Surviving NATURE'S CHANGES

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS PROJECT?

Climate change is a serious issue impacting the lives of individuals and communities. Year after year, environmental hazards and natural disasters become more frequent and more intense. For the Philippines, one of the world’s most at-risk countries to the effects of climate change, this can be especially debilitating. Stronger floods, droughts, earthquakes, and typhoons are the new reality that we must learn to face today.

Within this new context, we have come to recognize and appreciate that there are many diverse and relevant ways of perceiving, preparing for, responding to and recovering from natural disasters. One particularly unique perspective and often undervalued source is that of Indigenous Peoples. As we work to build resilient communities we cannot readily discount the wealth of traditional knowledge and practices that they have to impart.

HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE?

This IPP touches upon the two content areas of diversity and sustainable development. Local culture is an important aspect of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. We believe that cultural attitudes and social practices can play an empowering role in building resilient communities.Our IPP brings together CISVers attuned and open to diverse cultures, and Indigenous Peoples from Kapangan who were affected by Typhoon Pepeng in 2009 and Typhoon Lando in 2015. Through Shontoug Foundation, we will educate each other about climate change from different perspectives, and share valuable attitudes, practices, and experiences in relation to natural disaster. Through these simple and informal acts of education and sharing, we hope to better equip ourselves and others to adapt to this changing world.

SURVIVING NATURE'S CHANGES: A PERSONAL APPROACH

The main theme unifying our program is the idea of surviving nature’s changes. It is about proactively discovering, sharing, and taking the important steps towards resilience in the face of this new reality. Climate change and natural disaster impact people, and it is how these changes figure into the lives of people that we are most interested in discovering.

As we deal with our theme, we will treat the aspect of local culture as an essential resource and component, and we will use storytelling as a friendly tool to share experiences, impart important information, educate, learn informally, and preserve cultural traditions.