By Christine Cruz
Representatives of ANSA-EAP and the national and field offices of Save the Children, as well as the latter’s local partners, gathered in a two -day meeting to discuss the implementation of Project CHARGE on March 26 and 27, 2015 at Brentwood Suites, Quezon City.
CHARGE stands for Championing Children’s Rights in Rehabilitation through Government-Civil Society-Children. Its goal is to create a strong policy environment and governance for children’s rights in the context of disaster risk reduction and management.
Children belong to one of the most vulnerable sectors of society; nowhere is this more visible than during a post-disaster scenario where their needs are not met and their rights violated.
ANSA-EAP, using the social accountability framework, will take the lead in building capacities of citizens, especially children and community groups, in engaging government in the implementation of child rights in emergency responses, rehabilitation and disaster risk reduction programs.
Present during the meetings were the national partners, Ateneo School of Government and Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) and the local partners –Leyte Family Development Organization (LEFADO), Share An Opportunity (SAO) Philippines and Rural Development Initiative (RDI) Leyte.
The representatives introduced their organizations through presentations and the gallery walk.
The partners plotted their activities which will include policy research activities and capacity building on topics such as social accountability, governance, child rights and disaster risk reduction. Roles and responsibilities of each organization were clarified. The participants also created ways to improve coordination and identified key performance indicators.
ANSA-EAP’s collaboration with Save The Children for Project CHARGE shows that social accountability is not only for governance-related initiatives. It can also be a relevant and effective tool for the delivery of social services before, during and after disasters.