To wrap up the Community Resilience Programme in the Philippines, ASB organised a final Sharing and Learning Workshop that took place in Cebu City from the 26 – 28 February 2018. The workshop was participated in by Philippines partner organisations and representatives of persons with disabilities living in partner project areas. During the workshop, participants shared experiences of their involvement in the programme as well as personal and organisational developments gained. Most of the participants expressed that the programme had not only strengthened community resilience towards disasters, but had also opened wider opportunities for persons with disabilities to involve and contribute into their community.
The Community Resilience Programme was part of ASB’s effort to support community resilience in the Philippines, particularly in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. The programme was initiated in 2014, involving local CSOs, including DPOs, in the Philippines. By the end of the programme, over 35,000 persons have been reached directly. This number includes 4,274 persons with disabilities living in the area devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. While contributing to the recovery process and strengthening community resilience, the programme has also successfully supported social inclusion. One of the prominent achievements is the accomplishment of the 2017 Philippines National Conference Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) and Management that had over 150 stakeholders from local to national government, DPOs, communities and other stakeholders attended. The event demonstrated the programme’s successful efforts in mainstreaming DiDRR in the Philippines. ASB extends sincere gratitude to partner organisations in the Philippines and Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH) for their support in realising a vision of an inclusive, empowered and resilient society.
