Enhancing COPAP Leadership towards Organisational Sustainability project improves the quality of Confederation of Older Persons’ Association of the Philippines (COPAP) programmes and services through active participation and engagement of members. The project specifically (1) Strengthens Confederation’s capacities in managing their organisation as well as their programmes and services; and (2) Increases awareness of the COPAP members on their rights and entitlements.

The project also enhances the organisational capacities of the confederation and its federation members; improving and sustaining their existing programmes and services including its management. This is done through major activities conducted along with awareness raising, assessment, and planning, capacity building activities, monitoring, and evaluation, etc.

“At first, we are very thankful that the project was done and properly implemented as stated in the plan of activities even though, we totally encountered a lot of challenges along the implementation because, our time on that moment is very extraordinary due to COVID-19 pandemic, but, with the full support of key leader’s, train road to the fulfillment of ENHANCING COPAP LEADERSHIP TOWARDS ORGANISATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY was tracked. 

At the end, I can say that, only the project fund was ended, but the full operation of COPAP will continue and will never stop with the guidance and light of all the capacities that acquired by the key leaders during the project implementation.”  – Rodel Salano, COPAP Voice Project Coordinator 

 The Confederation of Older Persons Association in the Philippines, Inc. (COPAP) has been very vocal about the positive impact that their empowerment project has contributed to the organisation and its members. As a result of capacity-building/training conducted to all COPAP leaders, it widened their perspective and deemed it important to link with other organisations to strengthen their efforts towards upholding the dignity of older persons in their area. These are what they believe the main achievements of their project: 

• Formation and training of Committees (Leadership, Training, Resource Mobilization training) 
• Financial and Management training,   
• Health Volunteers Training,   
• Burial Fund Benefit (BFB) Collectors Training, 
• Sustained regular monthly meetings of Executive committee, Board of Directors and Committees and an increase in attendance of members during meetings and seminars/trainings, 
• COPAP key officers becoming part and involved in the process and launching of the Alliance on Gender and Aging (AGAP) that aims to support and push policies for the benefits of older persons, more especially women. 
• Putting up and sustaining a livelihood project which produced Salabat and turmeric, 
• Second liner leaders were engaged to support the programs and activities of older persons; and  
• COPAP networking and linkage with other organisations become widen, which means that key leaders already developed the self-confidence to face risky situations.    

 The project allowed for COPAP to re-organise their entire organisation and enhance the capacities of the different committees. There was also an increase in membership in their BFB Program and a more consistent collection process through the Target Baseline Monitoring Template they developed. They continue to strengthen their participation and involvement in pushing for the approval of a Universal Social Pension and their relationship with the local government unit in order to access social service support. 

 According to ate Dolores, acting Federation, and Older Persons Organization (OPO) President, is that, the great challenge that she come across during the project implementation is that, she learned how to stand, face and handled their organization as acting President, due to the sudden death of the former president, she acts the responsibilities as President without any orientation about the organization and no proper indorsement of all documents of the federation and OPO. She acquired techniques on how to become a good leader through the training and other capacity-building which was conducted by the COPAP Voice project, she developed the self-confidence to lead the organization towards the sustainability of the entire organization. Before, ate Dolores is only one of the active members of one of the OPO in Manila area (ST. JOHN OF GOD TANGLAW BUHAY), but now aside from she is the acting Federation and OPO President, she is already one of the trusted members of Executive Committee Public Relation Officer (PRO).   

In part of Ate Leony (BFB Chairperson) the great impact that she observed along the project implementation is that, since she is part of the creation and implementation of BFB targeting monitoring baseline template that totally gave a cleared data of all BFB and COPAP member related to collections, it also gave a clear data that lead on how to reconcile all the records of BFB beneficiaries from 2015 up to present, the big challenge now of ate Leony is that, how and until when they will go to sustain the good record of BFB membership and collection using the BFB monitoring baseline, but, according to ate Leony, based on the competence and trainings that she attended during the project implementation, she is confident that BFB will go forward for better implementation of said program (BFB) of COPAP.  

Further, according to Ate Vicky, Federation president of Navotas, the project implementation serve as reflection for almost all COPAP key leaders and members because, said the project is the first project being implemented by COPAP itself, almost all activities were conducted during covid 19 pandemic, just image, with full restriction to all Older Persons and Senior Citizen not to go out from their homes  by the government and from their family, they try their best to go out secretly just to hardly pursue,  participate and involved personally the conduct of activities for the benefits of all Older Persons and Senior Citizens, it’s not easy to attend a face to face meetings, seminars and training this time of the pandemic, but no one can interrupt the passion and desire of one leader just to upheld the rights and benefits of Older Persons and Senior Citizens, Ate Vicky said that pieces of training is just a stimulant that gave them energy hardly advocate the core values and programs of COPAP.   

Future plans 

“At first, we are very thankful that the project was done and properly implemented as stated in the plan of activities even though, we totally encountered a lot of challenges along with the implementation because, our time on that moment is very extraordinary due to COVID-19 pandemic, but, with the full support of key leader’s, train road to the fulfillment of ENHANCING COPAP LEADERSHIP TOWARDS ORGANISATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY was tracked.