SONIA F. CADORNIGARA
Slums Upgrading Champion

The poor may be feeble and weak, but Sonia Cadornigara believes that they are not voiceless and powerless. Born to a family of informal settlers, she had not only seen houses torn down by demolition teams but also hopes shattered because of homelessness. But shattered hopes can be a source of strength if only the poor believes in themselves, and Sonia showed them how.

After helping establish the Kabalaka Homeowners Association in Calumpang, Sonia introduced a community savings scheme in a bid to raise funds to buy land for informal settlers. Since 1997, they have saved a whopping P2.4 million towards buying 4.4 hectares of inexpensive land located towards the edge of the city. The community went through the steps of finding out who owned the land, researched the zoning and right of way for all the pieces, and in November 1998 struck a deal to buy the land.

Now, 72 families -- each given a parcel of land in the property that Kabalaka purchased -- are preparing to construct their houses so they can sleep well at night without having to worry about demolition. One of these families is composed of Sonia, her husband Herman and their children Herman Paul and Sheena Mae.