The municipality
of Calabanga in Camarines Sur is now more prepared to cope with natural
disasters, thanks to the efforts of an international NGO and its corporate
partners. In particular, the barangay of Cagsao was selected for DRR (disaster
risk reduction) efforts, due to it being at high risk of floods, storm surge
and tsunami.
Paris-based AXA Global and the international Cooperative for
Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) of Switzerland France are partners in providing
a DRR program to Calabanga municipality. The DRR program is implemented under
the European Union-funded ASCEND (Advance Safer Communities and Environments
against Disasters) project and implemented by CARE Philippines and its partners.
Representatives from AXA Global and AXA Turkey
recently visited barangay Cagsao in the municipality of Calabanga to observe the
latest developments in the DRR efforts. Their visit was assisted by AXA
Philippines.
“The partnership of AXA Global and CARE are very welcome
and very timely, considering that many parts of the country are vulnerable to
the effects of frequent typhoons throughout the year. We at AXA Philippines
support these efforts as part of the AXA Group,” said AXA Philippines President & CEO, Rien
Hermans.
Caring for Calabanga
Through the years, Calabanga, one of the biggest
municipalities in Camarines Sur in terms of population (73,333 )
and land area (16,384 hectares) has been terribly hit by
calamities.
Located at the coast
of San Miguel Bay and surrounded by Bicol and Tigman Rivers, the town is highly
vulnerable to flooding. In 2004 Typhoon Unding, Violeta, Winnie and Yoyong
wrought havoc to life and property; and Barangay Sibobo, between San Miguel Bay
and sloping hills made even more treacherous by quarrying, became the hardest
hit.
“We thought we
shouldn’t stop in giving away relief goods. More than that, we should follow it
up with disaster preparedness and disaster mitigation projects,” said Celso
Dulce, CARE Philippines representative.
Thus, since 2007, CARE
with the help of AXA Global, has not only been distributing food packs in times
of calamity in Calabanga, it has also conducted numerous trainings and
workshops such as Community-based Disaster Risk Management; Disaster
Preparedness and Contingency Planning.
These trainings help
prepare the community for future emergencies. CARE has also adopted simple
action plans that have benefited the communities even more. In the Calabanga
and Cagsao DRR efforts, for example, community members engage in tree planting
projects, river clean-ups and gabion construction in San Miguel Bay coast--to
protect the coast from storm surge and erosion.
Beyond DRR workshops
More than actual DRR training for
designated officers in the community, there are other things the community
needs to help them cope with and recover from disaster. CARE’s partnerships
with AXA Global are also helpful in this regard.
Even as community
members participate in DRR seminars and conduct risk reduction efforts, the
community also receives food packs and livelihood training through the help of
CARE and AXA Global.
Some examples of these
food security and livelihood projects include the donation of farm animals like
carabaos, farm trucks and also free
seminars on tilapia-raising. According to Dulce, poverty limits the people’s
capacity to cope with disasters so there’s a need to strengthen their
livelihood.
Education: Starting DRR early
AXA Global and CARE
are also helping in efforts to educate children in high-risk communities about
DRR.
And so, aside from the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting and
aRithmetic) -- the foundations of a basic skills-oriented education--the
students in Calabanga, Camarines Sur are learning another big R: Risk
reduction.
In one session, Grade One teacher Norma Guiriba of
Cagsao Elementary School flashed illustrations of children in various
situations that show good and bad practice in disaster prevention. The children
were asked to identify each situation and flash a cardboard happy or sad face
to indicate their approval and disapproval. They got it all right.
The lesson plan consists of identification of
hazards; routes of action before, during or after the calamity; including
preventive measures to mitigate the unfavorable effects of climate change. This knowledge could mean life and death to
people in Cagsao.
“We laud the
project because the children learn a lot from it at an early age,” says Antonio
Endani Jr., principal of Cagsao Elementary School. “More importantly, they know
that they can do something about it,” said AXA
Philippines President & CEO, Rien
Hermans.
CSR as a way of life
According to Amandine Soulier, AXA Global’s
Corporate Responsibility Philantrophy Manager, who was part of the delegation
to Calabanga, AXA practices social responsibility as part of its corporate
culture.
“Corporate social responsibility is not an external
department; it’s a way of thinking differently,” said Soulier,. “We like to
anchor people to be more responsible.”
Soulier added that helping poor communities is a must in reducing the risk posed by natural disasters due to climate change. “Climate change has a huge impact on poor people. The fight against climate change is a fight against poverty,” she said.
Dulce looks forward to doing Disaster Risk
Reduction Management in a larger scale soon with AXA Global.
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