In Yogyakarta, our program supported by Boral, is empowering community members to identify, understand and raise awareness of the vulnerabilities they face related to shelter and natural disasters.
This approach, traditionally known as Participatory Approach to Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA), has been adapted by Habitat and applied to an urban slum in Yogyakarta.
The PASSA activities facilitated by Habitat brought together community members of the Jogoyudan slum so they could be proactive in putting an action plan and shelter safety strategies in place to address these vulnerabilities and create stronger and more secure communities.
“The program has motivated us all to work together to improve our community,” said Farid, who lives in Jogoyudan and participated in the PASSA activities. “We can now anticipate the likely effects of disasters, and work together to find solutions.”
Through the PASSA process, community members identified the poor drainage system, which made the slum susceptible to flooding, as a risk that needed to be addressed. As a result, a new drainage system has been constructed to improve living conditions and reduce flooding. For the 4,500 community members in the slum, the new drainage system has made a huge impact in improving living conditions and creating a safer place to live.
