Challenges, Capabilities, and Proposed Initiatives for Capacity-building among Shelter Beneficiaries in Davao City, Philippines: A Case Study

Shelter programs stand out as powerful drivers of development, recognizing the rights of the urban beneficiaries in determining their well-being. This study emphasizes the Davao City Shelter Code as the nation’s pioneering local government-led shelter code initiative. The research utilizes a grounded theory approach, as it is well-suited for understanding complex, emerging phenomena within the shelter program and the challenges experienced by shelter beneficiaries. The study employed theoretical sampling and snowball sampling techniques to collect data while analyzing the challenges shelter beneficiaries face through an in-depth case study. For this purpose, 27 key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted alongside 34 focus group discussions (FGDs) at four different resettlement sites. The findings underscore challenges linked to loss of livelihood due to displacement, skills training mismatch, and insufficient leadership skills experienced by the shelter beneficiaries. Despite these challenges, these shelter beneficiaries have illustrated their capabilities to start income-generating exercises with assurance to outlive, regularly with bolster from NGOs and private companies. Moreover, the inquiry recognizes proposed activities for capacity-building to improve protection conditions and advance the well-being of the recipients by and large. Finally, the researchers developed a theory for the shelter program that outlines the steps that link challenges, capacity-building social resources, and autonomous well-being, ultimately leading to the creation of the ‘shelter-space theory’. This theory emphasizes sustainable networks and community development initiatives to improve living conditions, prevent dependency, and ensure active involvement among the shelter beneficiaries in Davao City, Philippines.