It’s not just houses, it’s a community

The chapel’s bell tolls at dawn, signaling the start of a new day. Its gentle ringing echoes throughout the rows of light-colored square houses beside well-paved concretes. The sun ascends from the east, its rays pouring over the green gardens that decorate the front of each house, giving light to the early morning. Families come out to attend the first mass. It’s a typical Sunday for an uptown resettlement site, home for a community of survivors.

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The Xavier Ecoville (XE) is a resettlement site for Sendong survivors located in Brgy. Lumbia. Xavier University’s five-hectare land donation for the victims of the tropical storm back in 2011, it bears the commendable reputation as the world’s first resettlement program by a private university. Currently, it has 500+ households, five clusters that organize the community, and programs that support the people.

During its incubation period, the XE was aided by several departments from Xavier University besides the construction of temporary bunkhouses and permanent infrastructures. It was in this timeframe when the university decided to build a community in addition to constructing houses.

Louie Sabal, Program Officer of XE for Organization Development, remarks, “After the university tapped partners for building houses, it has decided to build a community. This led XU to tap esteemed partners on values formation.” Thus, Gawad Kalinga and Habitat For Humanity came in the picture.

Gawad Kalinga is a Philippine-based community development foundation while Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit organization. Both contributed in building the community of XE by providing assistance in the values formation program.

According to Sabal, the community of Xavier Ecoville is unique because Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity both rendered service to the people. He also stresses that during the incubation period, the relocated settlers of XE had difficulty on standing on their own. Therefore, the helpfulness of the programs has not only catered to the people’s social development but aided them in their independence and leadership. This results to the community’s governance.

The Homeowner’s Association was established to become the primary governing body of the community. With its current president, Roy Ampo, the Homeowner’s Association endeavors in its strategic plan for the community in the eventual years. However, this will not be made possible without the development plan of the local government unit in Brgy. Lumbia.

“The integration of these plans will start this April,” Sabal adds.

To maintain its sustainability, the XE relies on the local government unit of Brgy. Lumbia. Matters of education, transportation, security, and drainage were tackled upon the planning sessions with the LGU which were facilitated by Dr. Dixon Yasay, Director of the XU Governance and Leadership Institute. Besides budget plans, the LGU helps in technical expertise and focuses more on the settlers’ adaptation and acceptance.

Other partnerships include: International Organization for Migration (IOM), Peace and Equity Foundation, The Philippine Red Cross, A. Brown Company, and Ateneo de Manila. Major sponsors such as the Union Bank Foundation, Maybank, Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals, Give2Asia, and Chinese Ladies Association of Cebu have also contributed in the development of the site.

Currently in its stage of institutionalization, the XE community will gradually become integrated within Brgy. Lumbia. This will shed more opportunities for the Homeowner’s Association to coincide with the plans the barangay has to offer for the community.

Furthermore, Sabal states, “Mostly kay ang homeowners [sic] na ang nag initiate na maka deal with other partners. Although XU will be involved with future programs and projects, the management of XU to the XE community will end by 2016.”

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The Xavier Ecoville Community provides shelters to the survivors of the storm that ravaged their homes in 2011. Those whose houses were demolished and lost, they have found their haven in the XE Community. Even on a Sunday morning, the residents in the site welcome the day with content and reassurance; because they believe that within the community, they are safe.

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