Resilience Practices and Approaches of the Most Marginalized and Deprived Children in Hazard-Prone Areas in the Philippines (Caraga)

Abstract

This research is a special project funded by Save the Children Philippines to assess the impact of the organization’s efforts on disaster resilience in the different communities of the Philippines. It aimed to determine the resilience practices and approaches of the communities in Caraga Region with focus on the safety and welfare of the children. Multi-stage sampling identified a total of 60 households, 6 barangay chairpersons, and 3 Municipal DRRM officers as the participants of the study. Salient findings disclose that due to the frequent experiences with natural disasters, the communities were able to cultivate disaster resilience through their coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities. Their coping capacities included disaster preparedness mechanisms, following forecasts on impending natural hazard, attendance to DRRM –related activities, and even building social cohesion. Adaptive capacities included social capital, economic development, and education. Transformative capacities included proactive practices such as appropriate solid waste management, establishment of safety nets, and the development of the culture of selflessness in times of disaster. Resilience approaches specifically for the welfare of the children included involvement of the children in family disaster preparedness planning; training of the youth for self-help and inculcating of the spirit of volunteerism; Adopt-A-Child program; Pabasa sa Nutrisyon program; prayer sessions in evacuation centers; Parent-Child encounters; and establishment of learning centers for the youth. Findings also disclose that the efforts of the communities in coming up with a high degree of disaster resilience are still wanting due to the insufficient government funding of DRRM related activities.