in Asia working with poor communities by Maria Faith Varona

According to UN-Habitat estimates, nearly one billion people in developing countries’ urban areas live in slums. In the last decade, it has increased yearly by around 6 million and is expected to grow to nearly 500 million between now and 2020.

Asia hosts more than half of the world’s slum population at 581 million in 2005, 80% of whom are found in Eastern and Southern Asia.

The continued expansion of Asian cities have only made situations worse for the slum dwellers as basic services like housing, security of land tenure, clean water and sanitation lag behind. UN-Habitat reports have strongly urged Asian countries to include urban affairs in national development policies, along with the needs of all its citizens especially the poor, women, young, and elderly. The susceptibility of Asian countries to natural disasters adds another dimension to poverty and homelessness and the need for adaptation and mitigation (especially with the adverse effects of climate change) is needed for a better-balanced and sustainable development that would better enable vulnerable sectors to face these threats.

The magnitude and scale of the need to assist the vulnerable groups resulted to partnership among the public sector, civil society groups, business, and the community to improve the living conditions of the slum dwellers. The past decade has also shown the emergence of another type of community development workers in the professional non-profit technical service organizations that work alongside people’s organizations and NGOs towards sustainable community development. This type is comprised of architects, engineers, and planners doing participatory planning and design processes in communities. This article introduces 10 such groups in Asia and their unique approaches to community development work.

1. Alternative Planning Initiatives, Inc. (ALTERPLAN) – Philippines

ALTERPLAN is a non-stock non-profit technical service NGO incorporated in 1990 by a group of young architects and planners with the vision of a just and democratic Philippines and an environment that
is nurturing to its citizens. The group realized, after years of working with people’s organizations and NGOs in different regions in the country, that architects and planners were not just there to design and build structures but “to work towards conditions in the natural and built environment that are supportive of people’s aspirations.” It undertakes projects, programs, and research regarding space and the built environment as an integral component for community development. To implement its various programs and projects, it networks with experts and specialists in specific projects and areas of expertise like training, curriculum development, settlement design, cooperative development, community mobilization, financial planning, and management. All these are designed to respond to the capacities of its various partner organizations: community associations, cooperatives, NGOs, and local governments. Some of its projects include: Technical assistance in Local Government Barangay Level Monitoring System Development: Measuring Target 11 of the MGD; Proyekto ng ALMANOVA/CB para sa Alternatibong Pabahay (2007); SAFRAGEMC TA for Project Planning, Feasibility and Fund Sourcing (2004-05); Assessment Mission in Aceh Province, Indonesia (2005); Pre-Planning Activities for Parola Urban Poor Settlement Project (2001-02); Monitoring of Habitat for Humanity-Philippines MRH Project in Taguig (2002); Management of a Low-Cost Housing Development in QC for Sponsored Families of Children International (2003-06); workshops and seminars in Cooperative Housing Learning Series (2008); Building on OSY Training for Enhanced Job Security and Professionalization of the Construction Sector (2007-08); and research on Comparative Case Studies of Contracted and Financing Arrangements for Usufruct in Social Housing Implemented by LGUs in NCR (2008).

ALTERPLAN maintains a small core staff headed by the Executive Director, Arch. Sarah Del Castillo-Redoblado. It holds office at Bencom Building, 146 West Avenue, Quezon City, 1104, Philippines. http://www.alterplan.org.ph

2. Panirahanan, Inc. (PANI) – Philippines

A group of architects (some of whom were members of a socio-civic student organization Task Force Arki (TFA) based in the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines in Diliman) founded the non-profit NGO in August 1992. PANI aims to provide technical assistance to communities and organizations engaged in shelter and settlements development issues and develop suitable and adaptable project studies in the communities together with its potential users. Its vision of “a society of self-reliant communities, an environment that builds people”
is translated in its priority program of promoting “architecture for the poor” through technical assistance
in community-based participatory spatial processes and popular modular training in urban poor communities.
Direct technical assistance projects are mostly in Metro Manila (Quezon City, Makati, Pasay, Pasay, Caloocan,
and Manila) and the nearby provinces of Rizal, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, and General Santos all in cooperation with NGOs like TRICOR (COPE-UPA-COM), DAMPA, FDA, and HPFPI-PACSII. Training workshops and study exchanges include slum upgrading and participatory community planning, social housing workshops, building technology and community mortgage program orientation, community enterprise training, solid waste management, housing rights and governance. To date, it has assisted 106 urban poor communities and four urban
poor federations in Metro Manila.

PANI has a lean program staff headed by its Executive Director Rolando D. Palacio. Its office is at 346 Mayon
Street, Barangay Lourdes, Quezon City, Philippines. PANI may be emailed at pani_346@yahoo.com.

3. Technical Assistance Organization, Inc. (TAO-Pilipinas) – Philippines

Conceived over coffee and doughnuts by four women architects in search of a venue for more socially responsive professional practice in August 2001, TAO-Pilipinas is the only women-led technical service NGO that works directly with urban poor communities in the Philippines. Its vision is geared towards the achievement of inclusive, people-centered and sustainable human settlements with equitable distribution of and access to resources through participatory planning, development, and management and the enhancement of technical knowledge and skills of housing stakeholders. This is translated in four main programs: Human Settlements and Environment (as the core program providing direct technical assistance to urban poor organizations and NGOs); Research and Publications (for research and documentation, resource center maintenance and magazine publication); Education and Training with the Young Professionals (as sub-program for capability-building workshops and trainings); and the Organization, Networking and Advocacy (for network and organizational development).

The projects, conducted mostly in coordination with partner organizations, include production of technical design drawings and drafting of conceptual development plans for on-site development of informal settlements affected by the rehabilitation or clearing of the water/railway easements and government road widening projects; capability-building on disaster risk management, solid waste management and production of micro-concrete roof tiles as alternative building material; conduct of Young Professionals Workshops as a venue for technical students and professionals to increase social awareness and responsibility; research collaborations on climate change adaptation; participatory GIS; and heritage conservation and bi-annual publication of TAO Shelter magazine.

TAO-Pilipinas maintains a core staff of 10 headed by Arch. Arlene Christy D. Lusterio, its Executive Director. Its office is located at 27-A Matiyaga Street, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. www.tao-pilipinas.org

4. Community Architects for Shelter and Environment (CASE) – Thailand

Architect Patama Roonrakwit and other Thai architects in Bangkok formed this group in 1997, under a common belief in the participatory design process that challenges the architect’s conventional role. CASE works with communities in informal settlements for the improvement of their living environment through a participatory approach. These include surveying, community mapping, group meetings, action planning and all stages of decision making. Their projects are mainly in Bangkok and nearby provinces ranging from community-driven upgrading and improvement in Kaoseng (2003) and Pattane (2005) pilot areas of the Baan Mankong program launched by the Thai government in 2003 to address the poor’s housing problems; housing design (Ten-a dialectic between communal and individual dwelling) (2006) and underbridge community design workshop and model house (1999); living market-living museum in Samchuk (2002); housing reconstruction in Santitham, Ayutthaya (1999); appropriate housing design at Klong San Sook (1998); community improvement in Bor-wa community and Pream Prachakorn canal (2000); and community action planning at Santitham community in Chiang Mai (1997).

CASE-Thailand is based in Bangkok with a six-person project team led by Arch. Patama Roonrakwit. Its office is at 121/1 Ramkamhang Rd. Minburi Bangkok 10510 Thailand. www.casestudio. info/2006/2about/index.html

Read more »

A call for earthquake awareness and preparedness by Floreen Simon

Nations have witnessed how powerful earthquakes can be. The 1990 Luzon earthquake and the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake, as far as Filipinos can remember, are two of the most grueling experiences of the country. Both registered the highest magnitude recorded in Philippine history. But either did not even make it to the world’s ten most powerful earthquakes. For even if the 7.9-magnitude earthquakes destroyed lifelines and structures and claimed a number of lives, none did not equate to the effects of the 10th most powerful earthquake in the world, which occurred in Assam Tibet on August 15, 1950. On the said earthquake, the Guardian writes, “Seventy villages simply disappeared in the string of disasters generated by an earthquake with an epicentre in Tibetan Rima but which wrought most destruction in India’s Assam state. Across the region, landslides claimed the lives of 1,526 people and rendered parts of the landscape unrecognisable from the air…”¹ More so, either will not equate with the devastating effects of the most powerful earthquake in history that occurred in Chile on May 22, 1960. On the incident, the United States Geological Society (USGS) wrote, “Approximately 1,655 killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.”²

a house destroyed by the 1994 Mindoro earthquake

Most recently, we were fazed with a number of major earthquakes. The USGS records show that two major earthquakes have already been documented for the year. First was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred on February 21 at the South Island of New Zealand killing 406 individuals. The second was the March 11 earthquake near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, which registered a magnitude of 9.0 and claimed the lives of at least 28,050 individuals.³  The latter is now listed as the 4th most powerful earthquake in history.

In 2010, five earthquake incidents claimed lives, namely: Haiti earthquake on January 12, Chile earthquake on February 27, Eastern Turkey earthquake on March 8, Mexico earthquake on April 4, and China earthquake on April 14. That of Chile is recorded as the 6th most powerful earthquake in history.

What else is new then? Even if recent earthquakes belong to the most powerful ones in history – what difference does that make? Nothing.

Days after each major earthquake incident, a growing interest on earthquake preparedness rises. Nations start checking theircontingency plans. Businesses review their continuity plans. Earthquake drills are conducted. Preparedness reminders are aired. After a month or so, the interest dies down; everything returns to its “normal” state.

At the community level, initiatives are seldom organized into a wide-scale earthquake preparedness campaign. Drills may be conducted here and there, but these are hardly sustained.
Read more »

by Ena Angelica Luga

I remember my mom and I were making waffles. Suddenly the chair on which I stood started to rock, and I fell. The batter being cooked in the waffle maker spilled and scalded my leg. I remember being in the car afterwards, and imagining the road engulfing us. That is about all that I remember. I was only four years old.

I do not remember what happened after I fell. I do not remember how we got out of the house and into the car. I do not remember where we went afterwards. I do not remember hearing the wails of people waiting to be rescued from the Hyatt Hotel that was described as collapsing like an accordion being squeezed to produce sound. I do not remember the stench of cadavers rotting, the lack of water and electricity, the food shortage. They say children are the most to make use of selective memory as a coping mechanism. Hence, I rely on my mother’s stories to complete the picture of this part of my life.

Our family had been in Baguio for more than five years before the 1990 earthquake struck. With my dad then in the Army, we lived in the Philippine Military Academy. When the ground started to shake, my mother said it felt like we were out on sea during a storm. It was difficult to believe that we were actually on land. Everything was being tossed as if by strong waves. She remained glued to where she was, watching the refrigerator and television as they seemed to come to life. She describes them as seemingly walking, swaying from side to side as they moved forward. All the glassware stored in cupboards fell and were shattered, but she noticed them only after the ordeal. She was mesmerized by the “walking” appliances, shaken only from this stupor by my dad’s aunt who was then vacationing in our home. Lola Honey was hanging clothes outside to dry when the earthquake started. She then started screaming for us to get out of the house, but all the doors were blocked. In the end, we had to climb out through a window and drive to our neighbor’s lawn where we set up a tent not long after. Moments later, rain started to fall hard.

Hyatt Hotel in Baguio

About an hour before the earthquake, mom said the animals started acting weird. Our pets were restless. The dogs were howling and running around the house like fools. The chickens kept crowing despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon. On the other hand, everything seemed eerily still and quiet. Even leaves were not moving because there seemed to be no wind at all. But during those times, nobody looked out for signs like these. Nobody expected what happened an hour later.
Read more »