Baguio City— Jober Carmelo, together with this wife and two young daugthers, could not hold back their tears of joy and excitement as they finally found a place they can call home after years of wandering in the streets of Metro Manila.
Through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pag-abot Program, a welcome ceremony for their family was held on 30 October 2024, led by DSWD FO CAR Regional Director Maria Atitiw Catbagan-Aplaten, together with personnel from the Pag-abot National Program Management Office and the DSWD FO CAR’s Social Technology Unit, as the family received much-needed assistance in the form of financial and livelihood. Moroever, kitchen kits, beddings, Family Food Packs (FFP), hygiene kits, and some clothes were also provided to their family.
Although he cannot fully express his sentiments in words, Jober expressed his profuse appreciation to the team for bringing them back to their hometown, which was made possible under the Pag-abot Program. Said program, which was implemented starting July this year, aims to reduce the risk and vulnerabilities of children, individuals, and families in street situations and improve their social wellbeing through the provision of Social Welfare Protection Services, various interventions, and opportunities to improve social status and fulfil fundamental rights for them to live productively in a safe, supportive and enabling environment.
While he lost both his parents at a young age, Jober’s uncle took him in their home in Baguio City. However, that’s when he then started to ran away from home. Having been born and raised in Baguio City, Jober, 35, longed to return to his hometown, to be with his half-siblings and relatives in Baguio City; and now to raise his own family—with his wife and daughters Jessica, 8, and Mary Joy, 5.
In July 2024, Jober and his family were reached out in the streets of Quezon City and were brought to the Program’s Processing Center in Pasay City. Subsequently, they were turned over to the DSWD FO CAR and currently in close coordination with the Barangay LGU of Banangan in Sablan, Benguet.
Upon resettlement at a rented apartment in Brgy. Banangan, a village adjacent to Baguio City, their greatest challenge now is how to make their rice retail and sari-sari store profitable and sustain income for their day-to-day needs. But thanks to the program’s financial literacy training and other initiatives to help them make the most of the Livelihood Assistance worth P80,000.00 they were given, they are able to keep their enterprise thriving. Meanwhile, regarding their two children’s education, they are being prepared to attend a local day care center. Since its implementation in the region in July 2024, the Pag-abot Program has successfully reintegrated two (2) families (first one was from Pasay City to Itogon, Benguet) in street situations and are actively monitoring their progress towards their improved quality of life. ### DSWD-CAR Social Marketing Unit –Christian Robert M. Sandoval, Information Officer II
