The Nagdilaab Foundation Incorporated is a registered NGO whose vision is a people’s foundation committed for peace and development in partnership with the communities, but the people behind this foundation had been involved in the work of development and peace building for the past 20 years as community organizers, formators and program coordinator of the Prelature of Basilan. The NAGDILAAB FOUNDATION INC. aims to improve the capability of rural and urban communities to be active partners in development. It will provide technical assistance and complement existing systems in the delivery of basic services On Peace and Development initiatives, the foundation will initiate and continue inter-religious activities. It networks with different or various stakeholders at the local, regional and national levels. It is operating in the City of Isabela and the 6 municipalities of Basilan in a multi-stakeholders collaboration with emphasis with the Local government units. The foundation is a member of the following networks for Peace and Development:
  • Lead Convenor / Secretariat of Pagtabangan Basulta since 2005 (Concortium of 10 National NGO in the Philippines, on the process of Bridging leadership framework)
  • Network for the Alternative Learning for Out of School Youth and Children
  • MERN: Mindanao Emergency Relief Network: Save the Children (US)
  • Psychosocial Network in Asia Pacific: UP CIDDS
  • Basilan Island Provincial Partnership and Access Center with the Peace and Equity Foundation
  • Agong Network: Catholic Relief Services partner on Peace and Reconciliation.

PROGRAM INTERVENTIONS FOR THE PERIOD OF 2004 UP TO THE PRESENT:

PEACE BUILDING:

The program had conducted community organizing of Muslim and Christian including women, youth: in and out of schools, LGUs (Local Government Units), inter religious activity and advocacy for peace including capability building on Culture of Peace and CAFGUs (Civilian Arm Forces Geographical Units). It includes series of capability building to increase the awareness of the multi-stakeholders on the importance of Dialogue, mutual respect, tolerance and solidarity among communities, and enhanced their leadership skills in Conflict Resolution and Transformation. At the same time, it also helped the families augment their financial status that had helped them to generate savings and for their daily sustenance. It had brought the disadvantaged-people within the folds of some organizational structures, which they can understand and operate as their own. In such a way, that they had exercised their socio-political and economic rights in and through mutual support. This program was funded by CRS (Catholic Relief Services) from 1998 up to the present.

EDUCATION:

The Foundation had committed in the protection the RIGHTS of the CHILDREN AND YOUTH of Basilan through the conduct of the Alternative Learning System through Non-formal Education Skills and Training funded by CONSUELO, the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Support Program for the Out of School Youth and Children of Basilan funded USAID CAII EqUALLS and the Early Child Education of Tabang Mindanaw III, the Day Care and Nutrition Program for the children from Three Indigent Communities of Lantawan. The foundation had served 400 Out of School Youth and Children of Basilan with this Alternative Learning system. It integrated Peace Building, Gender, Human Rights, Bridging Leadership, and Skills for Life into the learning sessions of the Youth and Children with the objective to build the potentials and self esteem of the stakeholders. Those who had finished the Technical Training had gained knowledge and the confidence to get a job in the future here and abroad. Their community recognized them on the skills they had acquired from the training with an opportunity for livelihood in the community or in other places. The completers of the A&E support program had regained their self-confidence to socialize with their peers from other Learning centers and had become the para-teachers of their parents and younger siblings at home. Looking forward for the PEPT (Philippine Educational Placement Test) where the Learners can be accelerated either to the Secondary or Tertiary level on the formal education and A&E (Acceleration And Equivalency Test) where they can acquire their Elementary or High School Diploma depending on the scores they had mad. With the desire to go back to formal education. The Day Care program had prepared the children for their primary education and had reduced the incidence of malnutrition and common ailments of the Pre-Schoolers. A Barangay was made to advocate with the Department of Education – Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao to open such facility in the community to respond to the needs and Right of the child for a quality education. These programs for the Well Being of the Out of School Youth and Children of Basilan were fully launched with quality key result areas or impact in the project implementation. All these e on the process of it’s Pre-Implementation Stage for the Third phase for the NFE & Technical Training and Second phase for the Accreditation & Equivalency Support  Program with the Early Child Education as recommended by the funding agency.

MAKE A CONNECTION (MAC):

The program had organized the YAKAN Youth sector with value formation and capability building on Cultural Heritage, Leadership Training and commitment to service to one’s indigenous community. It enhanced the skills of the MAC Youth in managing their livelihood project (Rubber nursery, vegetable gardening and a Grocery Store, Drift Irrigation and Green House Farming) to provide a meager income to the members. This is an on-going project funded by Consuelo Foundation and NOKIA, which started in 2004 up to the present.

MICRO-FINANCE / LIVELIHOOD (ASA METHOD)

This program ensures the poor community: beneficiaries an access to financial support / assistance for livelihood projects that help to augment the income and savings of the family. The value to save for the future was instilled on the minds and hearts of the member beneficiaries. Capability buildings were given to give awareness on the rights of Women’s with Finance and project management. This program had enabled and strengthened the MOTHERs / WIDOWs to have stable income to send their children to school and buy the basic needs of the family. This is a good indicator for the healing process of the widows, which compose of 5% (869 members and 839 s of March 17, 2006) of the total number of beneficiaries, to move on with their lives after the death of a significant family member. Members were committed to pay their daily dues (Collection of Loan repayment and it had become a part of them to save their CBU (Capital Build-up). This is still an on-going project of the foundation funded by Tabang Mindanaw and SZOPAD funds.

GRAMEEN BANK:

The GB members had enhanced their skills in business and financial management and they learned facilitation, monitoring and evaluation from the capability building given through this program. It had generated savings among the members. At present they have 143 individual members and 2 cooperatives from different communities. This is funded by CRS (Catholic Relief Services), SZOPAD (Social Fund for Peace and Development) and the PBSP (Philippine Business for Social Progress)

PAGTABANGAN BASULTA:

PAGTABANGAN BASULTA refers to the joint effort of Ten (10) organizations to engage and support local Leaders and multisectoral constituents in the Province of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, to develop sustainable interventions to the problem of Poverty, conflict and marginalization in the region. Pagtabangan “means helping each other.” The Ten organizations are the AIM-Mirant Center for Bridging Societal Divides, Consuelo Foundation, Philippines-Canada Local Government Support Program (LGSP), Mirant Corporate Foundation, Peace and Equity Foundation, Philippine Business for Social Progress, Philippine Development Assistance Program, PETRON Foundation Inc., Tabang Mindanaw and MMF-Philippines. This joint effort was borne out of a series of discussion in July 2004, convened y Tabang Mindanaw and the Assisi Development Foundation together with the AIM-Mirant Center for Bridging Societal Divides and the Synergos Institute. At the same developing and empowering the Local Leaders, NGOs, POs, Cooperatives to coordinate and to make plans for their future. This had enabled the program to convene 11 sectors LGU and other Line Agencies, Business sectors, Agrarian Reform communities, AFP/PNP, Women’s group, Academe, Youth, Religious, Health sector and Civil Society Organization as stakeholders. Co-ownership/Collaborative action in the project/programs implementation was instilled in each member organization with transparency and commitment for Peace and Development of Basilan. Different Technical working Groups were organized with members coming from the local government units or agencies with Non-government Organization and Local leaders. The organized concerns/issues are on Education, Water, Livelihood, Peacebuilding, Governance and Environment. It is in the process already of collaborative action in the different identified municipalities.

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