Stakeholders in Southville 7 have signed a statement of commitment towards creating an empowered resilient Calauan resettlement community.

The statement of commitment to partnership for Southville 7 was inked during the design workshop on multi-sector partnership framework by the participants from the local government of Calauan, NGOs and community-based organizations involved in Southville 7.

Among the signatories were ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (ALKFI) managing director Susan Afan, National Housing Authority (NHA) Calauan project manager Engr. Belinda Sevalla and Calauan Vice Mayor Allan Jun Sanchez. They were joined by representatives from Ayala Foundation, Consuelo Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Philippines, Don Bosco Calauan, Barangay Dayap, Barangay Santo Tomas and selected Southville 7 homeowners associations.

Under the multi-sector partnership framework, ALKFI will serve as the convener or secretariat that will keep track of stakeholder programs, ensuring that these are aligned with the partnership’s vision: “Resilient, empowered and with improved quality of life of SV7 communities through strengthened coordination among organization partners.”

Southville 7 is home to families that were affected by typhoon Ondoy, households from informal settler communities along the Pasig River and beneficiaries of the Home Development Mutual Fund. In February 2009, the NHA signed an agreement with ALKFI to accommodate informal settler families affected by the rehabilitation of the Pasig River and its tributaries.

As the project manager of Southville 7, ALKFI invited donors from the private sector to invest in the construction of houses and community facilities. Other organizations were involved in the delivery of public services, such as healthcare and livelihood opportunities. (Excerpted from www.abs-cbnfoundation. com)