The "Ilaw ng Buhay" (Light of Life) program pilot-tested from 1978 to 1981 in several municipalities and cities in the Philippines was conceptualized during a three-month assessment conference participated in by the pioneers of community development led by Atty. Ramon P. Binamira, considered the Father of Community Development; technical specialists in disciplines related to backyard food production, nutrition, environmental management, health and family planning; and young interns from the Department of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines at Los Banos, who eventually served as the planning and research staff after their graduation.
Initially, it was named as a Movement but eventually this was changed to Program to make it more acceptable in those days of the martial law regime which considered as illegal any assembly of more than three people.
Its key features were based on assessments made on the strengths and weaknesses of programs carried out under the category of Community Development in the country, basically those under the old Presidential Assistant on CD (PACD) and its successor, the Department of Local Government and Community Development (DLGCD).
The experiences of community based programs were also studied and reported to the 40 or so participants of the assessment conference. These programs included those under primary health care of the Department of Health; the integrated rural development programs of the extension department of UP Los Banos; UP Institute of Social Welfare and Community Development; and the community-based projects of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and NGOs such as COPE, ACES, and others who were initially involved in community organizing approaches characterized with a no-linkage with government policy.
UNICEF Manila which supported this activity as part of efforts to find more effective participatory development strategies in line with the global advocacy for Basic Services Strategy provided references and resource persons on outstanding examples of community development programs in South Korea (Saemul Undong or New Village Movement); Thailand (community-based child care and health programs); and Indonesia (community planning and nutrition).
The community organizing strategy of the country's underground movement was also reported and studied by the participants in the assessment conference on community-based approaches.
The various discussions and field-testing of community organizing and training modules in barangay Pahinga Norte in Candelaria, Quezon resulted in a distinct approach which became known as "Ilaw ng Buhay" approach to community development.
More in the next blog.
Initially, it was named as a Movement but eventually this was changed to Program to make it more acceptable in those days of the martial law regime which considered as illegal any assembly of more than three people.
Its key features were based on assessments made on the strengths and weaknesses of programs carried out under the category of Community Development in the country, basically those under the old Presidential Assistant on CD (PACD) and its successor, the Department of Local Government and Community Development (DLGCD).
The experiences of community based programs were also studied and reported to the 40 or so participants of the assessment conference. These programs included those under primary health care of the Department of Health; the integrated rural development programs of the extension department of UP Los Banos; UP Institute of Social Welfare and Community Development; and the community-based projects of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and NGOs such as COPE, ACES, and others who were initially involved in community organizing approaches characterized with a no-linkage with government policy.
UNICEF Manila which supported this activity as part of efforts to find more effective participatory development strategies in line with the global advocacy for Basic Services Strategy provided references and resource persons on outstanding examples of community development programs in South Korea (Saemul Undong or New Village Movement); Thailand (community-based child care and health programs); and Indonesia (community planning and nutrition).
The community organizing strategy of the country's underground movement was also reported and studied by the participants in the assessment conference on community-based approaches.
The various discussions and field-testing of community organizing and training modules in barangay Pahinga Norte in Candelaria, Quezon resulted in a distinct approach which became known as "Ilaw ng Buhay" approach to community development.
More in the next blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment