Coron, Palawan – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has initiated livelihood and capacity development trainings for Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries. The partnership is stipulated as Technical Assistance 7587 or the Community-Based Gender Action Plan (CBGAP) by the ADB which aims to improve gender responsiveness of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in 10 pilot municipalities in different regions. In region IV-MiMaRoPa, the pilot area is in Coron, Palawan with more than 500 beneficiaries as target participants.
The capacity trainings commenced this September 2014 and will run until the end of December 2014. The trainings were identified by the Gender and Development (GAD) Core group, a group composed mostly of women from the pilot barangays of Decabobo, Buenavista and Tagumpay in Coron. They aim to identify problems and needs of the community in relation to gender issues. Thus, they come up with a GAD plan containing advocacies and activities aimed to address gender equality in which the said trainings are incorporated.
“Magandang pagkakataon po kasi ito para sa aming mga babaeng nasa bahay lang buong maghapon. Hindi na lamang po ang mga asawa namin ang pwedeng magtrabaho,” said Alma Montebon, a beneficiary attending the computer-literacy training. The trainings provide new knowledge to the participants and in turn help them gain confidence.
“Malaking tulong sa mga benepisyaryo ang mga natutunan nilang bagong kakayahan upang magamit nilang pangkabuhayan at mapaangat ang kanilang buhay,” added Psyche Asencio, Regional GAD Focal.
The identified capacity trainings are as follows: massage therapy, computer literacy, tailoring, dressmaking, baking, catering, seaweed farming, hog raising and pandan weaving. Each training will have more than 20 students and will run for about 10 to 15 days. The trainers are accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and hired based on their expertise on the subject matter.
Also, part of the implementation of CBGAP is PILIPINA, a civil society organization tasked to provide technical support through monitoring, resource inventory, mapping and linkages to widen Pantawid Pamilya access to livelihood. ###
