Time to rebuild
Time to rebuild
Updated 11:42pm (Mla time) Dec 26, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 27, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
THE STREAM of donations has turned into a trickle, slowed down by the debris of even more recent events: the death of Fernando Poe Jr., the four-day Christmas weekend holiday in its wake. Donor fatigue may have started to set in, too.
This is unfortunate, because the victims of the recent tragedies in Aurora and Quezon as well as less-publicized areas in Oriental Mindoro and Nueva Ecija remain in dire need. By and large, relief goods organizers no longer solicit or encourage the donation of used clothing; there may be enough of that already. But food remains a priority: canned goods, instant noodle packs, rice, bottled water and the like. Donation of services-a volunteer's time, to sort and repack relief goods; transportation, to distribute the goods; and so on-also continues to be in demand.
Cash, of course, is welcome, but best coursed through such reputable and reliable service organizations as the Philippine National Red Cross.
A month after the first calamity struck, relief operations continue to be the order of the day. But already it is time to focus on the next necessary phase: rehabilitation. In this stage, an already cash-strapped national government will have to step up its already considerable efforts to help the hundreds of thousands hurt by the successive typhoons. And the private sector will have to make the transition from traditional donor to partner in community-building.
Priority must be given to helping those who have lost their jobs or their means of livelihood, by giving them a chance to earn again. The national government, working closely with the local authorities, can turn the rehabilitation effort into a temporary income-earner for the victims themselves. The able-bodied, for instance, can be drafted for the short term to help in the inevitable cleanup and repair. Clearing the streets, removing the litter of logs, getting essential services back on track: all these and more will have to be done anyway. Perhaps the authorities can speed it all up by getting help from those who need to be helped. (Besides, the Arroyo administration knows all about short-term but high-impact employment projects, having hired a battalion of vest-wearing street-sweepers in Metro Manila during the campaign.)
Initiatives such as these will encourage more men and women to leave the evacuation centers by day, helping them avoid the welfare rut.
The government must also speed up the work of relocating the displaced. The President has announced the choice of a new housing site, good for about a thousand families. But even she knows this is not enough. This is where the private sector can come in, and for the long haul. Corporate sponsors can help build new houses, on safer ground.
The private sector has successful business models to choose from, including those of the Habitat for Humanity and the Gawad Kalinga project of the Couples for Christ movement. Corporations and their employee-volunteers donate a little money and a lot of time to help build houses in community sites. Instead of simply giving money, the sponsors can roll up their sleeves and actually, painstakingly, put the houses together, working closely with those who will end up living in them.
This model can be useful in the rehabilitation work, too. In the late 1980s, the Metro Manila Development Authority tried to enlist the help of corporations in easing traffic congestion in the capital region, by asking them to sponsor the work of traffic direction in specific intersections. The project did not succeed, not least because of inconsistency in application. But the same principle might work in the rehabilitation of storm-struck areas.
A hundred corporations can "sponsor" a hundred sites, each one good for, say, a hundred families.
Are we dreaming with our eyes open? Perhaps, but both the technology and the simplified process for building simple but sturdy houses, like those of Habitat for Humanity, are readily available. The need is great. And the time is opportune: The calamities have helped focus the nation's attention. A concerted, cooperative effort to rebuild might just revive the nation's spirit.
Updated 11:42pm (Mla time) Dec 26, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 27, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
THE STREAM of donations has turned into a trickle, slowed down by the debris of even more recent events: the death of Fernando Poe Jr., the four-day Christmas weekend holiday in its wake. Donor fatigue may have started to set in, too.
This is unfortunate, because the victims of the recent tragedies in Aurora and Quezon as well as less-publicized areas in Oriental Mindoro and Nueva Ecija remain in dire need. By and large, relief goods organizers no longer solicit or encourage the donation of used clothing; there may be enough of that already. But food remains a priority: canned goods, instant noodle packs, rice, bottled water and the like. Donation of services-a volunteer's time, to sort and repack relief goods; transportation, to distribute the goods; and so on-also continues to be in demand.
Cash, of course, is welcome, but best coursed through such reputable and reliable service organizations as the Philippine National Red Cross.
A month after the first calamity struck, relief operations continue to be the order of the day. But already it is time to focus on the next necessary phase: rehabilitation. In this stage, an already cash-strapped national government will have to step up its already considerable efforts to help the hundreds of thousands hurt by the successive typhoons. And the private sector will have to make the transition from traditional donor to partner in community-building.
Priority must be given to helping those who have lost their jobs or their means of livelihood, by giving them a chance to earn again. The national government, working closely with the local authorities, can turn the rehabilitation effort into a temporary income-earner for the victims themselves. The able-bodied, for instance, can be drafted for the short term to help in the inevitable cleanup and repair. Clearing the streets, removing the litter of logs, getting essential services back on track: all these and more will have to be done anyway. Perhaps the authorities can speed it all up by getting help from those who need to be helped. (Besides, the Arroyo administration knows all about short-term but high-impact employment projects, having hired a battalion of vest-wearing street-sweepers in Metro Manila during the campaign.)
Initiatives such as these will encourage more men and women to leave the evacuation centers by day, helping them avoid the welfare rut.
The government must also speed up the work of relocating the displaced. The President has announced the choice of a new housing site, good for about a thousand families. But even she knows this is not enough. This is where the private sector can come in, and for the long haul. Corporate sponsors can help build new houses, on safer ground.
The private sector has successful business models to choose from, including those of the Habitat for Humanity and the Gawad Kalinga project of the Couples for Christ movement. Corporations and their employee-volunteers donate a little money and a lot of time to help build houses in community sites. Instead of simply giving money, the sponsors can roll up their sleeves and actually, painstakingly, put the houses together, working closely with those who will end up living in them.
This model can be useful in the rehabilitation work, too. In the late 1980s, the Metro Manila Development Authority tried to enlist the help of corporations in easing traffic congestion in the capital region, by asking them to sponsor the work of traffic direction in specific intersections. The project did not succeed, not least because of inconsistency in application. But the same principle might work in the rehabilitation of storm-struck areas.
A hundred corporations can "sponsor" a hundred sites, each one good for, say, a hundred families.
Are we dreaming with our eyes open? Perhaps, but both the technology and the simplified process for building simple but sturdy houses, like those of Habitat for Humanity, are readily available. The need is great. And the time is opportune: The calamities have helped focus the nation's attention. A concerted, cooperative effort to rebuild might just revive the nation's spirit.
posted by Dante at 1:20 PM
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