Securing permanent shelter and residency is a basic right of every family. Millions of people around the world live in overcrowded slums and informal settlements. Such conditions do not uphold human dignity according to international conventions: everybody’s right to adequate housing. In the Philippines, thousands of poor families are forcibly evicted or threatened with eviction from their homes every year. In Aurora province, the above mentioned situation is already happening in the identified communities. These informal poor settlers who do not legally own their residential lot are becoming the victims as they don’t have residents’ security of tenure.

The Empowering the Youth and Elderly Towards Security of Occupancy project to be implemented by the Advocates for Human Rights in Aurora Province (AHRAP), Inc. and the Kaisahan Para sa Tiyakang Panirahan (KPTP). The project empowers the elderly and the youth to serve their community in their pursuance of their basic rights to own the land they have developed over a long period of time. Strengthening the rightsholder groups heightens their awareness and form their skills to be able to actively involve themselves in this endeavour and struggle together as one community until they achieve their right to owning their residential lands.

In the video is Lita Salvador, 67 years old and a member of AHRAP, specifically the appointed Guide Person for the Casiguran partner community. According to Lita, AHRAP has a significant role in helping the communities in their area secure their housing. As a grantee, on the other hand, it is their responsibility to report accordingly. The project was a big help in their journey towards housing security. They conducted seminars and workshops which helped the partner communities develop their perspectives and capabilities and to be more structured and active as organisations. While they helped the communities, AHRAP had also learned along the way. She mentioned that some of these are learning to use new tools and gadgets to implement the project, giving educational sessions and legal advice, and accompanying their project participants to certain meetings with other stakeholders. During the pandemic, they were able to adopt accordingly by making more use of their mobiles for continuous communication from consultation to monitoring. Lita shares her hope for AHRAP and Voice to continue working together until they reach their goal and in giving space for youth and elderly voices in the issue of housing rights.

Advocates for Human Rights in Aurora Province (AHRAP), Inc. and Kaisahan Para sa Tiyakang Panirahan (KPTP) have successfully concluded their Empowerment project. While many hurdles were encountered (from safety & security issues to the COVID-19 pandemic), they proudly share the following as their key achievements as an organisation and with their partners: 

• Building linkages with the Local Government Unitss and agencies after lobbying. In one community, close collaboration with the Barangay officials, Mayor, and person in charge of the housing projects has been established. This resulted in imminent success for them to become recipients of the housing project. Another community has been recognised as a bona fide community association and hopefully will be prioritsed in case of auction sale of the subject land. The third community has also started to collaborate with a municipal council member who has access to the heirs of one family and who will lobby for them. The fourth and last community has developed strong linkages with the municipal councilors, Mayor and barangay captain. This relationship has contributed to their continuous efforts and resilience to confront the challenges posed by state forces and land claimants;
  

• Growing in confidence and developing skills of around 30 community leaders as well as 240 rightsholders. They have been increasingly capable to manage their organisations and maintain regularly their organisational activities such as meetings, actions of lobbying, community services, and skills enhancement. The leaders became more enthusiastic to pursue their effort to claim their rights to housing. It is impressive how their continuing efforts to strengthen their organisation despite limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the safety and security issues they were confronted with. The community association in one partner community has been formally registered.
  

• Rightsholders actively participated in 27 seminars and trainings. They were also engaged in lobbying and became active in their organisation’s undertaking and other community activities. The approach that contributed to the positive result was the wholesome combination of AHRAP’s sub-programs: awareness raising and skills development, lobbying activities, community meetings and evaluation to encapsulate the opinions and unity among the association members.
  

• The four partner community associations have been strengthened with increased number of members and in the process of being or are now fully registered. 

Future plans 

AHRAP will continue their collaboration in the KPTP, the local consortium they have organised for their advocacy. This project of empowerment intended to boost the capability of the rightsholder groups and to strengthen the community organisations. Further efforts will be undertaken to continue their lobbying advocacy until there is a fulfillment of influencing the decision of land owners and to come up with a win-win solution which will benefit both parties.

AHRAP has been awarded an Empowerment Accelerated fund to continue these plans together with KPTP.