The secret of successful relocation sites

Relocating families, either victims of natural disasters or informal settlers, to new sites has often been met with failure, primarily because the given relocation address is often too far away from sources of work, schools and even places of worship.

From what I have heard about the relocation of families and whole communities in Calauan, Laguna where the National Housing Authority (NHA) had originally built 800 houses, the key seems to be in how committed its “benefactor” is.

This story is about BayaniJuan sa Southville 7 (BayaniJuan (BNJ) being a play of words that could be translated as Juan’s town, and Juan being the common Filipino) and ABS-CBN Foundation through Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) which is a recipient of part of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League’s gate revenues from selected basketball games.

Jumping off from the topic of the Pasig River clean-up, ABS-CBN Foundation in 2009 had started relocating informal settlers along the river banks, and one of the sites identified had been NHA’s Calauan property where the standing housing units of the NHA needed to be rehabilitated.

Through donations, the units were renovated. Also, Habitat for Humanity built new houses that were needed to house the endangered families being uprooted from the banks of the Pasig River.

All throughout the process, ABS-CBN Foundation provided food and personal supplies to the families to help them settle in to their new homes. Thus was born BayaniJuan sa Southville 7. For KBPIP and the foundation, the programs’ goal was to restore dignity among people and nature.

More relocation refugees

Then came Ondoy. NHA needed the Calauan site as shelter for more than 3,000 people affected by the extensive flooding. And because the property is owned by NHA, the BNJ community at that time just had to bend backwards to accommodate the influx of more people despite the limited resources.

This could have been a bigger disaster if ABS-CBN Foundation had given up on the task. Instead, it redoubled and tripled its efforts to make the community sustainable.

Today, BNJ is thriving, although it continues to be a work in progress. ABS-CBN Foundation, however, continues to be a big brother to this community.

Partners in community building

Electrification is ongoing after the Department of Energy approved a P40-million funding for Meralco to pursue electrification. The community has also received a grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for retrofitting houses for electrification.

Currently, 469 houses and two community centers now have electricity, while another 570 homes have ongoing applications. By the end of the year, approximately 2,000 houses and two additional community centers would have been connected to the grid.

The foundation has listed other laudable accomplishments. A total of 192 solar streetlights have been funded through the President’s Social Fund. As BNJ gets connected to the main grid, it has started to put up electric streetlights maintained by the barangay.

To date, there are 192 shallow wells and eight community faucets all around the resettlement site. There are two refilling stations, two rainwater harvesting facilities, and one water cooperative. The local government of Calauan also has plans of putting up a water distribution system with the help of the Department of Health.

TESDA and various NGO partner foundations have provided skills and livelihood training in the community. Currently, there are micro-enterprises such as the sewing of denim bags, production of salted eggs, food manufacturing, landscaping, construction and maintenance.

Livelihood grants and working capital have been provided to residents, and an ADB grant will allow for these enterprises to be scaled up. The Lopez Group has built livelihood and training centers, among other major facilities.

Three new school buildings donated by the City of Pasig have been completed. DepEd has already started operations in at least one building, and will be opening the rest in June 2013. Students from the OML Dayap Elementary School, which started operations in 2010, have been winning academic and sports competitions in Laguna.

A public market was given by DMCI, a health clinic by SM Foundation, a community center by the Prime Minister of Bahrain through Sagip Kapamilya, and a material recovery facility funded by UBS are also fully operational – all donated by the private sector.

The Lopez Group has rebuilt the school, put up livelihood and training centers, set up tree parks and is supporting it in every way it can – from buying the merchandise produced by the residents of BNJ to providing a stall in Rockwell to serve as an outlet for agricultural produce.

The Legacy of Light Village with 115 Panibahay homes is a continuing commitment of Sunlife Foundation which brings with it the involvement of its employees in medical missions, financial literacy programs, scholarships and other similar support systems to ease the transition of relocation.

To date, 11 homeowners associations have been organized for self-governance, and have provided the channel for the resident’s participation in community building and decision-making. The HOAs police their own neighborhood, complementing the efforts of the Calauan Police and the AFP.

Guiding principle

The experience of ABS-CBN Foundation in Calauan is a clear lesson of how effective relocation work can be done, not only by other non-government organizations but also by the government agencies concerned.

BayaniJuan is the joint effort of public and private sector in the spirit of bayanihan to build a good community where future generations can thrive. ABS-CBN Foundation sums up its indomitable spirit with an ingrained belief that each one has to make the most of every opportunity available and to help oneself to better one’s condition.

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