New Homes, New Life in Olanen

Situated in a valley surrounded by lush trees, yet high above the sea, a new community has arisen in Olanen, Dacap Sur. This newly-completed core shelter project is a joint venture of the DSWD, the Local Government of Bani, and the United Nations World Food Program.

Right after the extent of damage at Olanen was established, relief operations were started. But rehabilitation was also a priority since most were made homeless. Thus, the Core Shelter Assistance Project (CSAP) was the answer. The DSWD granted P7 million for the construction of 100 houses, each being allotted P70,000 for construction materials alone. The Local Government of Bani, under the leadership of Mayor Marcelo Navarro, bought the 5-hectare land on which to build these.

By August, 2009, the MSWD Office of Bani, headed by Ms. Grace A. Taganap, had started organizing the CSAP for the residents of Olanen. Their task was to do ‘social preparation', which includes submitting project proposals, organizing meetings, and facilitating the various stages of developing the core shelter. The community called themselves the “Neighborhood Association for Shelter Assistance” (NASA) and elected as their president Mr. Diomedes Nafora, a homeowner himself. Though at the height of construction this summer 600 skilled workers and laborers were called in from nearby barangays to ensure the quality of the houses, Mr. Nafora testifies that the bayanihan spirit is very much alive, as ‘future' homeowners helped build their own abodes and of those in the community.

At first, construction work was to be done as a labor of love, hence the name of the community in Ilocano as “ Burubor ni Ayat ” (Fountain of Love), in the sense of the Filipino ‘bayanihan' spirit. In February, 2010, the MSWD Office of Bani submitted a Project Proposal to the World Food Programme and in April WFP granted as “Food for Work” 4,200 sacks of rice.

Project Managers Architect Arnel Astudillo and Engineer Voltaire Cave were assigned to this project. They designed the new community as a little model green city. Each dwelling is 20 sq. meters, complete with septic tank, electric wires and a central tank for a good supply of water.

Since the development of the site began, the project site has been visited by DSWD Regional Director Leonardo Reynoso on March 25 th , by WFP's Information Management Officer Michelle McGonagle last May 6 th , and by DSWD Asst. Sec. Lucentales and WFP Emergency Program Coordinator Susan Robertson. The site has also been visited by social development agencies of other towns, since it is a model for other shelter projects in our country. Last July 12 th , it was visited by various members of the media.

Now almost finished, there are only 140 skilled workers left on-site, with the homeowners themselves installing dividers, windows and whatever they desire to make their abode a ‘home'. In future, more improvements will be made upon the community, perhaps a way to segregate wastes, perhaps plants to enhance the already green surroundings, as part of the Mayor's vision of eco-tourism. In terms of the livelihood of the residents, there will be trainings on this, even including a component on fish processing and drying. In time, the hope is that Olanen will be the venue of a grassroots tourism enterprise, complete with bed and breakfast facilities.

The inauguration of the site is set for September 28 th . By then the houses would have been probably painted and the residents would have decorated their new abodes to make them really ‘home'.