Family Disaster Resilience (FDR) - Reina Federation of Parents Association Inc.

Family Disaster Resilience (FDR) is the concentration of Reina’s operations for FY 21. This single, yet flexible and relevant program model, was able to cover all life stage activities

applicable during year 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge of staying at home was seen as an opportunity of the Federation to effectively implement FDR. While families spend more time together, “hitting many birds in one stone” approach was conceived.

Having that in mind, the what seemed to be a very disadvantaged quarantine set-up, became a perfect venue to orient and educate all family members, regardless of age group, on various concerns educate all family members, regardless of age group, on various concerns such as emergency preparedness, early childhood care and development, education, support to livelihood, and caring for mental health.

A mother participant of the Family Disaster Resilience (FDR) orientation shows the contents of her E-balde at home.

Siblings help each other in coloring self-learning module. The Federation provided support in mass production of said material.

A holistic approach, concerning community stakeholders, barangay, and local government was also implemented. The Federation is aware of the importance of building their capacity to prepare and respond either in emergency or pandemic situations.

Another unique and simple intervention under FDR is the appreciation of children, youth, adults, and the rest of community members, on the value of self-sufficiency. That is why planting vegetable and herbal medicines in every backyard, is highly appreciated. Many families also find their planting activities a bond away from gadgets, which helps relieve stress, and promotes healthy lifestyle. Moreover, children and youth are encouraged to consume fresh and nutritious food. Parents, on the other hand, save money for their daily meals.

Members of community support structures posed happily after an enrichment session on home-based ECD.

Since FDR is the only program implemented for FY 21, this part of the report will be discussed per Life Stage. This is to provide equal highlights on activities participated by children, youth, adults and communities. Accomplishments and learnings will also be showcased per age group.

LS 1 (0-5 yo) targeted 2 major outputs as follows:

OUTPUT 1: Families and their Children are dynamically engaged in child protection and DRM actions in communities and homes.

OUTPUT 2: Families are practicing child protection and disaster resilient interventions.

The Federation implemented cross-cutting activities with the following accomplishments: MHPSS and PFA activities reached 1,266 /1860 or 68% (633 males; 633 females) targeted participants. Remaining 32% can be tracked to LS 2.

Meanwhile, home-based parenting sessions’ recorded 1,518 /1,480or102.56%. There were also 22 trained home-based session Facilitators, composed DCWs, SNP workers, and community leaders.

Child Rearing, Stress Management, and Information about COVID-19 are essential and applicable according to parent participants. Such sessions also produced stories and materials worth sharing to sponsors.

“The pandemic made me realized that as parents, we should allocate more time to our children regardless of their age. Also, having a routine chart guides us in doing household chores. All my children are involved, and this makes things easily done. Now, we have time for bonding and learning.
Mynle Sebuano, Home-based session participant – Brgy. Tignoan, Real

The pandemic also brought creativity and resourcefulness in the implementation of home-based sessions. The Federation was able to utilize its budget for meals for regular activities into hygiene kit and foodsupply appropriate for children aged 0-5.

This also helps the family to still avail necessary consumables despite loss of livelihood. Such way, children’s health and sanitation will not be sacrificed, especially in this time of pandemic.

Reina facilitators also felt more empowered to create their own parenting session guides based on their experiences and learnings from FY 20. This made the modules more grounded and suitable to the needs and capacity of their target participants.

It is also valuable to note how these at-home sessions were able to produce quality and timely sponsor letters. The contents are also enriched with the families’ learnings and reflections.