Building Community Resilience and Preparedness for Effective Disaster Prevention and Response: All of Society Twin Approach

PROJECT ELEVATE: MARIG-ON ESTEHANON!

The Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) and Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) has partnered yet again for the second phase of the project dubbed “Building Community Resilience and Preparedness for Effective Disaster Prevention and Response: All of Society Twin Approach,” which will now be called “Project ELEVATE: Marig-on Estehanon!” Primarily, this undertaking aims to raise the commitment of duty-bearers and rights-holders toward upholding and sustaining the gains of disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and management in the Municipalities of Balangiga and Lawaan in Eastern Samar.

In an effort to build on the gains of the first phase, Project ELEVATE will scale up the coverage of the project to include all 16 barangays in Lawaan and 13 barangays in Balangiga. By drawing on the all-of-society approach, the 18-month project will focus on the development of Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (BDRRM) Plans, which will contribute to the achievement of an inclusive Municipal DRRM Plan. Putting persons with disability at the very core of its journey toward inclusivity, the project will now devote more time and effort to enhance and refine the municipal DRRM plans of the two (2) aforesaid localities by establishing mentoring mechanisms for trainers from the municipal government and Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) to institutionalize the capacities developed throughout the project. The project will also focus on strengthening the organizational capacities of the DPOs in Lawaan and Balangiga through a series of leadership and management trainings.

Founded in 1999, CDP is a regional resource center based in the Philippines that endeavors to promote Community-Based Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CB CDRRM), facilitate interactive learning and discourse on climate and disaster risk reduction, and advocate for policies and programs that protect the environment and mitigate climate and disaster risk. ASB, on the other hand, was founded in 1988. This foundation provides services focused on people’s needs which include care for the elderly, rescue services and First Aid, assistance for children and young people as well as support for people with disabilities and those suffering from mental problems.

The project aims to raise the commitment of duty-bearers and rights-holders toward upholding and sustaining the gains of disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and management in the Municipalities of Balangiga and Lawaan in Eastern Samar, which should be established in the following: