What Happen When They Learn?: Addressing Vulnerability through Community Development and Education in the Coast

Abstract

The study of Santos et al revealed that many families in the coastal communities in the province of Bataan are highly vulnerable in terms of livelihood strength and resilience, well-being and baseline status, self-protection and social protection and governance. These makes them more vulnerable given the fact that the province has been experiencing natural disasters over the years and is actually at risk to future hazards which can be brought by earthquake, volcanic eruption, floods, tsunami and storm surge. These realizations brought together four (4) colleges – College of Education (CoEd), College of Nursing and Midwifery (CNM), College of Business and Administration (CBA) and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (CSBS) to initiate a long-term program that will help coastal communities in the province prepare for natural disasters. Dubbed as Addressing Vulnerability at the Coast: Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Training for Coastal Barangays, this program is composed of four project areas and each area is led by the college which has expertise on it. Through the program, each barangay’s Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CBDRRMC) has been established and strengthened and continuous training of community volunteers mostly youth (Climate Change Warriors) on disaster response and preparations for rehabilitation and recovery are being done through the help of the Philippine National Red Cross-Bataan Chapter. Based on the results of the impact assessment done in these barangays, majority of the families are keeping emergency bags in the house, are more than prepared to face natural disasters and have changed their lifestyle rigorously to help mitigate climate change.