Balay and DSWD forged partnership to promote human rights awareness in poor urban neighbourhoods

The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Balay has  entered into a partnership to promote human rights awareness and provide psychosocial support in poor urban neighbourhoods in  Brgy. Bagong Silang and, eventually,  in other barangays in Caloocan City – North  where incidence of violence are perceived to be significant.

 

Josephine Lascano, Balay Executive Director, and Mr. Andrew Vincent Leyson,  Director of the DSWD-National Capital Region,  formalized the cooperation by signing a memorandum of agreement on February 3, 2017.  The agreement  allows Balay to  provide support on capacity enrichment, violence prevention and  referral on human rights issues and psychosocial case management,   to families that are covered by the  poverty-alleviation and empowerment program of the DSWD known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. 

The Balay-DSWD partnership will be in effect until 2018. It seeks, in particular, to undertake the  following activities: 

1. Provide training to the Barangay Officials, Parent Leaders and other concerned  Pantawid Pamilya stakeholders  about the rights of the child and other topics relevant to human rights protection and psychosocial development.
2. Provide intervention to Pantawid Pamilya partner beneficiaries in the areas actually covered by this Agreement, especially to  the Children-in-Conflict-with-the-Law (CICL)  and the young people  and other partners who suffer from or at risk of  torture, ill treatment, and other authority-based violence.
3. Provide psychosocial activities as support activities to CICL in holding centers, especially to the victims of ill treatment or authority-based violence, as the need arises.
4. Assist in empowering Pantawid Pamilya partner beneficiaries to access  programs and services of  other service providers and other government agencies  to increase their level of well-being.

Balay Program Coordinator Kaloy Anasarias and the DSWD focal persons in Bagong Silang have determined that more than 7000 household representatives are likely to be covered by the activities under the cooperation agreement. They started by consulting the potential participants on the  seminar topics that are relevant to them and agreed to train parent-leaders and community facilitators so that they may also take a prominent role in achieving the objectives of the partnership.

Balay has been running an Alternative Learning System program for young people at risk of violence and torture victims in Bagong Silang. It is also a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children in that community.