Belong Neighborhood Association

Hidden in the sea of middle class subdivisions in Banaba, San Mateo, Rizal, we found an island called “Belong compound”.  It is a densely populated urban poor settlers’ community where at least 105 families reside.  According to the Belong Compound Neighborhood Association, Inc. (BCNAI) members, the whole area, including the subdivision,used to be a vast rice field. 

In 1999, a certain Isabelo, who BCNAI identified as the co-owner and tenant of the land that their houses occupy,  offered to sell them residential lots.  Isabelo initially sold them “rights” to settle in the area and promised that they can amortize for the lots they occupy once the on-going court case regarding land ownership is settled.  From the first eight settlers families, the community rapidly grew.  The residents shared that most of them are industrial and service-oriented workers, vendors, drivers and junk traders. 

Recognizing their isolation from the surrounding subdivision communities, the residents realized that to improve the community they consider home, they can only rely on themselves. This strengthened cooperation and friendships among the residents.  They organized BCNAI in early 2002 and registered it with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-profit organization in the same year. Since then, it has successfully spearheaded the residents ' efforts to construct graveled path walks, a multi-purpose center made of light and temporary materials, a crude but more organized drainage system and gain access to electrical services,. The organization also enabled the community to successfully request the construction of hand-pumped "deep-well", the community's only source of potable water, a "metering wall " (a communal concrete wall where all electrical meters in the community are installed by the electrical service provider) and a cemented, "half court " basketball court from local politicians.

School year June 2006 to March 2007

In May 2006, BCNAI requested the Antipolo Seminary Foundation, Inc. (ASF) to assist them in strengthening the pre-school learning center that they established in 2005. Though it has operated for a year, the center remained in its formative stage. Noting the community's need, the ASF extended financial management and planning assistance to BCNAI. Key members of the parents' organization participated in the Basic Nutrition training conducted by the foundation on July 18, 2006. Through this training, the parents learned how to make a menu and recipes that maximize low costing but nutritious food for the supplemental feeding component. They also created schedules to manage food preparation and cleaning. Key members of the parents' organization also participated in the Basic Christian Leadership training conducted by the foundation last August 12, 2006.

BCNAI's learning center uses a portion of the community's multi-purpose center as its site. For school year June 2006 to March 2007, the center had 15 students. Representatives of the parents' organization noted that their children eagerly attend their classes even though their school had no walls during majority of the school year. The parents contributes P50.00 per month to the learning center fund to help augment the para-teacher's allowance.

The supplemental feeding and weight monitoring activities were conducted regularly. BCNAI noted that the parents actively participated in their supplemental feeding tasks. The center also conducted a Dental and medical clinic during the year. This was made possible through their coordination with the municipal health office.

BCNAI's strengthened its coordination with the barangay officials. We noted that at the start of the school year, the barangay refused to issue the center a "permit-to-operate." This, BCNAI noted, was because of the absence of a comfort room in the multi-purpose center. Through closer coordination with the barangay officials, the "permit-to-operate" was approved even though the construction of the comfort room was not yet finished. Moreover, a number of these officials even donated hollow blocks and bags of cement for the comfort room's construction.

During one of our visits, BCNAI expressed the hope that the foundation can help them train new para-teachers. The leaders and parents also noted their plan to construct a comfort room and improve the multi-purpose center as soon as they generated sufficient resources. They also expressed eagerness to participate in the foundation-s planned finance management training.

Thirteen (13) out of the 15 students finished the school year. Seven will be moving on to elementary school while six will probably enroll as preparatory students in the coming school year. According to BCNAI, the two students who did not finish the school year were too young for school.

School year June 2007 to March 2008

This school year 2007-2008, the center will have a full-time para-teacher and a teacher's aide. The new para-teacher was trained through the para-teacher' training sponsored by the foundation. As of the end of May, 2007, a total of 25 students have enrolled in the center: Kinder I - 13; Preparatory- 12.

Aside from having a trained para-teacher this school year, this year's students will benefit from the structural improvements on the multi-purpose center: new comfort room; leak-proofed galvanized iron roof; wooden walls and gates.

The parent's organization for the school year met in May and has already elected its new set of officers. An initial schedule for the supplemental feeding related tasks was also made during the meeting.

Although the Belong Neighboorhood Association's learning center is one of our more recently formed centers, it seems to be rapidly building a potential for self-reliance. The key factor that contributes to this is the cohesive organization of the residents, it's initiatives to improve their community and its ability to establish linkages with various sectors of society to realize their goals. For this year, BCNAI should sustain and perhaps intensify their initiatives to improve the implementation of the early childhood development project and other projects to improve their community.

The Antipolo Seminary Foundation will continue to assist BCNAI during this coming school year in developing their capability along early childhood development and organizational and project management.