Kagabay
The Kababaihan Gabay ng Bayan - KAGABAY, means "women supporting the country" in Filipino. KAGABAY is a non-government, non-profit, social development organization. It was set up to address poverty reduction through the social, political and economic empowerment of women in urban poor and resettlement communities. With its motto: “Kababaihan Para Sa Kababaihan" (ph.Women for Women), KAGABAY aims to contribute to the achievement of the country’s Millennium Development Goals through the empowerment of women that will enable them to address the multi‐faceted dimensions of poverty within their communities.
History
The organisation was established in May 2007. The same year, the first St. Marie Eugenie Kinder School was established in the coastal area of Tanza, Navotas.
In 2008, 7 more St. Marie Eugenie Kinder Schools were set up in:
- Barangay Bagbag, Novaliches, Quezon City
- Barangay 176, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City
- Barabgay Panghulo, Malabon City
- Barangay Kaypian, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
- NHA Southville 1 Resettlement Site, Barangay Niugan, Cabuyao, Laguna
- NHA Southville 7 Resettlement Site, Barangay Dayap, Calauan, Laguna
- Green Valley Subd, Barangay Molino, Bacoor, Cavite
In year 2009
- Balangay, Barangay Molino II, Bacoor, Cavite
2010
- Southville 7, Barangay Sto Tomas, Calauan, Laguna
Initiative Programs
The Kagabay's framework for women empowerment revolves around 4K's: Kabuhayan (Livelihood), Kalusugan (Health), Kalikasan (Environment) and Katatagan (Empowerment). The mothers groups undergo training in:
- Livelihood - entrepreneurship, micro finance, and local employment
- Health and nutrition - including [...] and reproductive health rights and self-defense
- Environmental issues - solid waste management, vegetable gardening and disaster preparedness
- ''Organizational development" towards the formation and strengthening of their local organizations, to coalesce into network of women’s organizations.
To achieve its goals, KAGABAY conducts following programs:
- Women in Communities
- Women in Grassroots Governance
- Special Concerns
Women in Communities
The Women in Communities (WIC) is organizing and capability building program for women in resettlement areas. Under the WIC program, the organizing initiatives begin with the setting up of the St. Marie Eugenie Kinder School - pre-school for children aged 5–6 that also provides daily feeding to address the problem of malnutrition. The program includes organizing mothers' classes, and forming mothers’ organizations.
Women in Grassroots Governance
Women in Grassroots Governance (WIG) is women empowering program which involves not just rights-based training but also increasing women's participation in local governance. In line with this objective, women have been organized into a federated, SEC-registered peoples organization with a functional structure designed to implement plans and programs focused on the K-4 framework in their respective communities.
The WIG program also includes training of our K-4 leaders in processes that will ensure active participation in local special bodies at the barangay governance level.
The Barangay Governance Support Project, provides barangays with technical support in poverty mapping through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), and trains barangay officials, especially women officials, in the conduct of participatory Barangay Development Planning with particular emphasis on the inclusion of the women's agenda.
The Local Women Leadership project, identifies the women in KAGABAY communities and organizations who have the potential for public service; the program provides these potential leaders with training on running an electoral campaign, development of a campaign platform; and network with other elected barangay women for solidarity and the development of a common women’s agenda.
Special Concerns Program
Working with women as a sector, inevitably brings in the related issues of other sectors, like the urban poor sector, the informal workers sector, children sector, youth and senior citizens sectors.
KAGABAY'S role is to facilitate and provide technical services to the various sectoral organizations and formations that seek to partner with KAGABAY in their engagements with government.
KAGABAY works with various agencies of government to facilitate the responses of these agencies towards the issues and concerns of the various sectors through the inter-agency mechanism that is co-sponsored by the government agency involved.
Cooperation
KAGABAY's Agency Partners are:
- National Government Agencies (NGAs)
- National Housing Authority (NHA)
- Presidential Commission on Urban Poor
- Department Of Agriculture
- Peoples Credit and Finance Corporation
- Department of Science and Technology
- Department of Education (DepEd)
- Commission on Filipinos Overseas
- Office of the President
- Local Government Units (LGUs)
- City hall of Parañaque
- Mayor Strike Reville of Bacoor
- Mayor Tito Oreta of Malabon
- Mayor Florencio Bernabe of Paranaque
- Peoples Organisations (POs)
- People's Credit and Finance Corporation
- Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
- PHINMA
- CoFFEE Bean & Tea Leaf
- Security Bank Foundation inc.
- Nourish the Children Foundation
- Miriam College
- Approtech Asia / Engender Network
- Assumption College Alumni Association
- Alay Buhay
- AIESEC
- PhilSEN
Supporting Kagabay
KAGABAY establishes partnerships with various national government agencies, local governments, non-government organizations, private and corporate donors, as well as the international donor community, to provide its services in the areas where it present.
KAGABAY also supports other marginalized sectors such as the youth sector, the senior citizens sector, the urban poor and the rest of the 14 Basic Sectors specified under Republic Act 8425, or the Social Reform law, also known as the NAPC law.