Community and Family Services International (CFSI) led by the Head of Sub-Office in Zamboanga (SOZ), Meriam A. Tedding, started the implementation of the Sama Bajau Capacity Strengthening Project (SBCSP) through a series of courtesy calls to partners in Zamboanga City. The Local Government Unit of Zamboanga is its main implementing partner, along with relevant government agencies like the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, (BFAR), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of Education (DepEd) District of Zamboanga, and the Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR).

Courtesy Visit to LCRCourtesy Visit to BLGU of Rio Hondo

The European Union (EU) funded for the implementation of the SBCSP which aims to support vulnerable Sama Bajau families and address their risks to statelessness. EU’s assistance will provide 300 family beneficiaries, with approximately 1,500 individuals, with capacity strengthening activities on civil, human, and political rights, trainings on environmentally sustainable income-generating activities, and livelihood starter kits.

Because of their mobile and transient culture and their communities reaching beyond the borders of the Philippines, the Sama Bajaus are at high risk of statelessness. To address this, the project also aims to ensure birth registration of at least 500 Sama Bajau individuals both at the LCR and PSA level. Through the partnership with the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education, SBCSP will also conduct a community based Basic Literacy Program for Adults under the project. They will be taught basic Arithmetic, reading, and writing. Both activities are aimed towards improving the human security of Sama Bajaus.

Sama Bajaus family from Hongkong Rio Hondo copy

 

To ensure consultation and participation, CFSI and EU will convene all its stakeholders on 12th March 2019 for the SBCSP Inception Meeting. This will be attended by line Government agencies of the city. Presentations on the SBCSP will be given along with the role of stakeholders and partner Government agencies will also be discussed.

The SBCSP will run from 01 January 2019 to 31 December covering the areas of Rio Hondo, Kasanyangan and Area Blanco of Zamboanga City.

 

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of CFSI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union