SURIGAO CITY, PHILIPPINES — With the launch of the Localize to Realize (L2R) project in Surigao City on October 7, members of the indigenous group Sama Bajau and informal settler families of Sitio Panubigon, were equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring real change in their lives by achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through a day-long workshop conducted by UN-Habitat Philippines together with UN Women.

Funded by the Joint SDG Fund, this joint project supports the local government in accelerating the implementation of the SDGs by enhancing efforts and progress at the local level, with particular focus on vulnerable groups and communities, including women, indigenous peoples and informal settler families.
The project also introduces an innovative community-driven Voluntary Local Review (VLR) approach so that local development plans can better address socio-economic challenges. Hence, the workshop aimed to identify the SDG needs, gaps and priorities of vulnerable communities and propose accountabilities for responsive actions.

The Sama Bajau workshop participants included home partners of culturally-sensitive houses that they helped design and build through the Huy-anan nan Bajau sa Surigao project, implemented by UN-Habitat with funding from the Government of Spain through AECID, that seeks to improve the living conditions of the indigenous group.
Several Sama Bajau families will be relocated to a resettlement area in Sitio Panubigon that is being developed into an eco village by the DENR, where they will be residing alongside the informal settler families.

“Bringing them together in this L2R workshop will enable them to relate the SDGs to their everyday realities and understand how they are connected to one another, which is key to finding viable and sustainable solutions to their deep-rooted problems,” said UN-Habitat Philippines Country Programme Manager Cris Rollo.

UN Women also led a session on the rights of the child and gender equality, and how the UN SDGs are pervasive and relevant to human rights issues.
SDG FACEs and Child Progress Card
The success of the SDGs can best be manifested in the face of a child, in a livable environment. Therefore, addressing the multidimensional poverty and depravation of basic rights experienced by children must be prioritized, to put a smile on the face of that child.
The FACEs progamme, locally adapted as Family Actions for Children and their Environs in Surigao, empowers parents, especially the mothers, to take the lead in achieving the SDGs through the personal development and progress made by their children.
Families were oriented on the Child SDG Progress Report Card, which is akin to a report card, containing the Sustainable Development Goals translated into child-level indicators which will be monitored monthly, starting from the baseline date.

Quick actions and response mechanisms were identified to improve on the indicators and achieve the child SDGs , vis-à-vis the baseline or the starting point and current condition of the child. Sub-indicators include weight of the child for Goal 2 – Zero Hunger and immunization against various diseases for Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-being.

Appropriate actions and mechanisms as well as ‘lifelines’ or agencies, organizations and individuals that can support them through difficult times were identified. They will be partners in the families’ journey towards achieving their SDGs.
“Maganda na may workshop na ganito kasi marami kaming natutunan. Halimbawa na lang, nalaman namin na ang SDG ay may tunay na halaga at pakinabang sa aming buhay. Natutulungan din kami sa tamang pagpapalaki ng aming mga anak,” Dahila Araman, Sama Bajau Chieftain, said.
[It is nice to have a workshop like this because we learn a lot. For instance, we realized that the SDGs have a real value and benefit to our lives. The goals also help us in raising our children the right way.]

Engaging the Sama Bajau and informal settler families to become truly involved in implementing the SDGs in their own communities amplifies the transformative potential of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and inequality and ensure a better and more sustainable future for generations to come.
