The agonizing situation of spending 11 long months at an evacuation center with unstable community living is the reality of over 3,000 indigenous people in Surigao del Sur who are victims of natural disasters. Richmond believes that emergency assistance should be provided to people in need, but also wishes to provide them with ecofriendly employment opportunities in order to create safer lives and improve the standard of living.

Five-Year Project Goals:

• Create employment for indigenous people by encouraging production of handicrafts and providing them with a living wage

Organization Information: Weaving Lumad Lives

Weaving Lumad Lives provides basic supplies necessary for survival to internally displaced indigenous people who are victims of natural disasters. Initially, the organization creates a platform to provide the public with information about the living conditions of displacement camps created for victims of natural disasters. Weaving Lumad Lives partners with tribal leaders and work together to solve the plethora of issues indigenous people face every day. Due to frequent powerful typhoons, many indigenous people moved to emergency displacement camps for their own safety, but lack basic supplies necessary for survival. The organization initiated a campaign to collect school supplies and distributed them to hundreds of children living in tents. The organization educates the public about the daily challenges of indigenous people by organizing and building photo galleries about the tribal community, as well as hosting university workshops featuring tribal leaders as speakers.