The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) are working on the Kasama Katutubo Project—an effort to better understand the needs of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) and make government programs more responsive and respectful of their way of life.
One of the main goals of the project is to develop a new survey tool that will gather information about IPs’ values, resilience, culture, and goals.
“In order for us to come up with programs that will suit the IP communities, we have to first know who they are, we have to understand where they are coming from and put that in the context of program formulation,” Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City on Thursday (June 19).
To formalize the partnership, Secretary Gatchalian and CCAA Executive Director Francisco Lara Jr. signed the MOU, which was witnessed by Undersecretary Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of the DSWD’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and CCAA Trustee and Senior Adviser Nikki Philline De La Rosa.
According to Secretary Gatchalian, the survey tool will help the DSWD in refining its existing programs and plan initiatives that are more suited to the IPs’ real situations and needs.
“The overall neglect the IP communities are experiencing from different agencies is indeed a ticking time bomb. We at the Department, we are equally as guilty in the sense that we do not cater to the IPs’ distinct needs, distinct aspirations, and distinct identities. Most of our programs here are cookie-cutter programs that are tailor fit without really listening to what they need,” Secretary Gachalian said.
The DSWD chief added: “A lot of programs of the national government, I think, lack that distinction, taking into account the nuances of the context, most especially of the hundreds of IP communities out there. So, we are very thankful because you are pointing us in the right direction, getting to know who our clients are.”
As stipulated in the signed MOU, the DSWD will lead the digitization of the survey tool so data can be collected and analyzed quickly, allowing the DSWD to improve how it delivers programs and services to Indigenous communities.
Secretary Gatchalian also expressed the agency’s gratitude to the CCAA for the support and collaboration to better serve the ICCs/IPs.
“Yes, we are all Filipinos but we do admit that in the IP communities, there are nuances that give them a distinct set of values that we have to enshrine and connect to this program. We are very thankful because I think it is a long journey but you are pointing us in the right direction. We look forward to working with all of you,” Secretary Gatchalian said. (YADP)The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) are working on the Kasama Katutubo Project—an effort to better understand the needs of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) and make government programs more responsive and respectful of their way of life.
One of the main goals of the project is to develop a new survey tool that will gather information about IPs’ values, resilience, culture, and goals.
“In order for us to come up with programs that will suit the IP communities, we have to first know who they are, we have to understand where they are coming from and put that in the context of program formulation,” Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City on Thursday (June 19).
To formalize the partnership, Secretary Gatchalian and CCAA Executive Director Francisco Lara Jr. signed the MOU, which was witnessed by Undersecretary Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of the DSWD’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and CCAA Trustee and Senior Adviser Nikki Philline De La Rosa.
According to Secretary Gatchalian, the survey tool will help the DSWD in refining its existing programs and plan initiatives that are more suited to the IPs’ real situations and needs.
“The overall neglect the IP communities are experiencing from different agencies is indeed a ticking time bomb. We at the Department, we are equally as guilty in the sense that we do not cater to the IPs’ distinct needs, distinct aspirations, and distinct identities. Most of our programs here are cookie-cutter programs that are tailor fit without really listening to what they need,” Secretary Gachalian said.
The DSWD chief added: “A lot of programs of the national government, I think, lack that distinction, taking into account the nuances of the context, most especially of the hundreds of IP communities out there. So, we are very thankful because you are pointing us in the right direction, getting to know who our clients are.”
As stipulated in the signed MOU, the DSWD will lead the digitization of the survey tool so data can be collected and analyzed quickly, allowing the DSWD to improve how it delivers programs and services to Indigenous communities.
Secretary Gatchalian also expressed the agency’s gratitude to the CCAA for the support and collaboration to better serve the ICCs/IPs.
“Yes, we are all Filipinos but we do admit that in the IP communities, there are nuances that give them a distinct set of values that we have to enshrine and connect to this program. We are very thankful because I think it is a long journey but you are pointing us in the right direction. We look forward to working with all of you,” Secretary Gatchalian said. (YADP)