How might we make potable water accessible to far-fung communities? A challenge brief on the water problem in Sogod, Philippines Social Innovation Challenge | World Vision challenge.worldvision.ca Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water 1. INTRODUCTION The Challenge The town of Sogod is a 4th class municipality located in the Province of Cebu which is the home to 34,059 people with a growth rate of 1.89%. Cebu has consistently been among the top 12 provinces with the highest share of poor families in the entire country1. Families in the remote and highland villages of Sogod lack access to clean and safe water. Four years ago, Typhoon Haiyan, one the largest natural disasters in Phillipines history devastated Sogod. It caused massive destruction to houses, crops, livestock and even water sources and further impeded access to save water. Since the typhoon, the cost of transporting water is still a huge challenge for certain households. Consequentially, children in the families still have to walk long distances to fetch and carry water, sacrificing their education and numerous other opportunity costs. The population in Sogod spends up to 18% of their monthly family budget on water, which is easily 15x more than what communities are paying in neighboring communities. This high portion of income dedicated to water results in parents deprioritizing important factors such as proper nutrition for their families and children. Further, the inability of the villagers to obtain safe and potable water poses a significant health risk, especially to children. For most families that fall well below the poverty, the impact on household income is unimaginable and often poor families end up obtaining water from unsafe, infected sources. About World Vision World Vision, as an international humanitarian organization, is dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice and help communities become self-sufficient. Everything World Vision does is focused on one goal: The Sustained Well-Being of all Children, Especially the Most vulnerable. This means that World Vision works with the communities holistically, and this includes ensuring that the following child wellbeing outcomes are achieved: ‘children enjoy good health’ and ‘children being cared for, and protected’. And for every child to enjoy good health and be protected from water-borne diseases, clean and safe water is deemed vital to the health of a child. Hence, globally, World Vision has a WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene) component in its project implementations. Opportunity Areas While World Vision has implemented multiple clean water interventions in the community of Sogod, there is still opportunity to adopt a more market-driven approach to clean water delivery for the following reasons: • Income generation – the community members can either generate income or reduce cost of water delivery to their homes. • Sustainability – allowing the WV support to eventually phase out. 1 NEDA-7, the NSCB Poverty Statistics Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water • Scalability – if the model works, it can be scaled up to other neighbouring communities in Visayas • Demand – depending on the business model, it could potentially be adapted to other areas besides drinking water (e.g. agricultural water irrigation). Approximately 70 % of the industries in rural Sogod are reliant on water to sustain the business. • Supply – depending on the business model, approximately 20% youths aged 18-25 are unemployed and are open to employment opportunities. • Support – Sogod has a reasonably good public infrastructure and responsive sub-municipal officials who are willing to try new ideas that are not too costly. • Partnership –there is an established community based organization, Sogod Inc, which we can tap in whatever model we can create. 2. BACKGROUND About the Philippines The Philippines is situated between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and lies entirely within the tropics. Forming part of the Malay Archipelago, with a total land area of 299,303 sq km (slightly larger than the State of Victoria), the Philippines extends 1,770 km from north to south and 1,100 km from east to west. It consists of 7,107 islands and islets of which only 2,773 have names and about 500 are larger than a square kilometer. In order of size, the largest islands are Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Samar, Negros, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Masbate. Together they make up 95 per cent of the total land area. The three major island groups are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Philippines’ population is approximately 103.3 million (2016, World Bank). Over ten million Filipinos live overseas, comprising one of the world's largest Diasporas. The Philippines’ diverse geography and its eventful history are reflected in the diversity of its populations. It is estimated that there are 187 indigenous Philippine languages, some of which make up the oldest Austronesian language family. There are 19 officially-recognized regional languages, and the seven major dialects spoken are: Tagalog, Cebuano, Bisaya/Binisaya, Ilocano, Hiligaynon (Ilongo), Bicol, and Lineyte-Samarnon (Waray). There are two official languages in the Philippines, Tagalog and English. The Philippines is predominantly Figure 1. The Philippines, Cebu Province Roman Catholic (80.6%), followed by Muslim Filipinos accounting for around 5.56% of the population Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water About Sogod The municipality of Sogod is bounded on the north by the municipality of Borbon, on the south by the municipality of Catmon, on the east by the Camotes Sea and on the west by the municipalities of Tuburan and Tabuelan. The town of Sogod sits on a mountainous terrain some 60 kilometers north of Cebu City, one of the biggest destinations for tourists around the world. It is composed of eighteen (18) villages (7 urban and 11 rural). Sogod has a total land area of over twelve thousand hectares with 34,059 total population (More details of demographic breakdown under the additional resources section). Figure 2. The Philippines, Sogod Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water The municipal building claims an elevated post in a hill south of the church, "a round hill which overlooks Sogod Bay. The town of Sogod sits on a mountainous terrain some 60 kilometers north of Cebu City. Figure 3. Sogod City Hall Its parish church seems to dominate on a hill above the town square like it is watching over its population. Figure 4. One of the maJor churches in the predominately Catholic Town of Sogod Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water The other major infrastructures and services in the area include the sports complex and hospital as shown below. Figure 5. Mayor Deo Durano Sports Complex, Poblacion, Sogod Figure 6. Juan Dosado Memorial Hospital, Damolog, Sogod Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water Demographic Breakdown Population: 34,059 Education Level: Primary to College Sex distribution: Male: 15,350 Female: 18,709 Average household size: 5 Average household income: PHP 4936.00 monthly (below the national threshold in 2015 at PHP9,064) Major Industries: Retail shops, Fishing, Labor. Major parts of the working age population become overseas Filipino workers. Public amenities and facilities: Public School (Primary and Secondary), Public Hospital, Community gym, Public Market, and Fish Port Cebu has consistently been among the top 12 provinces with the highest share of poor families. In the Philippines, on average a family of five needs to earn at least PHP 9,0642 monthly to meet both basic food and non-food needsFigure and to DE be -cla02.ssified Population as living at or just Composition under the poverty line by. In School Sogod, a family of five has an average monthlyAge, Workingincome of PHP Age, 4,936.00 Dependent. This year’s target Age, population Group for the and Social Innovation Challenge can be considered to be living in extreme poverty. Sex, Year 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 Male 2,000 Female - Figure 7. Population Composition by School, Age, Working Age, Dependent Age, Group, and Sex 2 1 USD = approx 55 Philippine Pesos (PHP) Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water FIGURE DE-03: Household Population by Barangays and Average Household Size 3,500 5.00 4.50 3,000 4.00 2,500 3.50 2,000 3.00 2.50 1,500 2.00 1,000 1.50 1.00 500 0.50 Population/No. of HouseholdsPopulation/No. of - 0.00 Barangays Household Population Number of Household Average HH Size Figure 8. Household Population by Barangays and Average Household Size Sources of Income Sogod has been known for its self-reliance in agricultural produce. People in Sogod farm vegetables and fruit for their own consumption (such as corn) as well as farm cash-generating crops like coconut, banana, tobacco and vegetables. Products from both farm and sea are displayed during market days in Sogod Public Market in Poblacion; market days are Wednesday, while for the neighborhoods of Mohon and Pansoy, market days are Sunday and Thursday, respectively. Most Sogoranons strive to become professionals. Some are employed locally like in the local government units and other business firms established in the town. Revenue Sources (NCSB 2010) (Rank) Percentage Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery 1 49.32% Services * 2 31.69% Industry ** 3 18.99% Figure 9. Sources of Income, Sogod Social Innovation Challenge 2019 l Water Employment by Type/Classification/Type of Business and Trade No. of Population Served/Markets Catered No. Type/Classification/Kind