Buklod Tao, Inc.
Envisioning a free, peaceful, progressive, and resilient community
Our Community-Managed Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction (CMCDRR) is one of our largest projects. Its goal is to help Banaba become less vulnerable to the floods which affect our community annually. This includes both disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
The program is comprised of several key activities:
Flood Early Warning System
Our leadership carefully monitors rainfall both online and via a river monitoring system. That system includes both designated “river watchers” who observe the river and gauges in the river itself.
Thanks to Frontline SMS and the support of SMART (may want to say what this stands for), we’re able to send rapid group texts with up to the minute information about river levels to vulnerable communities. Those communities have received training about when its time for them to evacuate and how to get to safety.
Thanks to our early warning systems, even during the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, we did not lose any lives in our area.
Community-Managed Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction
Community Based Rescue Teams
In the event that a family is trapped by floodwaters, our community based rescue teams are there to pick them up by boat and bring them to safety.
Each team is specially trained and equipped with a boat, life jackets, and basic first aid supplies. The teams are organised by area, and each team is comprised of vulnerable people who actually live in the at-risk community. This makes it easier for them to identify areas where families are most likely to be trapped as well as giving team members a sense of pride in looking after their community.
Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation
Where the environment is degraded, the effects of disaster will always be worse as will general quality of life. At Buklod Tao, we’re fighting to protect the environment so that communities can have a safe, healthy future.
We’ve partnered with groups like GreenPeace Philippines and the ECO Waste Coalition to campaign against littering, toxic waste, and the use of plastics in fast food chains, and our work fighting for mother earth continues today.
Support our Work!
We intend to expand our early warning system, train and equip more community based rescue teams, and continue advocating for mother earth, but to achieve our goals we need funding! Please consider making a donation today!