Dear Board Members, Staff, Partners and friends,

CAPS is blessed with rewarding events happening during the second quarter 2008.  CAPS has just signed two very important project contracts, namely, the ISSUE 2 Programme which became effective in April and the SuSEP Project which was signed in June.  The ISSUE 2 Programme is a UN MDG-oriented program designed to improve the lives and livelihood of 5,000 households in the Philippines through better sanitation and solid waste management services and facilities.  Funding comes from our long-time partner WASTE of the Netherlands and will run until end of 2010. 

The intervention area of ISSUE 2 is the Province of La Union.  Among the kick-off activities is the launching of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation in San Fernando, La Union.  The event symbolizes the commitment of the Provincial Government of La Union, joined by its Member City and Municipalities, to eradicate open defecation in the province and provide safe sanitation for its constituents.

SuSEP stands for “Developing Sustainable Sanitation Education Program for the Philippines”.  As the title suggests, the SuSEP intends to develop a sustainable sanitation curriculum for implementation by a consortium of academic and training institutions in the country.  SuSEP is part of the Sustainable Sanitation for East Asia-Philippines (SuSEA) Program being managed by the World Bank and funded by the Swedish International Development Agency.  The project will be completed by April 2010.

Like icing on the “2^nd Quarter” cake, CAPS participated in the International Symposium of Women, Water and Waste, a milestone event as far as gender and waste management is concerned.  It was spearheaded by the Philippine Women’s University held at the Century Park Hotel Manila last 25-27 June 2008.

Looking forward, CAPS is anticipating another fruitful next quarter.  After the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) Validation Workshop held last 28 June here in Manila, CAPS is poised to snatch another major assignment as far as Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan) promotion and knowledge building is concerned.  SEI is looking for an organization to act as the Ecosan Knowledge Node for the Philippine and South East Asia.  During the validation workshop, the members of the Philippine Ecosan Network (PEN) unanimously recommended CAPS to act as host, secretariat and coordinator of the Node.  To signify its tacit agreement, the SEI invited yours truly to attend the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance Meeting to be held in Stockholm in August 2008.  The SEI will formalize its decision soon.

Always at your service,

Dan Lapid