Nothing about us without us – Show your support to Cebu Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network

In times of disasters, Persons with Disabilities are highly at risk. Their relative poverty, combined with problems of inaccessibility and low prioritization, puts them at greater likelihood of being left behind in the face of climate change and in times of environmental and humanitarian disaster.

While this can be true, more and more studies show that if given sufficient time and skills, the number of Persons with Disabilities who could evacuate during disaster may double.And the Cebu Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network believes on this.

The Cebu DiDRR Network is built on the recognition that DRR, to be successful, must include the at-risk groups including persons with disabilities. What started as a platform for discussion and collaborations in 2015 has now become a recognized coalition of persons with disabilities, DRR stakeholders and human rights advocates that assert for the reinforcement of mechanisms and implementation of disability-inclusive disaster plans and policies. Over the years, the network has influenced policy makers to shift perspectives on persons with disabilities from merely being recipient of aid to being recognized as capable of contributing to DRR.

• Persons with disabilities can conceptualize and analyze the risks that affect their lives and communities;
• Persons with disabilities can be agents of change to tackle current and future risks;
• Persons with disabilities are the most effective advocates for advancing disability rights; and,
• Persons with disabilities can train communities and LGUson inclusive DRR.

Through our different advocacy activities, the network has pushed for a framework of action to create an inclusive and resilient community. Our advocacy reaffirms that:

• Inclusion is about making processes accessible and removing barriers to participation. It is not about singling out and creating special programs for persons with disabilities.
• Disability data and perspectives are essential to inform DRM, and
• DiDRR is better achieved through multi-level engagement.

Following the success of the first ever Cebu Summit and Learning Event on Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015, we made this summit an annual gathering to discuss inclusive approaches on DRR and development, in general. However, for 2019, we might need you to make this summit happen.

To organize the summit this year, we are hoping to raise at least Php 250,000.00. With this amount, we can do an exhibit of what the network has achieved for the last 3 years (since 2015), and an assessment of where we at right now vis-à-vis the roadmap and agenda we set for 2018 – 2022. In addition, we can showcase once again, good practices and innovation that promote and assert disability perspectives on DiDRR. Lastly, we create an avenue to discuss and come up with two position papers at the end of the summit: 1) on the review and revision of Batas Pambansa 344 or the “Act to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons by Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to install Facilities and Other Devices”, and 2) on the House Bill 3913 or the Act creating the Philippine Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (PDEMA) Act.

With this, we hope you can become our sponsor by making a donation. We will ensure that this amount will fund the summit and other similar activities of the network.

We really hope we can make this summit happen in line with our mission to create an inclusive and resilient communities where everyone, including Persons with Disabilities, are secured and protected from disasters and calamities.