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INITIATIVES FOR DIALOGUE AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ALTERNATIVE LEGAL SERVICES (IDEALS), INC.
Title of Project: Bringing VOICE to MDM
The Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS, Inc.) addresses the legal and technical needs of the marginalized and vulnerable groups, particularly: banana farmers who are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), victims of human rights violations, and persons or communities affected by natural and manmade disasters. IDEALS engages in policy advocacy and influencing work, case build-up and documentation for victims of human rights violations, and conducts legal missions to help identified marginalized and vulnerable groups establish their legal identity and/or update their records. Specifically for the work with banana farmers, IDEALS sits as part of the technical working group on the bill which aims to regulate the contracts and relations of farmers. IDEALS engage the general public for awareness-raising about the struggles of farmers locked into unfair contracts and influencing for responsible and inclusive business practices and operations. Bringing the Vulnerable Outcast and Indigenous Communities to Engage in Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) project empowers marginalized sectors of society, especially during disaster scenarios, by training them to identify priority issues, design action plans based on them, and lobby for the implementation of these plans with the government. The project takes its title from its desire to mainstream MDM in the country, capacitate and encourage rightsholders to influence and engage decision makers by arming them with the skills to communicate their needs to the government. The project has several components, although the process itself is shaped and dependent on engagement with input specified by specific target communities.
The project helps gain a better understanding of how Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) Response works; learn how to identify and present
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