Kabayan, Benguet – Against the commitment wall, around 200 parent leaders and community volunteers here recently inked their names and pledges in upholding programs that would help lift them from poverty.
Coming from the 13 Kabayan sitios, the villagers gathered to get updates on the ongoing program implementation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and relate accounts of the program implementation in their locality.
Town Vice-Mayor Gideon Todiano led the community folks in the signing of commitments pledging to give full support in the implementation of the DSWD projects in the municipality.
“As Municipal Vice-Mayor, I will support all programs and activities of the government,” wrote Todiano.
The commitment wall was part of the Convergence Caravan cum Festival of Success Stories conducted in the municipality on 27 April 2015. The activity aimed to strengthen the involvement of the community people in the program through accounts from their own level.
Among those who delivered encouraging tales of their involvement in the DSWD programs were community volunteers from the Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), parent leaders from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and program participants of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Social Pension Program (SOCPEN).
“It is purely public service for the benefit of our community, because my life is only lifted from poverty when the whole community is,” 59-year-old Roberta Campic said in vernacular. In her barangay in Adaoay, she works as a barangay health worker, a community volunteer of the Kalahi-CIDSS and a Pantawid Parent Leader as well as a PhilHealth coordinator.
A re-orientation on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan was also done along with update presentation on the Kalahi-CIDSS and Pantawid Pamilya in Kabayan.
Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Dolores Gayaso said the one-day event was timely especially the re-introduction of the Listahanan because it clarified many queries from the residents.
“Hopefully, there will again be an upcoming convergence of programs in the near future because it really helps encourage the grassroots to participate in our activities,” Gayaso stated.
Through the Kalahi-CIDSS expansion to National Community Driven Development Program, Kabayan is among the seven (7) municipalities in Benguet Province to implement the said program which promotes community empowerment, transparency, and accountability# DSWD-CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, Karlston Lapniten and Strelle Quejado
