is needed is a new beginning away from street life. Therefore, the project employs a holistic model to assist the children in their transition out of street life back into mainstream Filipino society.
Eighty-nine children are currently experiencing such transition in the village, where they are able to attend an elementary school fully-recognized by the Department of Education, Philippines, offering education to children who would otherwise be left uneducated. In addition, twelve youth are studying at the local community high school and three are studying at College. Others have been reunited with families through the project’s family recovery program, or are in the workforce.
The project also incorporates sustainable development activities in efforts to move the community towards self-sufficiency. These activities include the growing of crops, raising livestock (pigs), producing coconut oil, soap and shampoo. These activities both support the students in the program, providing food for the project, but also providing employment opportunities for the local community and graduating students.
Australian Philippines Compassion Outreach International (APCO) is an organisation which operates a number of income generation development projects with the aim of breaking the poverty cycle of many vulnerable communities across the Philippines. APCO has identified the root cause of poverty in Philippines to be a lack of income; however, they have also acknowledged the importance of health and nutrition.
The projects operated by APCO aim to:
• Help set-up and assist micro-enterprises in vulnerable communities to enable income generation activities.
• To improve the quality equipment in various hospitals.
• Provide education opportunities to the youth in slum areas to improve their future opportunities.
APCO also works alongside other local NGOs to assist and promote other community development projects in the Philippines that focus on adult leadership trainings, nutrition programs, emergency relief programs, education, youth development, and livelihood projects.
The Lapoc Development Project is a multi-faceted development project aimed at improving the opportunities and lives of the Tala Andig people in the province of Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines.
The Tala Andig people are an indigenous ethnic minority group, consisting of around 50,000 people, scattered through the mountains of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. They have their own language which is not understood by the Cebuano and Tagalog-speaking people which make up the majority of the population in the Philippines. These people are generally poor and discriminated against by mainstream Filipino society.
The Lapoc Development Project is designed to assist this community to integrate and improve their future opportunities in the wider Filipino community, while retaining their cultural identity and customs. This is to be achieved through a number of different development initiatives:
• Education is a primary focus of the project through the establishment of public schools in the area in collaboration with the Filipino government’s Department of Education and the sponsorship program of students to attend university.
• Two medical clinics have been established and over 40 medical workers trained during this time. This will enable trained locals to then treat their own communities and families.
• Cattle and fruit tree farming projects have been undertaken that promote self-sustainability and income generation activities.
• Sewing machines and training is provided to empower women in micro-enterprise activities.
