Philippines: ERC Flagship Initiative November 2023 Newsletter

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and UN Country Team (UNCT) launched the Enhancing Resilient Communities (ERC) initiative in Tacloban City, Leyte on November 7, a day before the 10th anniversary of super typhoon Haiyan, which ravaged Eastern Visayas. The official launch was capped by the signing of the commitment statement – the Flagship Compact, followed by community conversations immersion workshop, an opportunity for participants to listen and learn from the story of resilient recovery of community leaders in Tacloban.
Organized in Barangay 90—ground zero and one of the most devastated areas, the location reminded attendees of the post-Typhoon Haiyan initiatives to safeguard the community from future hazards.
Attendees included community leaders from Barangay 90, formerly displaced by the calamity, and now residents of the Pope Francis Village— A model community on community organizing and resilience building.
Guiding this community engagement immersion workshop was Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to collaborating with urban poor communities across Metro Manila and other urban centers in the Philippines.
During community conversations with participants, HCT/UNCT members teamed up with community leaders, engaging in a conversation guided by a set of questions centered on the leaders' roles, tasks, and contributions to the development of their new community. Their issue-based organizing consists of groups, namely Fishermen’s Wharf and Artificial Reef, Savings, Livelihood and Social Enterprise, Urban Gardening, PFV Permanent Shelter Construction, Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Evacuation Management and others.
Asking about experiences and deeds, not simply wants, empowered community leaders. Despite their initial inability to express their many experiences, being listened to boosted their confidence and highlighted their stories.
Multiple lightbulb moments and insights from the community conversation workshop confirmed the universality of community empowerment, community organizing and what it means to truly put communities at the center. The program encouraged new thinking and flexibility by presenting Pope Francis Village as a model community for in-city relocation, bringing together the government, NGOs, private sector and faith-based organizations. It also highlighted how disaster could be seen as an opportunity for transformational development.
A light-bulb tarp symbolized the passing of lit thoughts to end the occasion. These insights from the conversation are what the community and HCT/UNCT want to convey with Flagship initiative to shape its path.