On 25–29 July 2022, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD FO CAR) engaged with the Agta Community through a Community Outreach in the barangays of Calayucay and Marag in Luna, Apayao.
The Agta communities in the said barangay are considered as minorities among the indigenous peoples in the province of Apayao. Based on the previous assessment done in 2019, these Agtas only received assistance from the Pantawid Pamilya. The big challenge for these Agtas to avail the services from the center is the expensive transportation services by boat and motorcycle rides.
As an intervention, the DSWD FO CAR in partnership with the LGU and Civil Society Organization Partners (CSO) partners facilitated series of knowledge sharing, focused group discussion, and workshops with the parent grantees and their children which aim to capacitate them to explore potential internal and external community resources that can be availed to further improve and sustain their well–being.
Part of the activity was an Information Education Campaign (IEC) on health and sanitation, community organizing with a group work activity, and an orientation on Enhanced Support Services Intervention (ESSI), a livelihood intervention of the program for specific sectors such as indigenous peoples (IPs), homeless families, and other vulnerable sectors.
Simultaneous to the campaign, the Project Development Officers and Social Workers of the DSWD FO CAR administered the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI), and prepared the Household Transition Plan (HTP) with household grantees.
The SWDI is an assessment tool used to determine the progression of the level of well being of the 4Ps household beneficiaries and to monitor the overall improvement of their standard of living. The HTP, on the other hand, is a collaborative process that contains the household‘s action plan or activities with specific timelines in preparation for the eventual exit from the program.
Moreover, a community visioning and planning on the Pantawid Pamilya‘s Kilos–Unlad (KU) process was also conducted. The KU is a social case management strategy that aims to guide the households in achieving improved well–being, stepping out of poverty, and employing individual or family cooperation within a seven–year timeline.
The children beneficiaries also shared their visions and aspirations to their family and community focusing on the theme, Ang Aming Pangarap para sa Aming komyunidad. This was conducted with Ms. Maria Conception G. Ravelo, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer of Luna.
Meanwhile, a focused group discussion on the rights of IP, Gender and Development, and sharing of experiences from the program were also integrated during the activity
A donation drive on various goods and materials were given to the Agta beneficiaries. Donors of the initiative were from MetroBank Purple Hearts Club, Baguio Benguet Community Credit Cooperative, SM Foundation, Saint Paul University Philippines Community Center Foundation, Inc., Seed Project Asia–Philippines, DSWD CAR, and other private individuals concluded the activity. ### DSWD–CAR, Social Marketing Unit, Marlo C. Abyado Jr., Pantawid Pamilya Information Officer with reports from Mr. Jason Uberto, PDO II & IP Focal Person
