Five years after: WCIRAC's integrated intervention approach has led to sustainable communities (Communities in Salay, Misamis Oriental, Philippines)

El enfoque de integración integrada por parte de WCIRAC el resultado en comunidades sustentables (Comunidades en: Salay, Misamis Oriental, Philippines)

The Women and Children Internal Refugees Assistance Center, Inc. (WCIRAC)'s Integrated Intervention Approach (IIA), as a program strategy of the institution, is composed of several inter-related components - relief assistance, health and nutrition, livelihood, stress management, education aimed at building upon each other, and providing a cycle of support to strengthen the victim's / communities' overall coping capacity. IIA, started by relieving and proceeded to rebuilding. During the 4th Conference in 1994, WCIRAC presented a paper about Caring for the Total Person. We discussed the level of improvement in the lives of the women and children in the community on the relief assistance stage.

WCIRAC has piloted six (6) communities for the past five (5) years in the major islands of Visayas and Mindanao. In this paper, WCIRAC will present its learnings and improved strategies in the three (3) communities in Salay, Misamis Oriental, and the Philippines. In here, WCIRAC's intervention was at the re-building level - skills development and other capability building activities, and economic activities towards Food Security to sustain their health and nutrition. This was their focus when WCIRAC concluded its program intervention.

The significant factors in the process of rebuilding were the maximization of available resources with the participation of the people who were the most influential among the resources. This participation would lead to a sustainable community and community developments. Again, "there is no piecemeal stress, as there is no piecemeal assistance". Focusing on a single aspect of the of former internal refugees' community's condition is providing only half a lifeline. Thus, WCIRAC tried to provide "total care" (biopsychoeconomic and capability building needs) for the women and children and community whom it served through its INTEGRATED INTERVENTION APPROACH.