NONGOVERNMENT organization (NGO) Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), with support from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted an advocacy campaign for community resilience in fire safety on November 19 at the Andres Bonifacio Integrated School in Mandaluyong City, with more than 300 participants from Barangay Addition Hills.
TFCF invited guests from their stakeholders who were part of their mission, including the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Mandaluyong Central and Mauway branch teams, the Universidad De Manila-Social Work Department faculty, and local officials of Barangay Addition Hills.
The activities highlighted achievements and initiatives of programs related to fire safety and community resilience. During the event local volunteer leaders conducted activities and games relevant to the said advocacies.
In addition, the organization presented testimonies from the families who benefited from their programs, such as housing support, community/environment improvement, and community patrolling. With those, the organization currently works with families to replace their houses with fire-resistant materials.
TFCF disclosed that during fire incidents in the community, local volunteer-leaders responded and used the readily available fire extinguisher and first-aid kits provided by the organization.
Barangay Addition Hills is one of the most populated in Metro Manila.
Based on the TFCF surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021, 63 percent of households there are prone to fire. Through the event, the families learned and understood the significance of hazard preparedness.
Now in its 72nd year TFCF has been sponsoring more than 120,000 children in 34 countries, including the Philippines. The local branch started its mission in 2019. Despite the short period, its team of professional social workers has already achieved “significant accomplishments, in partnership with…stakeholders in [various communities].”
TFCF Country Director Kai-Li Chang made an appeal for “strengthening [of] NGO-government partnerships and catalytic civil-society engagement in disaster management [as] an essential strategy in consolidating and building a systemic disaster-resistance mechanism, [while] ensuring the reduction of loss in hazards, as this will result in better outcomes of sustainability in the community.”