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The needs of refugees, communities affected by armed conflict, disaster survivors, and persons in exceptionally difficult circumstances are the priorities of the CFSI Philippine Programme. Most of these people are poor, uprooted, and in need of protection, assistance, and opportunity. CFSI aims to protect and promote their lives, well being, and dignity through direct service, capacity building, advocacy, and cooperation with a range of actors.

Humanitarian Assistance Programme

The greatest proportion of CFSI's resources is presently devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to those who live in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao and to those affected by landslides in Southern Leyte, Visayas.

Recurrent armed conflict in Mindanao over almost four decades has caused the deaths of at least 120,000 people. More than 930,000 persons were displaced by war between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2000. A GRP military offensive in 2003 resulted in the displacement of approximately 411,000 persons-many of whom had only recently returned home after the war of 2000. During the first quarter of 2007, at least 60,000 others were displaced by armed conflict between various groups in Western and Central Mindanao.

Those most directly affected by armed conflict in Mindanao tend to come from agrarian or fishing communities, experience hunger and malnutrition, have little access to basic services and education, score poorly on most of the internationally recognized indicators of human development, and speak of injustice as well as marginalization.

CFSI has been active in the conflict-affected areas of Central Mindanao since the war of 2000. Early efforts were focused on 35,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from five (5) municipalities in two (2) provinces. CFSI helped organize people in the evacuation centers, enabled them to carry out "Go and See" Visits to their communities of origin, facilitated their eventual return home, and assisted them in identifying their top priorities and formulating plans for reconstruction and development. Much of this work was funded by the World Bank’s Post-Conflict Fund (PCF) and carried out as a thoroughly documented pilot project for working with IDPs from, as well as in, conflict-affected areas. (Click here for links to the  publication "You Listen" and other Reports).

This early major initiative was complemented by another pilot-testing for the World Bank, focused on Literacy, Livelihood, and Food Sufficiency (LLFS). The success of the LLFS intervention led to it being replicated in over 500 villages (barangays) in the conflict-affected areas.

At present, the coverage of CFSI operations in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao includes twenty (20) municipalities in eight (8) provinces, including direct humanitarian assistance activities in fifteen (15) municipalities in three (3) provinces and the provision of administrative support for partners providing services in an additional five (5) municipalities in six (6) provinces.

Direct humanitarian efforts currently include: (1) the provision of emergency food assistance for at least 90,000 persons in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the Philippine Government's Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA); (2) maternal and early childhood health services that aim to ensure the survival and well being of mother and child in partnership with the Consuelo Foundation; (3) the ongoing construction of 175 "Harmony Play Centers" and training of care-givers for at least 5,250 three-to-five year old children through support provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); (4) primary education for approximately 700 children and youth under the multi-donor "Arms are for Hugging" Project in Inug-ug, Pagalungan, Maguindanao; and (5) livelihood, training, and networking with Indigenous Youth in Carmen, North Cotabato in cooperation with the Consuelo Foundation and others.

CFSI is hoping to strengthen and expand it humanitarian assistance efforts over the course of the next twenty-four months and needs US$120,000 to fully achieve this objective. This amount does not include the funds required for increasing the number of beneficiaries of emergency food assistance from 90,000 to 435,000 persons by June 2008, as envisaged by the WFP, DSWD, and BDA.

The February 2006 landslide that killed more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children in a school building, in Southern Leyte, Visayas was the impetuous for CFSI's second disaster response initiative in that same province.

CFSI sent an emergency response team to provide immediate support for the survivors of this tragedy and to assess needs as well as priorities for disaster follow up activity. Whilst the needs of the thousands of displaced persons living in the hastily established evacuation centers were amongst the highest priorities, it soon became clear that more landslides were/are likely to occur in this province and that disaster preparedness needed urgent attention.

As such, CFSI secured funding from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)-as well as the private sector in the Philippines-to help build disaster preparedness and mitigation capacity in thirty-four (34) high-risk villages (barangays) in two (2) municipalities as well as to meet some of the psychosocial needs of displaced persons in select evacuation centers.

The first phase of this initiative is coming to an end, with many high-risk communities not yet prepared to prevent and/or mitigate the damage that virtually everyone believes will some day occur. CFSI is, therefore, aiming to raise another US$50,000 to build on the earlier work through at least December 2008.

In addition, CFSI is seeking to increase its Emergency Response Fund by US$25,000 each year between 2007 and 2014, thereby better ensuring rapid and effective CFSI responses to disasters in the Philippines - which is widely recognized as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.

Social Development Programme

CFSI is contributing to peace building in Mindanao by serving as Trust Fund Recipient for Phase One of the multi-donor Mindanao Trust Fund-Reconstruction and Development Programme (MTF-RDP) administered by the World Bank. The primary aim of this initiative is to build the capacity of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) to manage a community-driven development programme in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao. This includes the piloting of learning activities, specifically sub-projects, in selected communities.

CFSI is tasked with managing the finances of the MTF-RDP and engaging consultants to provide programme management and capacity-building services, in close consultation with the World Bank and BDA.

In order to more effectively address the needs of uprooted persons in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, CFSI and a consortium of local organizations have entered into partnership with the Catholic University of America (CUA) for a graduate degree programme in the teaching of social work to be carried out in Cotabato City. The local organizations include the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College (CCSPC), Mindanao State University (MSU)-Marawi City, and Western Mindanao State University (WMSU)-Zamboanga City.

The aims of this Social Work Education Project are to strengthen social work education in Mindanao and to build leadership for: (1) the return or resettlement, as well as the reintegration, of individuals and families displaced by armed conflict; and (2) the reconstruction and development of communities in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.

Seventy-five (75) licensed social workers from the conflict-affected areas are expected to complete this two-year master's degree programme which will begin in August of 2007 and end in 2014. CUA has kindly agreed to waive all tuition charges for the students participating in this programme - a counterpart contribution valued at US$1,350,000 or US$18,000 per student. CFSI is presently trying to raise the US$187,500 required to meet all of the remaining costs for this seven-year initiative.  This works out to US$2,500 per student.

In Metro Manila, CFSI continues to contribute to social work education by providing social work field education for students from schools of social work in the Philippines, Australia, the United States, and Canada. In addition, CFSI and the School of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia have entered into another five-year partnership focused on providing social work education, enhancing service capacity, carrying out social research, and promoting social development in South East Asia.

Some of the social work students will serve with CFSI in the Urban Refugee Project. Carried out in close cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the aim of the Urban Refugee Project (URP) is to protect and assist, as well as find durable solutions for, refugees and other persons of concern in the Philippines from Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Viet Nam, China, and other countries.

Most of these refugees grew up in urban areas in their country of origin, are professionals, and originally came to the Philippines for advanced studies. Conditions in their homeland changed, making it impossible for them to return home safely and with dignity. Many are now eligible for naturalization and have decided to make the Philippines their permanent home. Some are newly arrived in the Philippines and, therefore, have greater need for material assistance and, perhaps, different durable solutions options, such as third country resettlement.

UNHCR funds CFSI to provide counseling and legal assistance; ensure access to basic services such as education, health care, and social services; and promote greater cooperative effort to the benefit of these individuals and their families.

Recognizing the need to complement these services, CFSI is trying to raise $35,000 from other sources for computer skills training, livelihood projects, job placement, and other services through 2008 that will increase the prospects, over time, of refugee self-reliance.  View our News page for more information.

Child and Family Welfare Programme

One example of CFSI efforts to protect and promote the welfare of children and youth in exceptionally difficult circumstances and in need of special protection is the Park Avenue Initiative in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

The sex industry and drug trafficking are major issues in this highly congested, low-income area of Pasay City. Poverty, low levels of education, poor prospects for employment, and the lure of easy money through prostitution and drug trafficking have resulted in many parents being pre-occupied, detained, ill, or dead. Some youth have ended up in the same situation. Many children and youth in this area see little prospect for a different future.

Through partnerships with the Consuelo Foundation, International Bazaar, Springboard Foundation, several academic institutions in the Philippines as well as abroad, and the private sector, CFSI is getting young children back into school and providing them with school supplies, nutritious snacks, a safe gathering place, and mentors to help them with homework.

CFSI is also helping youth from the Park Avenue area access vocational skills training, participate in special training programmes such as animation design, learn and talk about reproductive health issues including HIV/AIDS, carry out start-up livelihood initiatives, acquire "skills for life", and prepare to enter the workforce.

Through this initiative, parents and adult care-providers are learning about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, parenting, and reproductive health as well as acquiring greater parenting skills and engaging in start-up livelihood activities.

The response to the Park Avenue Initiative has been impressive. The community is actively involved and the local government is supportive. Other civil society organizations in the area as well as the business community are contributing to this effort to protect and promote the well-being of children and youth. It is obvious that many lives are being changed for the better.

As such, CFSI is aiming to scale-up this project over the course of the next three years. Towards this end, CFSI is seeking to raise an additional US$20,000 by the end of 2007 and an additional $30,000 by mid-2008.

Health Promotion Programme

Health is a cross-cutting theme and, therefore, an important element of the Humanitarian Assistance, Social Development, as well as Child and Family Welfare Programmes. That recognized, CFSI created its Health Promotion Programme to draw attention to the need to promote good health, not simply address health problems.

The major elements of this programme at present are training in stress management and responding to critical events. CFSI has carried out such training in various parts of the world for the humanitarian assistance workforce, human rights advocates, medical personnel, development workers, and journalists.

In addition, CFSI has developed materials that have been adopted and used by other organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A summary of some of CFSI's views and initiatives in terms of stress management in the humanitarian assistance arena can be found in Sharing the Front Line and the Back Hills: Peacekeepers, Humanitarian Aid Workers and the Media in the Midst of Crisis, published for, and on behalf of, the United Nations by Baywood Publishing Company.

CFSI has also done quite a bit of work in HIV/AIDS arena, particularly amongst refugees and, formerly, at the community and institutional levels in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. The well-documented awareness-raising, organizing, and capacity building efforts carried out by CFSI in Palawan were amongst the factors that led to the creation of the HIV/AIDS Coordinating Council of Palawan.

Finally, CFSI wrote the chapter on HIV/AIDS and Social Work in the Philippine Encyclopedia of Social Work, published by Megabooks Company and the National Association for Social Work Education, Inc.

By the end of 2008, CFSI aims to have significantly increased the number of activities, as well as scope, of the Health Promotion Programme.  Effort is already underway to raise US$55,000 for stress management training for the humanitarian workforce involved in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, Philippines and in communities affected by violence in Timor-Leste.

In addition, funds must be secured to increase access to primary health care services, including reproductive health education, amongst youth in the Park Avenue area of Pasay City, in selected conflict-affected communities in Mindanao, and for stateless persons in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar.

Evaluation and Research Programme

A variety of evaluation, research, and publication initiatives have been undertaken by CFSI in the Philippines in recent years. Most of these have focused on internally displaced persons with one research initiative on poor communities affected by disaster funded by the World Health Organization, two research initiatives funded by the Gender and Conflict Project of the World Bank, and one advocacy initiative funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Other evaluation, research, and publication efforts have been funded by CFSI or "Friends of CFSI."

For example, CFSI undertook, on behalf of the World Bank, research in Mindanao on gender and conflict as well as male youth and conflict. The outputs, published as Social Development Papers by the World Bank, can be found under "Reports" in the "News" section. They are entitled "Addressing Gender in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations in the Philippines" and "The Impact of Armed Conflict on Male Youth in Mindanao, Philippines", respectively.

Other recent publications produced by CFSI can also be found under "Publications" in the "News" section. "You Listen" speaks of CFSI's work with internally displaced persons in Mindanao whilst the latest - "Missing Peace, A Much Needed Piece" -summarizes the findings and recommendations of a workshop CFSI organized in late 2006 to help promote the human security of uprooted people in the South East Asian Region.

The most recent output of the Evaluation and Research Programme is actually the result of collaboration between CFSI and the School of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University. This is an article in the March 2007 issue of International Social Work entitled "Building Community Following Displacement Due to Armed Conflict."

CFSI hopes to further develop over the next two years its Evaluation and Research Programme. For further information and/or to assist, please contact the Executive Director at CFSI Headquarters in Metro Manila via headquarters@cfsi.ph or telephone numbers (632)551-1977 and 510-1046, and fax number (632)-551-2225.

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TIMOR-LESTE