A non-government organization (NGO) on Tuesday launched a project that would increase the resilience of children and communities to climate change-related disasters in the Philippines.
Carin van der Hor, country director of Plan International in the Philippines, said the Child-Centered Community-based Adaptation (CC-CBA) Project will be implemented in the provinces of Aurora, Northern and Eastern Samar and Southern Leyte –all considered as highly vulnerable to extreme climate-related disasters such as typhoons, storm surges and flooding.
“Plan has been working in the three of the four provinces funded by this project –North and East Samar, and Southern Leyte. Much of our work has been focusing on increasing communities’ and children’s resilience with increasing emphasis in recent years on disaster risk management,” van der Hor said during the project launch at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City.
She added that the project is expected to reach a total of 155,318 beneficiaries from 40 barangays (village) in the four provinces.
“We hope that these people who will directly and indirectly benefit from this project will keep the ball rolling –so to speak– and influence other provinces. Optimistically, we hope that the entire Philippines –especially the children who comprise close to half of its population– will be resilient to climate change,” said van der Hor.
The project is a collaboration between Plan International, Save the Children, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Institute of Sustainable Features of the University of Technology in Sydney.
At the end of the project, Van der Hor said they expect an increased knowledge among the youth on climate change and its effects in their communities.
Also, communities should have already influenced policymakers on the implementation of a child-centered climate change adaptation program.
An estimated 175 million children around the world will be affected by disasters due to climate change, said Anna Lindenfors, Country Director of Save the Children in the Philippines.
She said the Philippines is vulnerable to a wide range of climate change impacts including changing rainfall patterns and temperatures, and increased extreme weather events.
“As the Philippines is extremely vulnerable to these kinds of disasters, it is important that we ensure the safety of children and youth. This project is community-based precisely because we want local leaders, school heads, teachers, and partners to be hands-on and feel ownership of the program,” she said.
The project activities will be carried out in partnership with national government, local government units (LGUs), schools, and youth NGOs to ensure its sustainability.
It will reach more than 15,000 children, particularly elementary and high school students, and out-of-school youths as they are considered by the Department of Education as the most appropriate entry points for active participation of students. [PNA]
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