On 26 January 2017, ASB invited civil society organisations (CSOs) and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) from the Philippines to visit Kebonagung Village in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. There were 18 participants involved, including Head of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO). During the visit, not only the participants witness the harmonious Javanese community, they were also involved in a profound discussion on community initiative in developing resiliency towards disaster. Through the visit, ASB aimed to facilitate learning across regions on community resilience as both countries are prone to various natural hazards.
Kebonagung, also known as a tourism village, was one of the many areas affected by a big earthquake in 2006. More than 70 community members of Kebonagung died by the disaster. Many community members were severely injured which also lead to the increasing number of persons with disabilities in the village. These days, earthquake is even a familiar phenomenon as it happen frequently. Learning from the experiences, Kebonagung community is actively contributing in developing their resiliency towards disaster by activating Disaster Management Team and Disaster Risk Reduction Forum in sub village and village level.
From the visit to Kebonagung Village, CSOs and government official from the Philippines highlighted the active participation of persons with disabilities in the community’s effort to build resilience. Instead of become a passive receiver, community members with disabilities are taking active role by becoming members of the Village Disaster Management Team. They were also contributed to the development of inclusive risk map for every sub village. As well as in-depth discussion, participants from the Philippines were also involved in earthquake simulation organised by the Disaster Management Team. Opportunity to learn on the inclusive resilient village programme with the community gave practical knowledge as the CSO and DPO representatives are working on similar initiatives with the communities in the Philippines. They are currently implementing the ASB Philippines Community Resilience Programme in 5 provinces across the country. “We realise that we have to do more, especially in inclusion. This helps us to improve our practices and to make them more inclusive, participative and sensitive to different needs in the community,” a participant commented on the visit experience.
The visit was also a part of the Sharing and Learning Workshop organised by ASB to strengthen the collaboration with partners from the Philippines. This workshop was also attended by representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs. The activity was supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft, a German relief organisation. (Rizma Kristiana/edit: Chrysant Lily)
